Books that are ready for your CPA every month, not just in April.
Tax season should not be a cleanup project. When your books are accurate all year, your CPA can spend their time on your tax return and your tax strategy instead of untangling your records. You also stop paying a CPA’s hourly rate to fix categorization.
For S-Corp owners, there is more to get right. The S-Corp election can save real money on self-employment tax, but it comes with rules. You have to pay yourself a reasonable salary through payroll, keep wages and distributions clearly separate, and handle shareholder health insurance the way the IRS expects. These are the places I see S-Corp books go wrong most often, and they are much easier to set up correctly than to fix after the fact.
I reconcile and categorize your books every month so they are ready whenever your CPA needs them. At year-end, your CPA gets clean financials, a balance sheet that ties out, and quick answers to their questions without weeks of back-and-forth.
Your salary needs to run through payroll as W-2 wages, with withholdings and payroll taxes recorded correctly. I set up and run officer payroll through QuickBooks Online Payroll (or review payroll from your current provider) so your wages, tax liabilities, and filings all line up with your books.
The IRS requires S-Corp owners to pay themselves a reasonable salary before taking distributions. I work with you and your CPA to land on a number you can defend, then make sure your payroll actually follows it. As the year goes on, I watch how your salary compares to your profit and flag it early if the two drift apart.
If you own more than 2% of your S-Corp, health insurance the company pays for you has to be added to your W-2 wages for the tax treatment to work. It is one of the most commonly missed S-Corp steps. I make sure the premiums are recorded correctly and included in payroll before year-end.
Your salary comes through payroll. Distributions are recorded separately and clearly labeled. There is no question about which is which, and that protects you if your return is ever reviewed.
S-Corp and tax compliance work is usually part of a monthly bookkeeping engagement, because tax-ready books come from steady monthly work, not a year-end scramble. If you are thinking about making the S-Corp election, I can help you look at your numbers first so you and your CPA can decide whether the math works.
I am a bookkeeper, not a CPA. I do not prepare tax returns or give tax advice. I keep your books and payroll in the shape your CPA needs, and I work directly with them so nothing falls through the cracks.
Want to read more first? Start with how to know it’s time for an S-Corp and how much to pay yourself as an S-Corp owner.
If tax season feels like a fire drill, or you are not sure your S-Corp payroll is set up right, let’s take a look. Book a free 15-minute call.
Book a Free 15-Minute Call