What is an Enrolled Agent?

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally-authorized tax practitioner who has technical experience in the field of taxation and who is empowered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to represent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the Internal Revenue Service for audits, collections and appeals.  EAs are the only tax professionals who may represent clients in any part of the country.

Enrolled Agents advise, represent, and prepare tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts and any entities with tax-reporting requirements.  Enrolled Agents’ expertise in the continually changing field of taxation enables them to effectively represent taxpayers audited by the IRS.  EAs adhere to a strict code of ethics and professional conduct and are required by the IRS to complete annual continuing professional education.

What does the term “Enrolled Agent” mean?

“Enrolled” means to be licensed to practice by the federal government, and “Agent” means authorized to appear in the place of the taxpayer at the IRS. Only Enrolled Agents, attorneys, and CPAs may represent taxpayers before the IRS. The Enrolled Agent profession dates back to 1884 when, after questionable claims had been presented for Civil War losses, Congress acted to regulate persons who represented citizens in their dealings with the U.S. Treasury Department.

How does one become an Enrolled Agent?

The license is earned in one of two ways, by passing a comprehensive examination which covers all aspects of the tax code, or having worked at the IRS for five years in a position which regularly interpreted and applied the tax code and its regulations. All candidates are subjected to a rigorous background check conducted by the IRS.

How can Enrolled Agent help me?

Enrolled Agents advise, represent, and prepare tax returns for individuals, partnerships, corporations, estates, trusts, and any entities with tax-reporting requirements. Enrolled Agents’ expertise in the continually changing field of taxation enables them to effectively represent taxpayers audited by the IRS.

How much do we charge?

Income Tax services: Our fees are based on the complexity of your tax return.
Bookkeeping: We charge an hourly rate.
Payroll: Per employee based fees.

Please call us at 707-526-2254 for specific pricing information.

In general, we:

• Charge a fixed price for each tax form and worksheet used in the preparation of your tax return
• A per-item charge may be applied for certain items like stock sales and depreciation
• Do not charge for line-items such as interest income, unemployment and dependents

Why should I hire a bookkeeper?

Just as you are an expert in your personal business; We are experts in what we do. We assume these responsibilities so you can focus on what you do best. You might need a bookkeeper for many different reasons, from day to day bookkeeping to financial analysis, to paying your bills, to keeping track of your expenses.

Why not hire a CPA?

Certified Public Accountants (CPA’s) are licensed in accounting. The services of a CPA are required to audit and review financial statements.

However, you don’t need to hire a CPA to perform your monthly bookkeeping tasks. CPA’s notoriously charge rates in excess of $150 an hour. There’s no need to pay CPA rates for bookkeeping services.

If you already have a CPA, and are happy with their work, you can still make smarter use of your money. A lot of their time is spent gathering information, organizing, classifying and reconciling your records to create annual reports and income tax filings. We can do that for less!

Why should I hire someone part time?

We can tailor our services to meet your needs, whether it is 10 hours a week or just a few hours each month. With an employee, even part-time you have to add the cost of payroll taxes, benefits, workers comp, disability and administration. Hiring an independent bookkeeper who is dedicated to providing the degree of service your business requires makes good business sense.

How does it work?

I can either do the work in your office or set up a convenient time to pick up the work at your location and return it to your office when completed

Is my business too small for you to provide services to me?

We specialize in small business. Our clients range from sole proprietors to S Corps. We cater to the companies that don’t have the workload to make it practical to hire even a regular part-time bookkeeper, but likewise don’t enjoy or have the time for doing the books themselves.

Why choose our payroll service?

• You will work directly with an experienced payroll representative, not a data entry clerk.
• We offer tax preparation, accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll all under one roof. This means we are knowledgeable about your company and can offer you informed advice on how payroll rules affect you and your employees.
• Our fees are assessed at a rate separate from our bookkeeping rates and are often significantly lower than fees charged by the larger national payroll companies and our service is more personalized.

How do I begin my payroll service?

It is our pleasure to work as your payroll service. We require the following information to start your payroll:

• Your business’ federal EIN Number (If you do not have an EIN, we can obtain one for you)
• Your business’ California Identification Number (EIN) (if you do not have an Ein, we can obtain one for you)
• If you are switching from another payroll service company, we will need your year-to-date payroll figures and payroll reports.
• Business Address
• Completed Form W4 for each current and new employee hired
• Completed Form I9 for each current and new employee hired

If you want us to initiate your payroll deposits through EFTPS, we will need the following:

• Your business checking account number
• Bank’s branch name and address
• A cancelled check from the bank account your company will issue payroll through
• If you want us to issue employee payroll through direct deposit, we will need your banking information and a cancelled check from each employee who will be receiving payroll through direct deposit.