Steadfast Accounting.

03/26/2026

Let's chat a little bit about TaxDome and why we prefer for clients to communicate with us through their TaxDome account.

Accounting firms are primary targets for phishing scams (and other cyber crimes) these days. Your data security is TOP priority for us, every single day. Email is an insecure communication and document sharing method.

TaxDome is secure, and we require two-factor authentication which, while annoying at times, is a key step to protecting your information.

We prefer for you to send us a TaxDome chat instead of an email, and we require documents to be uploaded to TaxDome (we do not open email attachments for your data safety!).

02/26/2026

We are excited to share that we’ve (slightly) rebranded! We shall henceforth be known as Steadfast Accounting!

08/14/2025

Today’s client story is really about value perception.

When I initially met with this client a couple of years ago, after scoping the services they’d need, my proposal came in a little higher than another local firm’s pricing. The client went with the other firm.

Fast forward 8 months, they reached out to me because they were not getting timely bookkeeping, timely responses to questions, or any proactive support.

I sent a new proposal, which they signed. Now, they get books closed on time every month, a dedicated Client Success Manager so their questions are answered within 1 business day (and usually faster than that), notes about anything unusual we spot in their books, and unlimited support for any and alll questions (including meetings if they want them).

08/13/2025

We love working with tax clients at Steadfast Bookkeeping, but we do things a little bit differently than a lot of other tax firms.

Instead of focusing on once-per-year, tax return preparation only, we prefer a more collaborative approach. For us, the tax return is the period at the end of the tax sentence. The substance is what happens the rest of the time.

When you work with Steadfast Bookkeeping for tax, you get:

⚓ Tax planning (with an actual meeting!)
⚓ Tax projection meeting(s)
⚓ Unlimited year-round support, with responses within 1 business day
⚓ An easy-to-use client portal for all document sharing and communications
⚓ A dedicated Client Success Manager
⚓ Tax return preparation (of course)
⚓ A scheduled-in-advance tax season so there is no wondering when your tax return will be completed

Are you happy with your current tax pro relationship?

08/12/2025

Today's tax tip is about HSAs (Health Savings Accounts). There are plenty of tax hacks that are available only to business owners, but not this one! W2 employees can harness the triple tax benefits of HSAs as well.

⚓ An HSA is a tax-advantaged account that can be used to pay for qualified medical expenses. It is funded with pre-tax dollars (tax advantage # 1).

⚓ You can invest the funds inside the HSA and enjoy tax-free growth on those investments (tax advantage # 2).

⚓ You can use tax-free withdrawals to pay for qualified medical expenses (tax advantage # 3).

The real power, though, is that can continue to accumulate funds in your HSA (there is no use-it-or-lose-it rule like with FSAs) until you are 65+, and then you can use it like a Traditional IRA for any expenses (paying only income tax but no penalties).

Added to that, you own the HSA, not your employer, so you can take it with you if you change jobs, become unemployed, or retire.

There are eligibility requirements, of course.

Do you have an HSA?

08/11/2025

Happy Monday, friends!

Here’s your reminder that accounting and taxes aren’t just about compliance. They’re about clarity, strategy, and unlocking potential.

⚓️ Every receipt you track is a brick in the foundation of your business.
⚓️ Every reconciliation is a checkpoint that keeps you on course.
⚓️ Every tax plan is an opportunity to keep more of what you earn and invest it back into your goals.

Think of your books as a map. When they’re clear and accurate, they don’t just tell you where you’ve been. They show you where you can go.

So this week, let’s approach the “numbers work” not as a chore, but as a tool for building freedom, growth, and confidence in our decisions.

Your future self will thank you. 💪

08/10/2025

We are required to report ALL income on our tax returns, regardless of the source. Believe it or not, this includes money earned from illegal activities, like selling drugs or stolen merchandise.

Yep! You read that correctly. Even ill-gotten gains are taxable.

What were you surprised to learn about taxes?

08/09/2025

Myth: You only have to make quarterly estimated tax payments if you are a business owner.

