Bookkeeping · United StatesMonthly books for your US company, kept so that year-end is a review, not a rebuild.
We record your income and spending in QuickBooks Online or Xero each month, on the basis your return requires, with vendors, sales tax and owner transactions tracked as they happen rather than pieced together in March.
Accounting
At a glance
- Authorities
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS) · State departments of revenue
- Forms & references
- Form W-9Form 1099-NECSchedule C (Form 1040)Form 1065Form 1120
- Software
- QuickBooks Online or Xero, usually in your existing file
- Basis
- Cash or accrual, chosen for your tax and reporting needs
- Cadence
- Monthly or quarterly, agreed when we scope your work
- Feeds into
- Schedule C, Form 1065, Form 1120 or 1120-S, and state returns
Overview
What it is, and why it matters.
Bookkeeping is the recording side of accounting: every sale, bill, payroll run, transfer and owner contribution posted to the right account in your chart of accounts. Done monthly, it gives you a profit figure you can trust and a balance sheet that agrees with the bank.
In the US, the choice of method matters early. Most small businesses can use the cash method for tax (the gross receipts test is $32 million, averaged over three years, for tax years beginning in 2026), but lenders and investors often expect accrual figures. If invoices and bills are entered properly, one set of books can report on either basis.
Your books also carry obligations beyond income tax. Contractors you pay may need a Form 1099-NEC, sales tax you collect is a liability owed to one or more states rather than revenue, and a foreign-owned single-member LLC must be able to show every transaction with its owner for Form 5472. We build those into the monthly routine.
Who needs it
Who typically needs it.
- 01
Foreign-owned US LLCs
Founders in Pakistan, the UK or elsewhere who run a Delaware or Wyoming LLC and need clean records of every transfer to and from the owner for Form 5472 and the pro forma Form 1120.
- 02
Ecommerce sellers
Shopify, Amazon and Etsy sellers whose deposits arrive net of fees, refunds and reserves, with sales tax collected in several states.
- 03
Service businesses paying contractors
Agencies and consultancies that pay freelancers and need W-9s on file and 1099 totals ready in January.
- 04
Companies preparing to borrow or raise
Businesses that will soon be asked for accrual-basis financials by a bank, an SBA lender or an investor.
- 05
Owners who have fallen behind
Founders whose QuickBooks file has months of uncategorized transactions and an “Ask My Accountant” account that keeps growing.
When you need it
The moments that usually trigger it.
- You’ve just formed a US LLC or corporation and want the chart of accounts right before the first transactions land.
- You’ve started paying US contractors and haven’t collected W-9s yet.
- Your sales have created a sales tax obligation in a new state, and the tax you collected is sitting in your revenue line.
- You live outside the US and pay some company expenses from a personal card or a non-US account.
- A lender or investor has asked for monthly financials and all you have is bank statements.
- Your tax preparer spent weeks fixing your books last year before they could start the return.
Scope
Exactly what we handle.
Our engagement letter lists these specifically, so you know what is included before any work begins.
- 01
Chart of accounts set up or cleaned up and mapped to the lines of the return you file (Schedule C, Form 1065, 1120 or 1120-S).
- 02
Monthly categorization of bank, card and payment-processor transactions, with receipts attached where you provide them.
- 03
Invoices, bills, accounts receivable and accounts payable for accrual-basis clients.
- 04
Vendor records with W-9 status and 1099 eligibility flagged, and year-end 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC totals.
- 05
Sales tax payable accounts by state, kept separate from revenue and reconciled to your filings.
- 06
Owner contributions, distributions and loans recorded separately, including the related-party detail a foreign-owned LLC needs for Form 5472.
- 07
Payroll journals posted from your payroll provider’s reports.
- 08
A monthly profit and loss, balance sheet and a short list of open questions.
The process
How it runs, step by step.
Timings depend on the authority and on how quickly documents come together. We tell you what’s typical for your case at the start.
Start with a conversationScoping call and file review
We look at your entity type, tax classification, software, bank and card accounts and transaction volume, and agree whether the books run on a cash or accrual basis.
Setup or clean-up
We fix the chart of accounts, connect bank and processor feeds, set opening balances from your last filed return, and flag any months that need catching up.
Monthly recording
Transactions are categorized, bills and invoices matched, and owner and intercompany items tagged. Anything we can’t identify goes on a question list rather than into a suspense account.
Month-end close
We reconcile every bank and card account, review the balance sheet and lock the period, so later edits can’t quietly change figures you have already reported.
