Accounting & Bookkeeping
Every business owner understands that expenses can't exceed revenue if you expect to be in business for any length of time. Typically, then, business efforts will focus on revenue. Therefore, it is not uncommon to find accounting and bookkeeping activities taking a back seat to operations and growing the business. Add the fact that many lack accounting expertise or the time to complete their accounting accurately and on a timely basis.
As a result, the downside to the lack of oversight or expertise can lead to costly errors, compliance issues with business regulators and worse case, fraud and severe financial losses.
Lower Risk, Improve Financial Accuracy and Make Better Business Decisions
Avoid the bookkeeping mistakes and accounting traps and contract with Ries and Associates to handle your bookkeeping and accounting needs. We will efficiently manage your books and ensure that your accounting records are accurate and rules are followed, and we will proactively advise you on ways to save money and maintain a profitable business. Our accounting and bookkeeping services include:
Bank and General Ledger Reconciliation
We will reconcile your bank and general ledger accounts for errors and accuracy monthly.
Accounts Receivable and Payable
We'll monitor your receivable accounts to ensure timely payments from customers and accounts payable for paying bills on time to avoid excessive fees and penalties. Aging reports can be created to follow the movement of cash and identify trends to take advantage of payment discounts and slow-pay issues.
Financial Statement Preparation
This involves preparing your income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows. More importantly, we will educate you on how to read and make sense of the numbers and what key indicators can be created to improve business performance.
Cash Flow Management
Many businesses end up focusing much of their time here. We will track and monitor to help maintain sufficient levels to meet your short- and long-term obligations.
Payroll
Services include compiling payroll registers and issuing employee payments.
Custom Accounting Reports
We can work with you to develop custom reports tied to business operations or ongoing key performance measures.
Accounting Automation Review
We will verify processes and recording of transaction are being done correctly and accurately. Then provide recommendation on areas of improvement with existing systems or new.
Tech Savvy Accounting Software Expertise
We are familiar and work with many popular accounting software packages, including Quickbooks. We can help set up your software, and provide training and ongoing support.
Tax Prep & Planning
Minimize Your Tax Liability
Since our inception, we have yet to find anyone who wants to maximize their tax liability. Considering this fact, our response at Ries and Associates has been to provide year-round tax services and consulting. It never really ends. And good tax planning is a year-round effort. Preserve your wealth and avoid costly mistakes by employing our services to minimize your tax liability within the current rules, laws and regulatory requirements.
Because we want a strong relationship with you from the start, we do a better job at uncovering deductions and credits. We ask questions, questions and more questions. We ask about every detail to find the hidden gems or future opportunities. The result? Just rock solid advice and recommendations for your current and future tax year filings.
To ensure accuracy, we employ a two-tier review process when completing your tax return.
Individuals
Filing Your Taxes Is Just One Part of Your Total Financial Picture
The question always comes up. Why not file your tax return using pre-packed software? You can, but what happens if you make a mistake? Who will you call to help you? A total stranger at a phone bank? Software can't provide year-long financial advice. A seasoned tax consultant from Ries and Associates can. We're just a phone call or email away from answering your questions, correcting errors or getting you out of a financial jam.
In the end, you'll save money throughout the year with solid tax planning advice, and not just when you file your taxes. Tax law has been experiencing significant change. Rest assured that you have a team of tax professionals at your disposal who know you, understand your current situation and can apply the changes to you in a way that minimizes your tax burden today and in the future. Software just cannot do all of that.
For new clients, we review your last three to four years of tax returns to search for any missed opportunities.
Start-Ups
Take the Leap of Faith with a Trusted Start-Up Advisor
Start-ups have no shortage of tax planning decisions. Highlights include:
- Payment of federal and state payroll taxes
- Setting up estimated tax payments correctly
- Establishing entity structure — sole proprietors, partnerships, corporations and tax-exempt entities
- Business plan review and pros and cons of each entity structure
- Selecting your accounting method
- And much, much more
We're here to help you make the best decisions possible for your business and the subsequent tax implications. Put our wealth of start-up experience to work for you at a level that doesn't overly burden your ability to get off to the best start possible.
Small- to Medium-Sized Businesses and Corporations
Make Decisions on a Larger Scale
Complexity can grind even the most nimble and fast-past companies down to earth. To compete with the best, you need to make decisions to build your business and attract the best to fulfill your business goals. We work at the speed of your business and manage the following:
- Employee benefits and the right staffing levels
- Optimal accounting standards and practices
- Investing in R&D or not
- Large machine or equipment purchases
- Adding new executives to the leadership team
- Making acquisitions or selling the company
- Creating and managing retirement plans—401(k)s, SEPs, IRAs
- Multi-state business activities
Business & Tech Consulting
Grow Your Business Efficiently
There is nothing worse than working harder for less. How does that happen? Easy. Expense creep, inefficient processes, poor data management and inconsistent decision-making are just some of the issues that hold business back. The key is to grow your business and minimize expenses without harming your growth initiatives. It’s often easier said than done.
When you employ Ries and Associates, we often find the numbers tell only part of the story. Internal processes, bottlenecks and other core issues may also need to be addressed. In response, we take a holistic approach to assessing your situation. We combine the numbers with other key findings to give you a financial and process roadmap to financial improvement and business sustaining strategic options.
Business Consulting
We do a variety of tasks to dive deeper into your business. Services include:
- Ratio analysis of key metrics
- Financial modeling
- Benchmarking
- Strategic planning
Tech Consulting
Automation is in. Repetitive Tasks are Out
Everyone knows about physical robots in the factory. Today's software bots can now manually track business processes and functions. We see it today with the migration to online-only accounting software. When it works, it is awesome. The manually intensive bookkeeper will become the information systems manager. Change is coming.
In response, someone is needed to manage all the accounting systems and interpret the output. Automation doesn't mean auto-pilot. You still need to tell the system what to do and make sure it is doing it right. That is where the information systems manager will come in.
To harness this ability to streamline and automate, you need a partner at Ries and Associates who has a unique perspective on your business. Who understands your core processes and how to realize the gains from removing and streamlining the manual nature of your business.
Individual & Self Employed
Whether you are a W-2 employee, retired or self-employed, we provide thorough and efficient yearly tax preparation services. From the basic to complex, our processes are set up to maximize your legal return and minimize your expense to prepare and submit.
Filing Your Taxes Is Just One Part of Your Total Financial Picture
The question always comes up. Why not file your tax return using pre-packed software? You can, but what happens if you make a mistake? Who will you call to help you? A total stranger at a phone bank? Software can’t provide year-long financial advice. A seasoned tax consultant from Ries and Associates can. We’re just a phone call or email away from answering your questions, correcting errors or getting you out of a financial jam.
In the end, you’ll save money throughout the year with solid tax planning advice, and not just when you file your taxes. Tax law has been experiencing significant change. Rest assured, that you have a team of tax professionals at your disposal who know you, understand your current situation and can apply the changes to you in a way that minimizes your tax burden today and in the future. Software just cannot do all of that?
For new clients, we review your last three to four years of tax returns to search for any missed opportunities.
At Ries and Associates we ask questions like a tenacious bulldog. We dig until we find gold. We pester you until you give us what you need. Why? It's simple. We want to save you money and put you on the path to long-term success.
