What am I looking for? Accountant? CPA? Finance person?

[johnp]

I'm not so great with finances and tax and I'm curious if anyone here can point me in the right direction of what I need here.

As we head into this next tax season I want to finally get my finances under control. My situation looks like this:

- Full time job in the six figure range
- My own single-member LLC SaaS making low six figures, but only taking about 33% out in profit
- Cashed out one of my 401Ks for an investment instead of waiting until I die to get it, so now have tax complications there
- Need to add my wife to payroll of my business and open up a retirement fund for her
- Crypto investments which means possible capital gains text depending on what I do
- Need to improve quickbooks for my business or something similar. My bookkeeping is horrible


So here's my question.

It feels like I need a tax professional, CPA, and personal finance person. This is obviously something that I'm really clueless in and it's going to cost me (if it hasn't already).

Is there any sort of person who does all of this? Do I just need to find a CPA who does tax, personal finance, etc?

I know this is a just "Google it" thing but I'm honestly very confused about where to start. The last time I hired a tax prep service they were only good for the tax prep but my situation is now. way more complex.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

 

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[Bounce Back]

Yeah this sounds like pretty run of the mill CPA work/questions if you just wanted confirmation. Get yourself quickbooks online (QBO) if you want and a proper can get you set up with a good chart of accounts. Have a list of your most common in/out situations and ask how to record each so you have a little blueprint for the future. QBO also then has an "Ask my accountant" feature your CPA may use for future questions - mine just lets me email though once you consistently do your bookkeeping each month you will find eventually you know 99% of it off the top of your head.

Nothing here sounded too crazy.

 

[Beerbread]

Depending on how many transactions you have, you can reconcile your accounts quarterly. Don't forget to put anything that isn't related to your business as Owners Draw, your CPA will thank you.

Also, setup some bank feeds on QuickBooks Online (or Desktop) if you haven't already. Make some rules on common transactions you have every month (ex: Amazon - Office Supplies.) You can get really specific with the to include other vendors too based on the memo and it'll be a big timesaver for you.

 

[johnp]

Thanks @Bounce Back and @Beerbread! That makes sense. I setup Quickbooks online and have been paying for it for about 2 years but ran into a ton of issue with things syncing up properly and it's a mess. Sounds like I just need to pay someone to go in and spend a couple of hrs cleaning it up.

On the tax prep side, I really don't want to do anything myself and I'm looking for someone who I can consult with as my situation gets more complex. I've been using a tax prep service over the last couple of years which has been good for just getting the taxes done, but there's always very limited interaction with them and I don't know if they're actually helping me.

There's another thing that I'm trying to figure out too that make the situation a little more complex. Like putting my wife the payroll and investing some of the money into a retirement plan or something for her.

I'm realizing that I'm at the point now where I've been winging it for too long and it's going to come back to bite me.

So it sounds like I need to focus more on using quickbooks and possibly get a CPA to consult with.

 

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[ZCP]

See if this helps ....this is a normal problem in your spot with W2 / company ownership / investments. AND you need to be CLEAR what you want when you are trying to find these people. Then hold them accountable for providing ALL of it.

Tax prep personal ... filling out the forms, submitting to IRS, following the rules. This unfortunately is all that most people get. AND all they will do for you if you are not clear what you need!

Tax planning .... working through your particular personal situation and your companies and your long term wealth plans and making a custom plan BEFORE the situation occurs. lot of 'if-then' and 'what if' planning. THIS is what you currently need. you have to be very clear if you go to a CPA or they will just do tax prep. push them for full answers. google and fact check them. Know your situation so you understand what needs to be done. Do NOT leave this solely up to them or you will get what they want vs what you want.

Tax attorney .... reviews what the first two did and breaks the tie. knows the laws and where they can be bent. gives counter advice so you can make decisions

Bookkeeper ... someone to follow your SOPs and enter your company financial data into your accounting software on a consistent basis in the same way on the same day in the same format over and over and over again. takes adjustments from the CPA and keeps the books updated and the reports flowing

Tax prep / planning business .... CPA that takes your monthly or quarterly books and makes adjustments to keep revenue / costs in the same time period so you have accurate information / reporting to run your business. Looks for tax credits and other gov't programs to apply for and employ. Often also handles your personal so it is all together.

