How quickly can you get your books in order, receive advice and monthly financial statements, and get your taxes filed? With CSI's monthly accounting service, it might be faster than you think.
Whether you're eager to tell a lender when to expect monthly statements, wondering how long your back work project or tax filing will take, or just excited to start receiving monthly accounting benefits, let's talk about how long our processes take.
CSI Accounting & Payroll has worked with thousands of small businesses over the last 50+ years. Most of the time, these owners who are curious about timelines want to know:
- How long will my back work and back taxes take?
- Moving forward, when do you need my financial data each month?
- How quickly can CSI close my books and create my financial statements each month?
- How often will I get to meet with my accountant?
- When will my annual taxes get filed? When can I expect a refund?
How Long Does Back Work Take?
What Are Back Taxes & Back Work?
Back taxes (previous years' unfiled or unpaid taxes) and back work (bookkeeping that has fallen behind or has been done incorrectly) mean different things but often occur together. If someone needs back taxes handled, they typically need back work done, too.
If you're starting with CSI, so we can guarantee your books and provide audit representation, back work must be completed before financial statements can be generated.
Timeline for Back Work
Falling behind is more common than you think, yet many accounting firms don't provide back work services. Since there's a huge demand for this service and we need to be thorough, it can take more time than some business owners expect... but it all comes down to how quickly you give us the information we need to get started.
After we get the information we requested, one year’s worth of back work and back taxes will take us at least 60-90 days.
Since the initial setup takes the longest, each consecutive year will be done faster. To date, our largest back work project of 10 years' worth of work did not exceed six months because they gave us the information we needed. Read more about CSI 's back work projects here.
When Do You Need My Information Each Month?
What Data We Need
In your onboarding initial strategy sessions, we make a list of information we'll need from you each month. These lists vary greatly by different businesses, but often include things like:
- Copies of your bank statements for the month
- Copies of your credit card statements for the month
- Sales reports for the month
- A journal of the assets you purchased during that month
Worried about forgetting to send us everything on your list every month? Skip the manual work by granting us third-party access to things like your business's POS system, bank accounts, and credit card accounts, so we can pull the required information on our own.
When We Need It
After a calendar month is over, we need to have all that month's data within seven days. For example, if January is finished and it is now February, you need to provide your accountant with all of your January information by February 7.
As a reminder, to skip the manual work, we encourage all of our clients to grant us online access as a third party so we can pull the data immediately when we need it. That's how you get everything done the fastest!
When Does CSI Close My Books & Make Financial Statements?
Once we have that month’s information, a typical turnaround for us completing your books and generating your monthly financial statements is 7-10 business days, but they will be done by the end of the current month.
Please note: We work on our clients’ books on a first come, first served basis. The clients who give us all of their data first or who have granted third-party access will have their books done first.
If you are still getting your back work done, your books may take longer, as your back work is our priority before moving forward. We also will not be able to generate any financial statements or file tax returns until your back work is completed, as they wouldn't be accurate.
When Do I Meet With My Accountant?
Regular Meetings
While you have free, unlimited contact with your dedicated accountant, most of our clients choose a structured meeting if they want to have a more in-depth discussion. Meetings are optional, though!
In regular meetings (sometimes called monthly meetings, but can occur any time), you might ask your accountant to analyze your statements with you. You may even want to talk about your current situation or future goals. There's no set agenda, so you decide what you want to talk about!
Tax Planning Meetings
If you prioritize tax savings, we wouldn't recommend skipping these tax planning meetings!
We typically have at least two major tax discussions per year: one around April or May (to reflect on how you did from a tax perspective and where you’re starting the next tax year), and one around October or November (to prepare for the upcoming tax season).
When Will My Taxes Get Filed & My Refund Come?
Filing Taxes
Just like with monthly bookkeeping, your business and individual taxes will be filed by the deadline if we have all of the information we need from you. We only put clients on extension if we are missing data that is required to file.
Federal & State Tax Refunds
If you are expecting a tax refund, that comes from the government, not from your accountant! We can't promise a timeline for this one.
See the status of your federal refund here.
As for your state refund:
- See the status of your MN state refund here.
- See the status of your MD state refund here.
- For other states, please visit your state government's website.
Get Financial Statements Every Month
It’s a great sign that you want to know about due dates and timelines associated with monthly accounting. That means you're on top of your responsibilities and are excited to start reaping the benefits!
To recap, after you quickly get your accountant the information they need, back work can be finished at a rate of at least 60-90 days per year’s worth of back work, ongoing monthly work can be finished after 7-10 business days, you can meet whenever you like, and your taxes will be handled by the deadline.
If this sounds great to you, click the button below for a free consultation. Let's see if we're a good fit for your business!
Not ready for a discussion yet? Read more about what it's like to work with CSI by clicking the button below:
