Expert Core Advisory Services

Core Subscription Advisory Services

1. Comprehensive Review of Previous Tax Returns & Bookkeeping Cleanup

As part of our due diligence requirements, we will review at a minimum your prior year’s tax return. However, we believe the more years’ returns we have access to gives us better insight into your overall business and personal financial health that will allow us to be better advisors to you and ensure we capture all items of income and deduction for your tax returns. Thus, we will request at least the prior two years’ tax returns for review; while there, we will look for any amendment opportunities to take advantage of while we put together your tax plan moving forward. Along with, and in support of the tax returns, we will request bookkeeping documents such as your Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, General Ledger statements, and any other applicable statements we may need. Once the prior years are reviewed and cleaned up, we will start on the current year (any pressing deadlines or issues for the current year will be handled before prior years).

2. Initial & Ongoing Guidance on Business Entity Structuring – As needed

There are many advantages and disadvantages to each legal business entity for the business, legal, and tax purposes. The overall goals of the business owner(s), as well as some States’ requirements, will drive the required entity structure(s). There are different entity types for consideration that are most suitable for operations or active income-producing activity than there are for investment/holding company or passive income-producing activity. Oftentimes initial goals expand and/or change that then require adding other entities to your entity structure or reorganizing already existing entities. Either way, we will be there for you as a resource to assist in your decision-making!

3. Collaborative Bookkeeping – Monthly (30min Review)

We will collaborate with you on your monthly bookkeeping by setting up the Chart of Accounts, categorizing business expenses, performing bank and credit card account reconciliations, storing digital copies of business receipts for recordkeeping, and overall optimizing the books for tax and management reporting purposes. We suggest our clients maintain control of the administration of Payroll and Vendor/Contractor payments as these are the two largest expenses of any business that owners should monitor closely. However, Payroll Services can be provided under MyController or MyCFO subscriptions. For quality and efficiency purposes, we strictly work with any web-based bookkeeping programs such as QuickBooks and Xero, among others.

4. Business Tax Return for Operating Entity – Yearly (1 Hour Review)

Whether your business entity is a C Corporation that files Form 1120, an S Corporation that files Form 1120S, or a partnership that files Form 1065, we will prepare the Federal income tax return based on the bookkeeping activity that we have already collaborated on together. The proactive approach to collaborative bookkeeping, the tax planning meeting, the tax projections, and the management reports will allow us to file the return on time, having already planned for and anticipated all items reported on the tax return.

5. Holding Company Tax Return – Yearly (1 Hour Review)*

For the business owner that has a holding company entity in addition to a main operating business that holds investments and/or rental properties, in the form of a Family Partnership, we will prepare and file the respective Form 1065.

6. Individual Tax Returns (Business Owner) – Yearly (1 Hour Review)

In addition to your business entity return, we will prepare and file your Federal and State Individual Income Tax Returns. We believe consistency and continuity are key to tax planning; some tax strategies are difficult or impossible to implement if we will not also be preparing your individual tax return. This is only for one owner of the business under MyAccountant, two owners under MyController, and 3+ owners under MyCFO.

7. Low Complexity Individual Tax Returns of Up to Two Family Members – Yearly*

Some tax strategies like hiring children or other family members in the business or being a partner in a Family LLP may require the family member(s) to file an Individual Tax Return(s) they otherwise would not be required to. Also, we recognize that oftentimes lower income family members that live with you may have a filing requirement and you want to take care of it for them.

8. Sales Tax Return Preparation – Monthly/Quarterly*

For businesses that have taxable sales on products or services for sales tax purposes, we will prepare and assist in filing the State Sales Tax Return on the required monthly or quarterly deadline filing schedule.

9. Business Personal Property Tax Return Preparation – Yearly (30min Review)*

Many states assess a property tax on personal property used in a business such as furniture, computer equipment, other equipment, vehicles, inventory, and supplies. If your business is located in such a State, has taxable personal property, and meets the filing requirements, we will prepare and assist in filing the annual Personal Property Tax Return with your County.

10. Yearly Tax Planning Meeting – 2 Hours*

The yearly tax planning meeting will take place sometime in the first quarter of the year (January, February, March) after the books are finalized for the prior year but before the filing of the business and individual tax returns. The two main goals of the tax planning meeting will be to (1) discuss prior year activity; whether goals were met, whether tax liability has been fully paid, any additional items to be reported, and whether deductible retirement and healthcare contributions will be paid by the filing deadline, and any additional tax strategies to be implemented; and (2) plan for the current year; whether new tax strategies will be implemented, whether a Line of Credit is needed to support cash needs, to plan for estimated tax payments or put together a Salary Schedule; plan retirement and healthcare contributions, capital expenditures, and discuss any plans to buy or sell a business.

11. Tax Projections – Yearly or As Needed (30min Review)*

Upon signing up with us for the first time (and yearly thereafter), we will request from you copies of your tax returns from the previous two years as well as information/data for the current year, to put together business and individual tax projections for the current year to plan for any tax liability that might be owed at the time we file your tax returns. This exercise will allow us to get familiar with where you’ve been and to plan for where you’re going; to stay compliant, avoid tax penalties, pay as little in taxes as possible, and build more wealth! The tax projection after the first year will be performed in October or November and utilize the accounting data for the period of January through September (3 quarters) and extrapolate the final 4th quarter of the year while adjusting for planned or known income and expense items to be received or expensed in that quarter.