CFO .... your company person (can hire fractional until you get bigger). really focuses on what the company needs. uses all the other resources to plan / push / fight / advocate for what the owner of the company wants and holds the entire company (including the owner!) accountable.

 

[Kevin88660]

I'm not so great with finances and tax and I'm curious if anyone here can point me in the right direction of what I need here.

As we head into this next tax season I want to finally get my finances under control. My situation looks like this:

- Full time job in the six figure range
- My own single-member LLC SaaS making low six figures, but only taking about 33% out in profit
- Cashed out one of my 401Ks for an investment instead of waiting until I die to get it, so now have tax complications there
- Need to add my wife to payroll of my business and open up a retirement fund for her
- Crypto investments which means possible capital gains text depending on what I do
- Need to improve quickbooks for my business or something similar. My bookkeeping is horrible


So here's my question.

It feels like I need a tax professional, CPA, and personal finance person. This is obviously something that I'm really clueless in and it's going to cost me (if it hasn't already).

Is there any sort of person who does all of this? Do I just need to find a CPA who does tax, personal finance, etc?

I know this is a just "Google it" thing but I'm honestly very confused about where to start. The last time I hired a tax prep service they were only good for the tax prep but my situation is now. way more complex.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

There is no need for professional advice rather than googling and following sop to fill up the paperworks and pay whatever tax you have to.

Unless you have a specific question to ask.

Like the brokerage account that gives you highest interest on idle cash.

How to prepare your tax this year for maximum amt of loan application next year.

The impact of cashing out crypto gain on your tax bracket.

These are the qns that you can technically google and learn but it will be much faster by speaking to someone directly.

 

[johnp]

There is no need for professional advice rather than googling and following sop to fill up the paperworks and pay whatever tax you have to.

Unless you have a specific question to ask.

Makes sense and thanks for your insights. I think 2024 is going to be the more complex year for me and 2023 taxes should be pretty easy for the most part. I just have no desire or time to do it myself. Even if it's just a few hours of filling in an SOP. I'd rather just pay someone to do all the prep for me.

What I'll plan to do is use the company that I used before then follow some of ZCP's advice to start tax and finance planning for the 2024 year.

See if this helps ....this is a normal problem in your spot with W2 / company ownership / investments. AND you need to be CLEAR what you want when you are trying to find these people. Then hold them accountable for providing ALL of it.

Tax prep personal ... filling out the forms, submitting to IRS, following the rules. This unfortunately is all that most people get. AND all they will do for you if you are not clear what you need!

Tax planning .... working through your particular personal situation and your companies and your long term wealth plans and making a custom plan BEFORE the situation occurs. lot of 'if-then' and 'what if' planning. THIS is what you currently need. you have to be very clear if you go to a CPA or they will just do tax prep. push them for full answers. google and fact check them. Know your situation so you understand what needs to be done. Do NOT leave this solely up to them or you will get what they want vs what you want.

Tax attorney .... reviews what the first two did and breaks the tie. knows the laws and where they can be bent. gives counter advice so you can make decisions

Bookkeeper ... someone to follow your SOPs and enter your company financial data into your accounting software on a consistent basis in the same way on the same day in the same format over and over and over again. takes adjustments from the CPA and keeps the books updated and the reports flowing

Tax prep / planning business .... CPA that takes your monthly or quarterly books and makes adjustments to keep revenue / costs in the same time period so you have accurate information / reporting to run your business. Looks for tax credits and other gov't programs to apply for and employ. Often also handles your personal so it is all together.

CFO .... your company person (can hire fractional until you get bigger). really focuses on what the company needs. uses all the other resources to plan / push / fight / advocate for what the owner of the company wants and holds the entire company (including the owner!) accountable.

@ZCP - this is HUGE help and has been one of the best breakdowns that I've seen. Thank you so much!

 

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[ZCP]

give them 2021, 2022, and 2023.
see what they find you should have done different.
then refile and get that money.
use that info and money to pay for 2024 planning

if they don't find anything, fire them and try someone else. no way it was optimal with your current setup / vendors / advisors!