u/HannahDayRider

I run a small bookkeeping business. I am not a CPA and do not handle anything taxes or payroll. My engagement letter states as much.

What I am wondering is if I should include in my engagement letter what happens during an IRS audit. I am thinking that if a client gets audited, I will be asked to assist with various requests and producing documents or reports. As a client, I would expect that from my bookkeeper. However, it is not part of the engagement letter/scope of work, and I would expect it to be time consuming and urgent with certain deadlines for submitting documents. So potentially a big interruption of my general weekly workflow.

Do you wait until it happens and then tell the client an hourly rate for the help? Or is it implied included as your responsibility? Or do you have it outlined up front in your engagement letter?

I am playing, and very much enjoying, Sudoku.Coach. This is my first Sudoku on an app vs pencil and paper.
I am struggling with the game features and controls though. For example, I know how to force chains (on paper), but I can not figure out how to best use the arrows to draw or mark chains. Or how to get candidates colored. Or what the two square boxes do between the hint bulb and the trash can.

Are there video tutorials on how to use the features and controls?

Edit to say thank you so very much for all the detailed and thought-through answers. It was extremely helpful.

Boy, I can’t wait for all the comments about how i have no business doing bookkeeping if I don’t know this, from all the perfect bookkeepers out there, but here I ask anyway. Hoping one or two will answer with something helpful.

Reconciling bank accounts is easy, I have a statement to reconcile against. But what do you reconcile other BS accounts against?
How do you reconcile assets or liabilities?
Why do you need to reconcile those?
Does it make a difference if you are Cash vs Accrual?
What do you use for a reference document?
And how do you technically do it in the system, just change each line to R? There is no reconciliation workflow that I have found.

I really want to master this, and I appreciate all good tips. I use QBO and Xero, and I looked through their training programs but didn’t spot anything helpful.

Please don't spam me with your apps or whatever you created, or didn't create. I'm not looking to sign up for some service.

I am genuinely asking how fellow bookkeepers and accountants check their work.

I am a solo bookkeeper, and I find myself missing coworkers whom I can bounce questions off of, or who can, on occasion, double-check my work.

I am very confident in my general ability to provide this service, so I am not looking for a mentor or training. But I do know that everyone makes the occasional mistake, or just has that brain-fart where you are not quite sure how to handle a specific situation, and it is great to be able to ask someone else to look over your work, like a co-worker.

But I don't have a co-worker.

How do you all handle this?

Like the title says, however, I'm not so much looking to adjust my pricing accordingly and more looking for ways to counter my client's complaint about my rate.

The scenario:

Client's old bookkeeper finally quit to retire and has been handling their books for a long time (don't know how long exactly, 10+ years). Old bookkeeper is not a CPA. Old bookkeeper would submit payroll, payroll taxes and sales taxes. They used a different bookkeeping program, to which I never received access to.

Client has a credit card account, a checking account, a savings account, a few employees, no inventory. Transaction volume on the bank accounts is around 100/month. QBO is connected to the bank accounts, but not their CRM/POS. Square is also connected to QBO and has around 100 transactions per month. Square income and CRM income are for different income streams.

I believe the old bookkeeper just entered whatever numbers client gave them, or basically any deposit was "income" and any money out an expense. There was no review of undeposited funds for example. I already had a few instances where sales according to the CRM were higher than deposits, because the check was forgotten in the till. Same with cash.

Now please sit down for this one......the old bookkeeper charged $150/month for all of this.

I charge by the hour, and I am not looking to change that. For basic bookkeeping like this it's $45/h. I do not run payroll or submit payroll or sales tax. I do, however, provide a sales tax liability report for client to file with. I also do quarterly reviews where I find said undeposited funds, and other odds and ends. I also keep liabilities and income/expenses separate, and client doesn't quite grasp why there is a difference. Because they expressed concern in a rise in the bookkeeping cost, I said I will try to stay at or below 3h (yes, big mistake, I know).

It takes me 4h-5h each month and they are starting to complain.

At least 1h of it is creating sales receipts for each sale they make through the CRM. They did not want to spend the $30/m to connect the two.

How much time do you estimate this would take you? Am I really just too slow and need to up my game here?

I know I can check with each state's department, but I'm pretty sure they both will say that THEY should get the use tax.

I have a client who bought a new custom desk for her office without sales tax, as she has a certificate with that specific vendor for resale as well. So she owes use tax.

She is in the process of moving. The desk was delivered to her office in one state, but was immediately loaded onto a moving truck to be moved to her new home state. She ordered it before the move, and timed delivery for her move. She took possession while still technically residing in the first state, however briefly.

The invoice doesn't show a delivery or billing address, it reads like client pick-up.

I can't decide if state one or state two should get the use tax.

I have clients with sales tax liability in multiple US States. I am looking at the Multistate Tax Commission website and I am trying to figure out what they are exactly for, and if it is benefitial to set up an account.

In my dream world, I would be able to set up, file, and pay sales tax through them with one account to multiple states, but I don't think that's what they do?

If you are or have been using them, can you please explain what this organization does?