Straight answers to common questions.

AccuLedger Services serves businesses throughout Greater Los Angeles, Santa Clarita, Ventura County and the Conejo Valley, including Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Santa Clarita, Valencia and the San Fernando Valley. Because our systems are cloud-based, we can also support clients elsewhere in California.

AccuLedger Services offers bookkeeping, payroll, business tax preparation and planning, fractional controller (outsourced accounting) services, and fractional CFO services. Clients can start with one service and add others as they grow.

We quote a fixed monthly fee based on the scope of work, transaction volume and complexity, so there are no surprise hourly bills. One-time projects, like catch-up bookkeeping or tax returns, are quoted up front. Every engagement starts with a free consultation and a written proposal.

Every client has a dedicated point of contact who knows your business and your numbers, supported by our team for review and specialized work. You will never be passed to a call center or a different person every month.

We use secure, encrypted cloud accounting platforms and a secure portal for documents, connect to your bank with read-only access through your accounting software, and limit access to the team members working on your account. We never ask for your online banking passwords, and we never request sensitive documents by unencrypted email.

After the consultation and proposal, we collect access and documents through a simple checklist, review your current books and processes, complete any cleanup, then begin your regular monthly cycle. Most clients are fully onboarded within a few weeks.

Yes. We meet virtually by default for convenience, and we’re happy to meet in person with clients in the Conejo Valley, Ventura County, Santa Clarita and Greater Los Angeles areas for planning sessions and reviews.

We work with construction and trade contractors, professional services firms, medical and dental practices, real estate and property management companies, e-commerce and retail brands, restaurants, creative businesses, nonprofits and startups.

Bookkeeping pricing depends mainly on monthly transaction volume, the number of bank and credit card accounts, and whether the books need cleanup first. Across the industry, outsourced monthly bookkeeping for small businesses commonly ranges from a few hundred dollars to $1,500 or more per month. AccuLedger quotes a fixed monthly fee after a free consultation, so you know the cost before any work begins.

Bookkeeping is the accurate, day-to-day recording and reconciling of transactions. Accounting builds on that record: it adjusts, reviews, interprets and reports the numbers, and covers work like accruals, financial statements, tax preparation and analysis. AccuLedger provides both, so your books and your reporting come from one accountable team.

Yes. Catch-up and clean-up bookkeeping is one of our most common engagements. We gather bank and card statements, reconcile every account month by month, correct miscategorized transactions, and deliver accurate financial statements. Most businesses then move straight into monthly bookkeeping so they never fall behind again.

We primarily work in QuickBooks Online and Xero, and we can set up, migrate or clean up either one. If you use different software, we’ll review it during your consultation and recommend whether to keep it or move.

You receive a full set of financial statements every month after the books close, along with a short written summary. You can also request reports at any time, and clients on advisory plans get a monthly review meeting.

No. We connect read-only bank and credit card feeds through your accounting software and request statements through a secure portal. We never need, or want, your online banking login.

Full-service payroll covers calculating gross-to-net pay for every employee, paying them by direct deposit, withholding and depositing payroll taxes, filing all federal and state payroll tax returns, and producing year-end W-2s and 1099s. AccuLedger also posts payroll to your books and handles new-hire reporting, so payroll and accounting always agree.

Yes. We pay contractors alongside your employees, collect W-9s, track payments throughout the year, and file and deliver 1099-NEC forms by January 31. We can also help you think through whether a worker should be classified as an employee or a contractor, which is especially important under California’s ABC test.

Yes. We bring over your year-to-date wage and tax totals so W-2s and quarterly filings stay accurate. The start of a new quarter is the cleanest time to switch, but we can transition you at any point.

Yes. If you have employees outside California, we register your business with each state’s tax agencies and handle withholding, unemployment insurance and filings in every state where you have employees.

Send it to us. We review the notice, identify the cause (often a missed deposit, a mismatched filing or a rate change), prepare the response or correction, and adjust the process so it doesn’t happen again.

Typically your federal EIN and California EDD account number, recent payroll registers and year-to-date totals, employee details and pay rates, direct deposit information, and any benefit or deduction details. We send a simple checklist and handle the setup.

For calendar-year businesses, S-corporation (1120-S) and partnership (1065) returns are due March 15, and C-corporation (1120) and individual returns, including Schedule C, are due April 15. A six-month extension is available for each, but an extension gives you more time to file, not more time to pay. Any tax owed is still due by the original deadline.

