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SERVICES
Two ways to begin. One relationship after that.
Most engagements start in one of two places. Either there is a mess to clean — months or years of books to rebuild, returns to file — or the foundation is sound and what is needed is the ongoing work that keeps it that way. Below: what each one actually is, and what working together looks like.
/ START HERE IF THERE'S A MESS
Cleanup Engagement
Months or years of unreconciled books rebuilt into a usable system. Unfiled returns brought current. Scoped, flat-fee, no judgement.
/ START HERE IF YOU'RE READ TO BUILD
Services for Lab Clients
The ongoing work -- bookkeeping, controller, payroll, tax prep, quarterly filings, year-round strategy. Inside the business with you.
THE CLEANUP PATHWAY
Cleanup Engagement
For when the books are behind, the returns are unfiled, or the system never quite worked.
The mess is the reason to start, not the reason to wait.
Most cleanups arrive in one of two shapes. Either there is a system that needs fixing — months or years of data sitting in QuickBooks or a spreadsheet that nobody trusts — or there is no system at all, and what we are really doing is building one from the records you do have so it can be implemented going forward.
The second half of cleanup is often the returns. Years unfiled, a notice on the desk, a stomach that hurts every time the mailbox opens. As an Enrolled Agent I can file the back returns, represent you with the IRS while we do, and get you current — quietly, in order, without theatre.
/ TRACK A
Books in disarray
When there is data in a system but it does not reconcile, or when the system itself was never set up the way the business actually runs.
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Reconciliation — months or years of bank, credit card, and merchant accounts brought to true.
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Chart of accounts rebuild — restructured to match how this business actually earns and spends.
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Categorization & cleanup — every transaction reviewed, categorizations corrected, owner draws and reimbursements separated.
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Opening balances — verified and tied out so what comes after is trustworthy.
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Implementation handoff — a clean system handed back to you, or moved into ongoing AMS engagement.
/ typical: 2–8 weeks · QuickBooks Online, Digits, or Xero · scoped flat fee
/ TRACK B
Years of unfiled taxes
When personal or business returns are behind. Some are notices, some are quiet. Both get the same protocol — current, in order, with you not having to look.
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Records reconstruction — what we have, what we need, where to find the rest. From bank statements forward.
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Back-year preparation — federal and state, business and personal, in the order the IRS prefers them.
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IRS representation — Enrolled Agent representation, including penalty abatement and installment agreement requests where appropriate.
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Notices & correspondence — handled directly with the Service. You stop opening certified mail.
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Forward plan — the system that prevents the next set of unfiled returns from happening.
/ typical: 4–12 weeks · 1–6 years · scoped flat fee · POA filed at engagement
HOW A CLEANUP RUNS
Four steps · scoped at the start · no surprises
Step 01
Discovery Call
A 30-minute conversation. What's there, what's missing, what's keeping you up at night. No commitment.
Step 02
Scope & flat fee
I review what you have access to and write a fixed-fee proposal. You see the price before you decide. No hourly billing.
Step 03
The work
Reconciliation, rebuild, returns. Weekly check-ins so you always know where things stand. POA filed if we're talking to the IRS.
Step 04
Handoff or ongoing
You get a clean system back, or we move directly into Ascent or Breakthrough Lab. Most clients choose ongoing.
ONGOING · MONTHLY · 6 -MONTH MINIMUM
Services for Lab Clients
The ongoing work. Inside the business with you. Ascent Lab and Breakthrough Lab engagements.
Inside the business -- not just available at filing time.
Once the foundation is sound, the relationship moves from project to ongoing. The ongoing work is what most service business owners actually need and have rarely had — someone who keeps the books current every month, watches the tax position every quarter, runs payroll the way it should be run, and asks questions about decisions before they're made, not after.
These services are how Ascent Lab and Breakthrough Lab get delivered. They are not sold à la carte; they are how the engagement runs.
Monthly bookkeeping
Books closed monthly, not quarterly, not annually. Reconciled bank, credit, and merchant accounts. A clean P&L and balance sheet you can read without translating.
Cadence · Monthly close · 10-day SLA
Federal & State tax prep
Business and personal returns prepared by an Enrolled Agent. S-corp, partnership, sole prop, single-member LLC. Filed accurately, on time, and reviewed against the strategy we've been running all year.
Returns · 1040 · 1120-S · 1065 · Sch C · State
Controller-level oversight
A second pair of eyes above the bookkeeper — for accuracy, classification, owner pay, equity entries, and anything that touches the balance sheet. Where the books actually become decision-grade.
Cadence · Monthly review · quarterly sign-off
Quarterly filing & estimates
Estimated tax calculated against current-year income, not last year's safe harbor. Sales tax where it applies. Payroll quarterlies. The small things that become large surprises if missed.
Cadence · 941 · 1040-ES · State · Quarterly review
Payroll, run properly
Implementation, oversight, and ongoing administration through Gusto, ADP, or QuickBooks Payroll — owner's choice. Owner pay set correctly. W-2s, 1099s, and quarterly returns filed on time.
Platforms · Gusto · ADP · QuickBooks Payroll
Year-round tax strategy
The work tax compliance is not. Entity structure. Owner compensation. Retirement vehicles. Equipment timing. Decisions made before December — when they can still be made
Cadence · Quarterly business review · ad-hoc consults included
Payroll, on the platform you use.
The ongoing work. Inside the business with you. Ascent Lab and Breakthrough Lab engagements.
/ Recommended for Most
Gusto
Clean UX, strong contractor handling, integrates well with the books. Most service businesses end up here.
/ Larger teams - multi state
ADP
For practices with W-2 staff across states or HR complexity that warrants the heavier platform.
/ Already in Quickbooks
QB Payroll
When the books and payroll need to live in the same place and the rest of the case calls for it.
Two doors. Same relationship. Start with whichever one fits the situation you're actually in.
Begin with the free Business Clarity Assessment — seven minutes, scored across five dimensions, immediate results. Or book a discovery call directly if you already know which door you're walking through.