‘What businesses do you serve?’

PineRose Bookkeeping specializes in serving small to mid-sized businesses across a variety of industries. Whether you run a service-based business, a retail shop, a construction company, or something in between, we tailor our bookkeeping solutions to fit your specific needs.

We work best with businesses that need professional bookkeeping without the commitment of hiring an in-house team. If your business is growing or you just want better financial clarity, we’re here to support you, no matter the size or complexity of your operations.

‘What’s the onboarding process like?’

Our onboarding process starts with a free consultation with a PineRose bookkeeper to understand your business and bookkeeping needs. After reviewing your banking statements and bookkeeping software, your bookkeeper will provide a detailed quote and contract.

Once the quote is accepted and contract signed, we’ll have a kickoff meeting (or email). You’ll then give your bookkeeper access to necessary accounts and finalize communication preferences. We’ll then outline workflow expectations, and bookkeeping work will begin on an agreed start date, usually the first of the following month.

‘Why outsource my bookwork? I have an employee that does our books!’

Getting the help of a professional bookkeeper, like those at PineRose, ensures your books are accurate, detailed, and aligned with accounting principles—something an average office employee may not be trained to do. This eliminates the risk of mismanaged books being subjected to your CPA or an IRS auditor, which would be a serious liability. Outsourcing also saves money compared to hiring in-house staff since you only pay for the services you need, without having to cover employee benefits, taxes, or training.

Additionally, dedicated and professional bookkeeping offers deeper insights into your financial health, with organized reports on cash flow, profits, and losses, helping you make informed decisions. PineRose Bookkeeping’s tailored approach gives you expert guidance at a lower cost, freeing up you and your business’s time to focus on other important tasks while ensuring your books are done right.

‘Why hire you as a contractor, rather than an employee?’

Hiring a contracted bookkeeper, offers flexibility, cost savings, and specialized expertise. As a contractor, we’re only paid for the services you need, without covering benefits, taxes, or paid time off. This makes it more affordable than hiring a full-time or even part-time employee.

Since we work with various businesses, our experience grows continuously, which directly benefits you through enhanced skills and more efficient work. Additionally, there’s no need for lengthy onboarding or training—our services are ready to go and scalable to your business’s needs. Plus, you have the flexibility to terminate the contract anytime, offering peace of mind.

‘What service do you use? Why not an alternative like Xero or FreshBooks?’

We use QuickBooks because it’s user-friendly and highly compatible with other systems like banks, payroll, point-of-sale, and inventory management. It’s also the most popular, which means better integration with third-party apps and services. QuickBooks also makes it easy to find support, training, and expert help, like ours. While alternatives do exist, QuickBooks is the easiest for both you and us.

‘How often should we communicate?’

It depends on your needs. Early on, we may have weekly check-ins with you as we get familiar with your business, but over time, this could reduce to monthly or quarterly. We’d rather over-communicate than under-communicate to avoid any guessing in our work, so we’ll talk as often as needed to ensure things run smoothly on both sides.

Typically, at the start of each month, you’ll send your bank statements, and we’ll provide reports from the previous month. Weekly, you’ll upload any new financial records, like invoices, purchase orders, and possibly receipts, which is essential for us to do your bookwork.

‘How secure is my data?’

Your financial data is handled with the utmost security and confidentiality. At PineRose, we use encrypted software like QuickBooks, which we prefer you to use to directly upload financial records, but we can also work with your preferred document-sharing platforms or set up a secure shared drive. No matter the method, we follow best practices to ensure your information is always protected.

‘What are you payment terms?’

We charge for our services in advance of providing them, whether for monthly bookkeeping services or cleanup/setup services. We prefer payments via ACH transfer for simplicity and cost-effectiveness. However, if we’ve been working together for at least three months, you can also pay via credit card.

If payment isn’t made by the 7th of the month, we’ll notify you to send it in; if it still isn’t received on the 10th, we’ll pause service temporarily. Once payment is received, we’ll quickly resume work on your books!

‘Can I customize the services I receive?’

Yes! With the Essential Services package, you can opt out of monthly reports (though the price won’t change). For small businesses with fewer transactions, we can offer quarterly bookkeeping at a reduced rate. The Growth Bundle allows you to pick two additional services, and with the Advanced Package, you can opt out of one of the four services. This flexibility ensures you get the specific support you need while staying within your budget.

‘Can I switch between service packages later?’

Absolutely! You can upgrade, downgrade, or adjust your services at any time, with changes taking effect from the next month. Pricing will adjust accordingly, so you always get the right level of service for your business as it evolves.

‘What financial documents will you need?’

At the start of each month, we’ll need your banking statements for the past month to reconcile your accounts. Throughout the month, QuickBooks syncs with your bank feed to help categorize transactions, but every week you’ll also provide financial documents (like invoices, purchase orders, and sales documents) to attach source documentation on your transactions.

In most cases, we prefer not to be given receipts; this is unless purchases are made with cash, or if it may not be obvious what was bought or who it was bought from. Of course, any documents made in the course of doing business should be captured and organized in one’s own systems.

‘When do I receive monthly reports, and what are they?’

Basic monthly reports, in the Essential Services package, include a Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet. We can also provide more advanced reports in our higher packages, like Cash Flow, A/R Aging, or other reports; it all depends on your business’s needs and the information you need in order to grow it. You’ll receive reports by the 10th of each month.

‘What if my books are behind or disorganized?’

Don’t worry! We provide clean-up and catch-up services for messy or “DIY” books, to get you ready for monthly services. We’ll discuss any specific details in your consultation.

‘What if I need help with Tax Prep?’

While we at PineRose don’t provide tax filing services, as this is much better handled by a CPA, the products of bookkeeping are the majority of what goes into tax preparation; organized books and reconciled accounts. We’re prepared to connect you with the best CPAs and Accountants we can find, if you haven’t one already.