An S-corp election is often worth evaluating once a business consistently earns roughly $50,000 to $80,000 or more in net profit, because owners can split income between a reasonable salary and distributions that aren’t subject to self-employment tax. The right answer depends on reasonable compensation, California’s 1.5% S-corp franchise tax, payroll costs and your personal situation. We model the numbers for you before you decide.

Tax preparation reports what already happened: it’s the return filed after the year ends. Tax planning happens during the year, while there’s still time to change the outcome through entity choice, retirement contributions, timing of purchases and income, and accurate estimated payments. The biggest savings come from planning.

Generally, yes, if you’re self-employed or own a pass-through business and expect to owe $1,000 or more when you file your federal individual return. Federal estimates are due April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15. California has its own estimated payment schedule. We calculate your estimates from your actual books.

Yes. We reconstruct the books for the missing years if needed, prepare the overdue returns, and help you get back into compliance with the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board.

If we keep your books, we already have most of what we need. Otherwise, you’ll typically need year-end financial statements, bank and credit card statements, payroll reports, 1099s you received and issued, fixed asset purchases, loan statements and the prior year’s return. We send a tailored checklist each year.

A fractional CFO is an experienced chief financial officer who works with a company part-time or on a retainer instead of as a full-time employee. They provide the same strategic work, such as cash flow forecasting, budgeting, financial analysis, KPI reporting and financing strategy, for a set number of hours or days each month.

Common signs include frequent cash surprises, rapid growth, plans to raise capital or take on a loan, shrinking margins, preparing for an acquisition or sale, or an owner spending too much time on finance. Many businesses bring in a fractional CFO somewhere between $1 million and $50 million in annual revenue, when they need strategy but not a full-time executive.

Across the industry, fractional CFO engagements commonly range from about $3,000 to $12,000 or more per month depending on scope, complexity and time commitment, compared with $200,000 to $400,000 or more per year for a full-time CFO. AccuLedger provides a fixed monthly proposal after a free consultation.

It depends on your needs and stage. Many engagements start at a few days per month, with more time during budgeting, fundraising or major decisions. Your fractional CFO is reachable between meetings and attends key lender, investor or leadership meetings with you.

A controller makes sure the numbers are accurate, complete and on time: they own the month-end close, accounting policies and internal controls. A CFO uses those numbers to look forward, through forecasting, strategy, capital and growth decisions. Many growing businesses need both, which is why AccuLedger offers fractional controller and fractional CFO services together.

Yes. We often work alongside an in-house bookkeeper or an outside CPA firm. If your books need to be stronger to support forecasting, we can provide bookkeeping and controller services too, so everything comes from a single source of truth.

A fractional controller manages the accounting function on a part-time basis. Typical responsibilities include running the month-end close, reviewing reconciliations, recording accruals and adjustments, maintaining internal controls, overseeing bookkeepers, and producing accurate monthly financial statements and management reports.

A bookkeeper records and reconciles day-to-day transactions. A controller reviews that work, owns the month-end close, applies accrual accounting and accounting policies, designs internal controls, and is accountable for the accuracy of the financial statements as a whole.

Most businesses benefit from accrual accounting once they carry significant receivables, payables or inventory, have long-running projects, or need financial statements for lenders, investors or a buyer. Accrual is required under GAAP, and the IRS requires it for some larger businesses. We can keep accrual books for management while your tax return uses the method that is best for you.

Yes. We prepare audit-ready books, reconciliations and supporting schedules, and we manage the "prepared by client" request list. The audit itself must be performed by an independent CPA firm. We work alongside them so the process is faster and less disruptive.

Absolutely. Many clients keep an in-house bookkeeper or AP clerk while we provide controller-level review, close management and reporting. We document processes and train your team as part of the engagement.

Once your accounts and processes are established, most clients receive their monthly close package within the first few weeks of the following month. We agree on a close calendar with you up front and report against it.

Yes. AccuLedger Services provides bookkeeping, payroll, tax and fractional CFO services to businesses in Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Newbury Park, Agoura Hills, Oak Park and Calabasas, with in-person meetings available throughout the Conejo Valley.

Yes. We serve businesses throughout Ventura County, including Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Ojai, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula and Fillmore.

Yes. We work with businesses across the Santa Clarita Valley, including Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country, Stevenson Ranch and Castaic.

Yes. We serve Greater Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Burbank, Glendale, Pasadena and Santa Monica. Most of our work is done securely in the cloud, with in-person meetings when helpful.