Bookkeeping for US businesses

Forming an LLC or Corporation is just the start. Once the business is running, the routine begins: tracking income and expenses, categorizing transactions, reconciling bank statements, generating reports for tax filings. Without bookkeeping you don't know your real profit (just bank balance, which is misleading). You can't separate business and personal transactions clearly — and IRS expects this separation. You can't take advantage of deductions you didn't track. You'll struggle to prepare an accurate annual tax return. For S-Corp and C-Corp owners, the IRS requires formal accounting books — for Form 1120/1120-S filing. For LLCs, while not strictly required by law, it becomes practically necessary at $50K+ revenue or once you have employees, multiple income sources, or significant expenses. I handle this entire routine remotely. You don't touch a spreadsheet, and at year-end your CPA (me or your other tax pro) has clean books ready for tax filing.

💼 LLC with active income >$50K/year — without bookkeeping it's hard to track real profit, prepare qualified Schedule C for 1040. Risk: missed deductions, IRS audit due to mismatched bank/return data. 🏢 S-Corporation / C-Corporation — IRS requires formal accounting for Form 1120/1120-S. No clean books = rejected return or audit. 🛒 E-commerce (Amazon, Shopify, Etsy) — multiple platforms, multiple bank accounts, sales tax tracking. Manual tracking takes 10+ hours/week, errors lead to overpaid sales tax. 👥 Business with employees — payroll requires monthly accounting (FICA, withholding, state tax). Payroll provider only handles wages — bookkeeping integrates everything. 🤝 Multiple contractors (1099) — need to track payments per contractor + W-9s + year-end 1099-NEC filing. 🏠 Real estate investors — rental income, depreciation, mortgage interest — all tracked separately per property for Schedule E. 📈 Planning to scale or sell — buyer wants 3 years of clean P&L statements. Without bookkeeping you can't even prove your asking price.