12. Calculation of Quarterly Estimated Tax Payments – Quarterly

For business owners who are not on the payroll, we will calculate for you the quarterly estimated tax payment required to avoid the IRS underpayment penalty and interest. Estimated tax payments are required, generally, if you will owe more than $1,000 on your tax return at the time of filing. These payments are due quarterly on (1) April 15, (2) June 15, (3) September 15, and (4) January 15. If you are on payroll under your business, then we will account for your total tax liability (on business and other income) through income tax withholdings and reported on your W-2 from the business. See Salary Schedule next.

13. Salary Schedule – Yearly or As Needed (1 Hour Review)*

For business owners who pay themselves wages through their business, we will utilize your tax projection, with consideration of your business and tax goals, to put together a semi-monthly or monthly payroll schedule to ensure you are taking reasonable compensation per tax rules and regulations (S-Corps), ensure sufficient tax withholdings to avoid underpayment penalties and interest, and to plan for and maximize retirement contributions, health care contributions, and their corresponding tax deductions. The salary schedule will be prepared in December of each year to plan the salary, withholdings, retirement and healthcare contributions, and overall personal cash needs of the owner for each month or part of a month.

14. IRS Tax Notice Resolution*

One of the main goals of VTA is to address any compliance issues you may have with the IRS. Forward your tax notices to us for review and resolution and we will correspond with the IRS on your behalf. We will need you to sign Form 2848 to authorize us to represent you before the IRS on specified tax issues for specified tax years.

15. Management Reports – Monthly (30min Review)*

We will provide management reports that show month-to-month trends on income and expenses that help owners monitor production, overhead, wages, and overall cash flow needs. These reports can be tailored to the needs of owners to provide the necessary data or Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to make sound management decisions and to plan for cash needs to pay vendors and employees, pay for capital expenditures, and to make owner distributions.

16. General Guidance on Estate & Trust Fiduciary Administration and Settlement*

Oftentimes family members will see you as the most fit to deal with their assets after they’ve passed and will list you, with or without prior knowledge, as a trustee or executor of their estate. Trustees and Executors are bestowed with the responsibility of administering and settling trusts and estates, respectively. Lack of familiarity with these processes can lead to unintended negative tax implications for the trust/estate as well as for the beneficiaries. We can help guide you in your fiduciary duty to do what’s best for the trust/estate and the beneficiaries.

17. Estate or Trust Income Tax Return Form 1041*

There is an Income Tax Return filing requirement for assets that continue to generate income after the owner has passed, whether a part of the owner’s estate or formally owned by a trust the owner previously had set up. This filing requirement remains for any year that the assets continue to generate income and where the assets have yet to be distributed to the beneficiaries. There will be a final return for the year in which the assets are distributed, and trust or estate is settled/closed out.

18. Gift Tax Return Form 709 – As Needed*

Any gift to any individual of a value more than the annual gift exclusion amount is required to be reported on Form 709. Generally, no tax will be due unless the lifetime exclusion amount has been exceeded, which currently is around $11 million. A married couple can gift to any one individual 2x the annual gift exclusion as they are two persons (gift-splitting). However, many get trapped into a filing requirement due to some nuances of the gift-splitting rules depending on the state in which you reside.

19. Social Media & Marketing Consulting*

The most important aspect of running any business is your presence and reputation before the Public. To gain the Public’s business you must have a presence to which the public can connect and a way to communicate your values and your services (reputation). We offer a free 1-hour consultation with an independent Social Media & Marketing Consultant to take your Public presence and reputation to the next level! After the free 1 hour consultation, you can decide whether to utilize the Consultant’s ongoing Social Media & Marketing service offerings.

20. Unlimited Collaboration with Third-Party Firms to Coordinate and Foster Communication regarding Your Overall Business, Tax, and Estate Planning (e.g., attorneys, retirement plan agents, etc)
To facilitate comprehensive Financial & Estate planning, we recognize that timely and ongoing communication with parties that are involved in the financial and estate planning process – such as attorneys, financial planners, and third-party administrators of retirement plans – is crucial to reaching the goals of the plan. We want to be dependable and reliable to you as you build your future!

21. Same-Day Email Follow-Up

With an outsourced accountant, it’s not as easy as walking into their office down the hall for a question. So, to maintain this benefit for our clients we promise same-day email response for emails sent before 4 pm CST; next day response for emails sent after 4 pm CST of the previous day. In our initial response, you can expect one or a combination of the following: (1) a Direct response to your inquiry with a resolution, (2) Clarifying questions to ensure understanding, (3) a Request for a delay to research the fact patterns of your inquiry, and/or (4) Awaiting response from third parties. Most initial responses will be generated within 1 hour of receipt as we monitor emails as they come in.

22. As Needed Zoom Planning Meetings Up to 1 Hour Per Meeting Semi-Monthly*

To stay ahead of the planning game, virtual meetings often work better than email when expressing goals and any concerns. So, feel free to schedule a 1-hour meeting up to twice per month!