Reality: False! Any taxpayer who expects to owe for the year is required to pay quarterly estimates, regardless of the source of income. Here is a real life example:

Taxpayer had $18k of W2 income, $275k of retirement plan distributions (various types, and throughout the year), and a Schedule C that showed no profit. They made a $4k estimated tax payment in Q4. No estimates were paid in Q1-Q3.

Guess what?! Even though they showed no profit for the business, and they made one estimated tax payment, they still had to pay almost $200 in estimated tax penalties for failing to make estimated tax payments in Q1, Q2, and Q3.

“Well, how will I know I’m going to owe before my tax return is done?”

Great question. At Steadfast Bookkeeping, we meet with our clients before tax season so we can calculate their estimated tax liability and ensure they have made the necessary estimated tax payments.

If you are looking for more than once-per-year tax prep, we can help!

08/08/2025

FAQ: Why does my P&L (and my tax return) show profit but my business is having cash flow issues?

Well, there are a bunch of reasons for this. Most of them actually relate to the balance sheet. Here are some things that will use up cash from your bank account but do not reduce net income:

⚓️ Loan payments
⚓️ Credit card payments
⚓️ Capital expenditures
⚓️ Owner draws / distributions

If you are having a hard time understanding your financial reports, figuring out your cash flow issues, or understanding your tax returns, we can help!

08/07/2025

There are some client comments that just make your heart sing. Like many other firms, we offer bookkeeping services to small businesses. It is kind of hard to differentiate yourself with a service that is fairly common to offer. So, we pride ourselves on solid communication.

Recently, while working on a monthly bookkeeping client's books, we noticed that there was a deposit that did not match to any open invoices. The bank detail included an invoice number that had been voided in our client's QBO account. So, instead of simply posting the deposit to income, we reached out to our client.

Turns out, the payment was sent in error by their client. They were able to proactively contact their client about the overpayment. Their client was impressed and thankful, and so was ours. His comment to us was: "Thanks for the spectacular find, really saved our butts."

Now, this may not sound like much. It should be table stakes, right? Well, it's not. So, if you are not getting regular input from your current accountant, give us a shout!

08/06/2025

Let's peel back the curtain a little bit. At Steadfast Bookkeeping, our goal is to use technology where it makes sense so we can free up our people to be hands-on where it makes sense. What does this mean?

⚓ We work with QBO only. This allows our team to know the software inside and out.
⚓ We use ProConnect for tax, primarily because it plays nicely with QBO.
⚓ We use TaxDome as our client portal, and this is where all client communication and document sharing happens, as well as our internal workflow tracking. This allows everyone on our team who works with a particular client to be in the loop on all messages and documents, so our clients don't have to loop multiple people in manually. Email is inefficient and not secure.

The efficiencies we enjoy by having our tech stack dialed in allows us to spend time having live (virtual) meetings throughout the year, to communicate more proactively, and to keep client satisfaction as focus.

If you are frustrated with your accountant's lack of communication, willy-nilly processes, or with feeling like a number on a client list, give us a shout.

Steadfast Bookkeeping provides accounting and tax solutions to small businesses looking to grow and have experts at their back.

08/05/2025

The best tax tip I can give to a business owner is to have good, accurate, timely bookkeeping.

Picture it, Sicily 1922. Just kidding. But, IFKYK.

I'd had a tax only client for several years. His business was taxed as an S corporation, and he did his own bookkeeping. After a few years, I started requiring quarterly review of clients' self-prepared books. Turns out, he had not been reconciling his accounts in QBO (even though he said he did). He assumed that, since the bank account was connected, everything was fine.

Well, everything was not fine. I required him to let me reconcile his accounts back 3 years. I found over $40k of missing expense transactions. How you ask?! Well, bank feeds are not infallible. They disconnect from time to time and, sometimes, when they reconnect, transactions get skipped. The reconciliation process catches these, as long as you complete the reconciliations.

At an 18% effective tax rate, that's over $7,200 in tax liability he did not have to pay. We got it all cleaned up and fixed, and he's good to go now. Guess who now understands the value in working with a bookkeeping professional?!