When you’re starting with a new accounting firm, it’s easy enough to miss some of the fine print under the cost. However, a single price tag can be deceiving if you don’t know what it covers. It’s equally important to know how much you’re paying and to have a breakdown of everything you’re paying for. 

While you may already know what the cost of monthly accounting will be, there still may be questions about exceptions and specific situations. One of the most common questions we get from small business owners, especially sole proprietors, is whether our monthly accounting fee includes the preparation and filing of personal taxes.

In this article, we’ll outline the types of tax returns we work with, what the cost for those can look like, and why sole proprietorships have a slightly different situation than other businesses.

If you're like many business owners, you don't have time to dig into every aspect of payroll. After all, that's why you hire a service, right? But without a basic understanding of the elements of a payroll service, it's not possible to know whether or not you have the right service for you… or if you're being overcharged.

Having worked with small businesses for more than 50 years - and having opened a division devoted exclusively to payroll over a decade ago - we know exactly how to break down the cost of a payroll service.

Different businesses have different payroll needs - and therefore add on different features, require different work per pay period or quarter, or have different influences that are out of their control, such as employee paycheck garnishments. We’ll break down both the common factors and the heavily-weighted miscellaneous factors for you here.

When you’re passionate about your small business, you care about its profitability and growth. If your current business services are either unaffordable or aren’t meeting your needs in some way, then it’s time to start looking for an alternative. You're here for a reason, and that reason is because not all professional services are made equal.

At this point, you’re probably asking yourself, "What makes CSI Accounting & Payroll so special? What do they do that my current bookkeeper and annual tax accountant don't? What about my payroll provider?"

We acknowledge that our services are not the best solution for every business, much like how not every business is an ideal client for us. Continue reading to see if we can be a good match for each other. This article will cover the services we offer, as well as how they vary from other solutions.

While we’d love to work with everyone, we know that it’s not so simple.

If we onboarded every person who showed an interest in our services, we’d spend too much time trying to make them into the right fit, and we wouldn’t have enough time to provide quality service to the people we’re supposed to be here for. Plus, working with the wrong person isn’t beneficial to them either; signing a contract to pay for services that aren’t a good match for their business is no joke!

We acknowledge that our services are not the best solution for every business, much like how not every business is an ideal client for us. However, when working together is the right fit for both parties, we can come together to use monthly financial statements to monitor and grow your business, run your payroll efficiently while you maintain as much or as little control as you like, or both! Continue reading to learn about the technical components, values, and beliefs that it takes for us to be a good match.

When you own a small business, you’re hands-on. You want to play a part in every aspect of operating your business, even if that just means having some oversight on the parts that are a little out of your comfort zone. For many business owners, that means accounting. That’s why the next largest concern – if you’re already considering outsourcing monthly accounting – is the price tag.

At this point, you know the differences between your current accounting solution and outsourced monthly accounting. You also know what your current solution costs, but does that mean you’re paying the average rate?

The answer isn’t simple, but we’ll break down our pricing structure so you can get a better idea of what our service might cost you. It isn’t “one size fits all”, so your service level will be based on your company’s needs.

Most small business owners, when dissatisfied with their payroll provider, will switch providers only during certain times. Some wait until the end of the quarter, while many others choose to wait until the end of the year. Here, we discuss the reasons why they choose to wait, even when they're in a bad situation with their payroll - and why they may not need to.

Running a business is a lot of work! When you're just getting started, one of the things you need to consider is owner's compensation - or how to pay yourself for your time and effort. How should you take the money? When should you start paying yourself? How much is too much or too little? We consider these questions here.

To succeed, your company must be profitable. When you own a small business, you need to be aware of your financial health, and this is done through tracking KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

An important one that's easy to calculate on your own is your break-even point. In this blog, we cover:

• What is a break-even point, and why is it important?
• How do I conduct a break-even analysis?
• What are other crucial KPIs, and how can I track them?

A common concern for small business owners is missing a payroll during the process of switching payroll providers. You know that your employees work hard, and they deserve to be paid on time!

What are the common reasons why payroll could be missed while switching? Let's walk you through it.

Budgeting for your small business would be much easier if it only required adding up your fixed expenses. However, when you throw in variable expenses, it can be easy to go over budget. How can you expect the unexpected and get a more accurate idea of what you should be spending?