Questions, answered
Frequently asked questions
Straight answers about cost, catch-up, CPAs, QuickBooks, and what working with Dave is like. If your question isn't here, ask it on a free consultation.
Getting started
Do you offer a free consultation?
Yes, and Dave considers it the most important step. It's a conversation on Zoom or face to face where he learns your business, your goals, and your communication style, and you find out if it's a good fit. No commitment comes with it.
What happens after I reach out?
Dave schedules a call, usually a video call or an in-person meeting. After the conversation he reviews your current books, then sends a plain-language proposal with clear expectations and timelines.
What if I'm embarrassed about the state of my books?
Tell Dave anyway. He has cleaned up books that sat untouched for over 18 months and books where business and personal spending were completely mixed. In his words: he has seen worse. Nobody gets judged for being behind. His only real question is how the business is doing, and if you're not sure of the answer, that's exactly the thing worth fixing.
What does Dave need from me to get started?
Read-only access to the accounts where money comes in and goes out, answers to his questions about your business, and honesty about your goals. Setup typically takes about a week.
How long does onboarding take?
About a week for most businesses, depending on complexity and what you already have in place. If your books are massively behind, the catch-up work takes longer, and you'll know the timeline from the proposal.
Services and scope
Do I need a bookkeeper if I already have a CPA?
Absolutely. They do different jobs. Your CPA prepares taxes and advises on tax strategy, usually looking at your year after it happened. A bookkeeper keeps your records accurate all year, so your CPA works from clean numbers. Dave works alongside your CPA and keeps them supplied with books they can trust.
My spouse or a family member does my books. Do I still need a bookkeeper?
Maybe not, and Dave means that. The test isn't who does the books, it's whether the accounts get reconciled every month and you get reports you actually use. If those answers are solid, you're covered. If the books run on leftover evenings and everyone avoids the topic, a professional takes the job, and the tension, off your family's plate.
Do you prepare taxes?
No. Dave supports your books before tax time and hands your CPA or tax preparer everything they need. Because he doesn't sell tax preparation, his only agenda is keeping your books accurate.
Can you clean up old or messy books?
Yes. Cleanup is one of the most common ways clients start with Dave: miscategorized expenses, duplicate transactions, unreconciled accounts, mixed business and personal spending. He untangles it and documents what changed.
My accountant doesn't want to clean up my books. Now what?
It happens more than you'd think; one of Dave's clients came to him after his accountant quoted a cleanup price designed to make him go away. Cleanup is bookkeeper work. Dave rebuilds the books at bookkeeper rates, and your CPA gets a clean file to do what they're actually for: your taxes.
How far behind can my books be?
Years. Dave has built books from scratch for a business that ran a year and a half without any, and worse is workable. The process is the same at any distance: gather the records, rebuild the months, reconcile, and hand you current books.
What's the difference between cleanup and catch-up?
Catch-up records the months that were never entered. Cleanup fixes what was entered wrong. Many businesses need some of both, and Dave scopes that after reviewing your books.
Do you do one-time cleanup projects?
Yes, with a condition: cleanup projects are paired with ongoing monthly service, planned as at least a year together. Books that get cleaned once and then abandoned drift right back to where they started.
Do you handle payroll?
Dave offers payroll support: getting payroll set up correctly, making sure wages and payroll taxes are recorded properly in your books, and working with payroll providers like Gusto. Ask about your specific setup on the consultation.
Can you set up QuickBooks for a new business?
Yes. Dave builds your QuickBooks file and chart of accounts around how your business actually runs, so every report you pull afterward tells you something useful.
What software do you work with?
QuickBooks is home base, and Dave is QuickBooks Certified and a Certified ProAdvisor. He has also worked with Xero, Gusto, Google Sheets, and the platforms your money runs through: Stripe, Square, and Shopify.
Will you help me understand my reports?
Yes. This is the part Dave cares about most. Anyone can hand you a profit and loss statement. He makes sure you understand what it says about your business, in plain language, so you can make decisions with it.
Working together
How often will we communicate?
As much as you need. Early on, some clients talk with Dave every day. Most settle into monthly reports with a quarterly conversation, plus a call whenever a report raises questions. He responds fast, usually within a day.
Will you work with my CPA?
Dave would love to. The more he and your CPA are on the same page about your goals, the better both of them serve you. He gets your books CPA-ready before deadlines so tax season stops being a scramble.
What access do you need to my accounts?
Read-only visibility into money coming in and going out, typically through bank feeds connected to your accounting software. Dave will never hold signing authority and can never move your money, under any circumstances. That separation protects you.
Who actually does the work?
Dave does. He works solo, on purpose. There are no juniors, no offshore team, and no ticket queue between you and the person who knows your books.
What kind of clients does Dave work with?
Small business owners and entrepreneurs who are passionate about what they do and short on time or bookkeeping expertise. Having owned and run small businesses himself for 25 years, he knows the owner's chair from the inside. He is the right fit for owners who want to grow.
Where is Dave located?
Greater Philadelphia. He meets local clients in person and works virtually with businesses anywhere in the United States.
Cost
How much does bookkeeping cost?
It depends on your transaction volume, number of accounts, and how much cleanup is needed, which is why Dave quotes after a conversation and a look at your books rather than posting prices. Most owners discover it costs less than they feared. There is a minimum monthly engagement.
Is hiring a bookkeeper worth the cost?
For most businesses past the hobby stage, yes, and the return comes from specific places: hours returned to paying work, a tax season without cleanup charges, errors caught before they cost money, and cash flow you can plan around. Dave has watched clients find double-paid vendors and unbilled work that covered his fee on their own.
Is there a contract or minimum commitment?
Monthly service is month to month once you are set up. Cleanup and catch-up projects are taken on with the plan of at least a year of working together, so the investment in fixing your books pays off.
Why should I trust Dave with my books?
He's a known quantity: QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor, 25 years of owning small businesses himself, a real name with a local reputation he stands behind, and read-only access that can never touch your money. When your books are what keep you compliant and informed, you should know the person doing them. With Dave, you always will.
What does "hands-on" mean in practice?
Dave takes time to learn your goals, your business, and your communication style, and you get the same person every time: the one who knows your books. The service takes the shape of your business, and the relationship stays personal as you grow.
Still have a question?
Ask Dave directly. The consultation is free, and you'll get a plain answer either way.
