Bookkeeping stops at the income statement
Cash, debt, receivables, payables, payroll liabilities, owner activity, fixed assets, intercompany balances, and other balance-sheet accounts may not receive consistent reconciliation and review.
CPA-led outsourced accounting
Outsourced Accounting Services. A Finance Function You Can Run On.
Outsourced accounting should give management more than coded transactions. Taxstra builds a controlled monthly close, reconciled balance sheet, useful reporting, documented workflows, controller review, and a clean handoff to planning and tax work.
What changes
1
A close with an owner and a deadline
Bank, card, loan, payroll, receivable, payable, and balance-sheet work follow a documented calendar with review points.
2
Reports management can explain
The package is structured around revenue, margin, cash, working capital, entities, locations, projects, or other useful dimensions.
3
One accounting source for tax and decisions
The same reconciled data supports owner meetings, planning projections, lenders, and return preparation.
Monthly
Close and reporting cadence
Controller
Review above bookkeeping
Documented
Workflows and open-item ownership
Integrated
Accounting, payroll, and tax handoff
The problem this solves
The books can be technically complete and operationally useless
The failure usually appears between transaction entry and management use: unreconciled balance-sheet accounts, inconsistent classifications, unexplained changes, missing schedules, and reports delivered without a close owner or decision context.
The owner becomes the workflow manager
The bookkeeper, payroll provider, bill-pay system, tax preparer, and internal team each need data from someone. Without a defined operating model, the owner spends time routing questions and resolving responsibility gaps.
Reports arrive without explanations
A P&L is not decision support when categories change, unusual items are buried, margins are not segmented, and no one explains variance, cash movement, or the actions management should consider.
How the work moves
A monthly close that moves from source data to management action
The accounting function follows a visible sequence. Each stage has inputs, review responsibilities, open-item rules, and a defined output for the next stage.
01Collect
Control source information
Connect banks, cards, payroll, billing, payables, debt, commerce, and supporting records. Assign responsibility for exceptions and missing documents.
02Close
Reconcile and adjust
Reconcile cash and balance-sheet accounts, record accruals and adjustments, review classifications, and maintain the supporting schedules.
03Review
Apply controller oversight
Challenge unusual balances, trends, cutoff, account mapping, entity activity, owner transactions, and unresolved items before reports are released.
04Report
Explain results and actions
Deliver the financial package with concise commentary, agreed KPIs, cash observations, and a list of decisions or follow-up items.
Scope and deliverables
What the outsourced accounting function should produce
Scope varies with systems, volume, entities, and management needs. The engagement should still define recurring outputs clearly enough that the owner can tell whether the function is operating as designed.
Monthly close package
Reconciled financial statements, comparative results, balance-sheet support, open-item status, and review completion.
Output: Close package with signoff
Management reporting
Reporting by the dimensions that reflect how the company earns money and consumes cash, with definitions kept consistent over time.
Output: Decision-ready reporting pack
Accounts-payable workflow
Invoice intake, coding, approval, payment preparation, vendor records, and segregation of owner approval from accounting execution.
Output: Controlled approval queue
Billing and receivables support
Invoice and collection workflow, aging, credits, deposits, write-offs, and escalation rules coordinated with the operating team.
Output: AR and collections view
Payroll and owner-activity accounting
Payroll journals, liabilities, benefits, reimbursements, distributions, contributions, and intercompany activity recorded and reviewed separately.
Output: Reconciled owner and payroll schedules
Tax and adviser handoff
Entity activity, fixed assets, owner transactions, planning actions, and support assembled throughout the year instead of reconstructed at filing time.
Output: Maintained tax-ready file
Compare the operating models
Bookkeeping vs. outsourced accounting vs. controller vs. in-house team
The right choice depends on responsibility and complexity, not simply transaction count. Compare who owns the close, who reviews the work, and what management receives.
| Model | Primary responsibility | Management output | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic bookkeeping | Record transactions and reconcile core accounts | Periodic P&L and transaction detail | Simple business with limited reporting needs |
| Outsourced accounting | Operate the close, schedules, workflows, and financial package | Reconciled statements with useful dimensions and commentary | Established company that needs a complete external function |
| Outsourced controller | Own review, controls, close quality, and accounting-team performance | Reliable package, policies, and issue resolution | Execution exists but lacks senior accounting ownership |
| Fractional or outsourced CFO | Forecast, allocate capital, and support forward decisions | Cash model, plan, KPIs, and modeled decisions | Reliable accounting exists and management needs financial leadership |
| In-house department | Employ and manage every role internally | Custom output controlled by management | Workload and control needs justify recruiting and retaining a team |
Buyer checklist
How to evaluate an outsourced accounting proposal
Require enough detail to compare responsibility, review, timing, systems, deliverables, and change management—not only a monthly fee.