Reports and year-end handoff
You receive a profit and loss and balance sheet each period. At year-end we prepare 1099 totals and a trial balance for your tax return.
What we’ll need
The information to have ready.
A typical checklist. After the first conversation we send a version specific to your situation, so you don’t gather anything you don’t need.
Company details
- Formation documents and your EIN letter (CP 575 or 147C)
- Tax classification: sole proprietor, partnership, S corporation or C corporation
- Last filed federal return, if there is one
Access
- Accountant access to QuickBooks Online or Xero
- Statements or read-only access for every bank, card and payment account (Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, Amazon)
- Payroll provider reports, if you run payroll
Ongoing
- Receipts and invoices for larger or unusual expenses
- W-9s from the contractors you pay
- Sales tax registrations and filing frequency by state
- Loan agreements and details of transfers between you and the company
Please don’t email passports or bank statements. Once we’ve spoken, you’ll get access to a secure upload.
Common mistakes
Where this usually goes wrong.
The problems we are most often asked to fix, and what they tend to cost.
- Mistake 01
Recording sales tax as revenue
Tax collected from customers belongs to the state. Left in income, it overstates profit, may be taxed as income, and makes the liability hard to reconcile when the state return is due.
- Mistake 02
Mixing personal and company spending
Paying company costs from a personal account without recording them as owner contributions blurs the separation that supports your limited liability, and makes deductions harder to substantiate.
- Mistake 03
Paying contractors before collecting a W-9
Chasing tax IDs in January delays 1099 filing, and a payee who never provides one can leave you responsible for backup withholding.
- Mistake 04
Booking owner transfers as income in a foreign-owned LLC
Money the foreign owner puts in is a capital contribution, not revenue. Recording it as sales misstates profit and hides the related-party transactions Form 5472 requires, and the penalty for failing to file that form is $25,000.
Worth knowing
The limits, stated upfront.
We work from the records and access you give us, and can’t verify transactions against source documents we don’t receive.
Bookkeeping is not an audit or a CPA review. If a lender or investor requires reviewed or audited statements, an independent CPA firm must issue that report.
Running payroll, filing payroll tax returns and filing state sales tax returns are separate services unless we agree to include them.
Figures such as the 1099 threshold and the cash-method gross receipts test are adjusted over time; we confirm the current numbers when we scope your work.
Questions
Bookkeeping: frequently asked.
If yours isn’t here, ask us directly. We’ll answer in plain terms.
Ask a questionShould my books be on the cash or accrual basis?
It depends on your tax position and who reads your financials. Many small businesses can file on the cash basis, but lenders and investors usually want accrual. If invoices and bills are entered properly, QuickBooks Online and Xero can report either way from one set of books.
Do I need QuickBooks, or can you work in Xero?
We work in either. If your current file already holds history, staying put is usually cheaper than migrating; if you are starting fresh, we recommend one based on your integrations and who else needs access.
What changed with 1099 reporting in 2026?
For payments made after December 31, 2025, the reporting threshold for Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC rose from $600 to $2,000 per payee for most payments, with inflation indexing due from 2027. Some payments, such as gross proceeds paid to attorneys, keep different thresholds, and payments you make by card or through PayPal are generally reported by the payment processor on Form 1099-K rather than by you.
I live in Pakistan and own a US LLC that owes no US tax. Why do my books matter?
Because a foreign-owned single-member LLC still files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120, reporting transactions with its owner such as contributions, distributions and loans. Those figures come from your books, and the penalty for not filing is $25,000 even when no tax is due.
Can you catch up a year or more of missing bookkeeping?
Yes. We work from bank and processor statements month by month and reconcile each account before moving on. Catch-up work is priced separately from ongoing bookkeeping because it depends on volume and on how much documentation exists.
Is filing my sales tax returns part of bookkeeping?
Not by default. Bookkeeping keeps sales tax payable accurate by state; filing the returns is our Sales & Use Tax service, and many businesses need both.
How long should I keep my business records?
The IRS generally expects records to be kept for at least three years after a return is filed, and longer in some cases, such as four years for employment tax records and seven for bad debt or worthless securities claims. A foreign-owned LLC should keep related-party records for as long as they may matter to a return.
Related
Often needed alongside this.
The equivalent in our other countries
Speak with a consultant
Talk to us about bookkeeping.
Pick the closest match and we’ll take it from there. You’ll get a written scope and fee before any work begins.
Or use our three-step guide, or email hello@fiscorra.com