Responsibility map
List every recurring workflow and who prepares, reviews, approves, pays, and resolves exceptions.
Close acceptance criteria
Define the accounts reconciled, schedules delivered, review evidence, open-item rules, and management signoff.
Named service team
Identify who performs bookkeeping, controller review, reporting, meetings, tax coordination, and coverage.
Systems boundary
State which ledgers, banks, payrolls, billing tools, bill-pay systems, entities, and integrations are included.
Management output
See a sample package and confirm dimensions, commentary, KPIs, meeting cadence, and action tracking.
Scope-change method
Document onboarding, cleanup, new entities, transaction growth, special projects, and what changes the fee.
Strong fit
- The owner needs dependable monthly financial statements, not transaction coding alone.
- Several systems, entities, accounts, locations, projects, or revenue streams must be coordinated.
- A bookkeeper exists but controller review and close ownership are missing.
- The company needs accounting, tax planning, and return preparation to use the same data.
- Management will provide approvals, source records, and operational context on a defined schedule.
Probably too early or the wrong service
- The business has only a few simple transactions and the owner is comfortable with DIY books.
- The immediate need is a historical cleanup rather than a recurring function.
- Management wants reports but will not maintain billing, approval, payroll, or source-document discipline.
- The company expects accounting to make operating approvals reserved for management.
- The only requested service is annual tax-return preparation.
Implementation
From accounting diagnostic to a controlled recurring close
Onboarding maps the current process before changing systems or account structure. The first close then tests the design against real transactions, dependencies, and management questions.
Accounting-function diagnostic
Review entities, chart of accounts, systems, reconciliations, payroll, billing, payables, debt, reports, deadlines, users, and open problems.
Workflow and reporting design
Define the close calendar, responsibilities, approvals, integrations, schedules, reporting dimensions, review controls, and management package.
Conversion and first close
Clean the opening position, document exceptions, operate the first monthly cycle, and resolve differences between the proposed process and real operations.
Recurring close and improvement
Run the close, issue reports, discuss exceptions, coordinate planning, and improve the workflow as the company adds volume or complexity.
Questions business owners ask
Outsourced Accounting FAQ
What is included in outsourced accounting services?
A full scope can include transaction accounting, reconciliations, close management, financial statements, controller review, payables, billing and receivables support, payroll accounting, reporting dimensions, management commentary, tax-ready schedules, and adviser coordination. The engagement letter should state which workflows Taxstra operates and which remain with the client.
How is outsourced accounting different from outsourced bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping focuses on recording and reconciling activity. Outsourced accounting adds ownership of the monthly close, balance-sheet support, reporting design, review, workflow controls, and coordination with management and tax work. Some businesses need only bookkeeping; others need the broader function.
Will I still use QuickBooks Online?
QuickBooks Online is often part of the stack, but the system design depends on current software, integrations, entities, transaction flows, and reporting needs. A platform decision should follow the workflow diagnostic rather than precede it.
When will monthly reports be available?
The close deadline depends on source-system timing, bank and payroll availability, invoice and approval workflows, inventory or project complexity, and how quickly management answers exceptions. Taxstra establishes an agreed calendar and measures blockers rather than promising a date before reviewing the process.
Can Taxstra work with our internal bookkeeper or office manager?
Yes. An outsourced function can retain useful internal responsibilities while Taxstra owns review, close management, reporting, or selected workflows. The key is a written responsibility map so tasks, approvals, and escalation do not overlap or disappear.
Can accounting, tax planning, and CFO services be combined?
Yes. Reliable accounting is the foundation for planning and CFO work. A combined scope can connect the close, tax projection, cash forecast, management meeting, and return handoff while preserving clear preparation, review, and approval responsibilities.
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We will review the current books, systems, close, reporting, entities, payroll, and workflow ownership before recommending a recurring scope.
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