What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. ~ Jane Goodall
Personal Accounting & Taxes
For Individuals, We Offer a Variety of Accounting Solutions
By the Book Accounting & Tax Solutions provides expert personal accounting & tax services to meet your needs. As a full service accounting firm, owned and operated by Angela Bruce - a seasoned professional working with individuals, Angela applies a dedicated personal touch to make sure that you are maximizing your financial benefits.
We can also extend our services to include coaching in order to help with your personal taxes. For most clients this is where there is the most money to lose or gain. Whether you are filing as an individual, or jointly with a spouse, we have the experience to ensure you are making the best choices to achieve your tax saving and personal financial goals. We take a holistic approach to ensure our tax advice works harmoniously with each client's portfolio. This includes Estate Tax, Stock and Option Planning, College Funds, and of course Income Tax.
Tax Planning & Preparation
Tax planning is a year-round process that takes into account the client’s past tax filings, current financial situation and regulations, and future financial goals, and their year-round activity. Successful tax planning strategies therefore require ongoing communication between a business or individual and their tax planner.
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Tax preparation occurs once a year, after the close of the financial year, and generally during tax season (between January - April, or September - October if extension is filed). For most businesses and individuals, tax preparation involves only one or two exchanges with their tax return preparers over the course of a few months leading up to the tax deadline.
Our Approach
Our first step is to schedule a free consultation. This is where we will go through your prior year tax return, discuss changes that have happened throughout the year, give tax documents that pertain to the current year tax return or the amended year we are preparing and discuss your current year goals. Then as we are preparing and reviewing your tax return, we are constantly keeping in mind the goals discussed, checking credits and deductions that have not been taken advantage of, and then we bring those finds to you. Discussing lowering tax liabilities and/or increasing refunds by taking advantage of credits, deductions or new tax laws is what we specialize in. Taking the extra time for each of our clients to give the same services no matter what their budget, is what we take pride in.
Managing Your Personal Finances
Personal finance is a term that covers managing your money as well as saving and investing. It encompasses budgeting, banking, insurance, mortgages, investments, and retirement, tax, and estate planning. The term often refers to the entire industry that provides financial services to individuals and households and advises them about financial and investment opportunities.
Angela says:
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After we prepare the tax return, we discuss changes that could be made to align with the client's goals for the year. We conclude with making a meeting in the fall to go through the current year income situation and what the client can do to prepare for April 15, the following year. This gives the client plenty of time to make changes to align with their personal goals.
Software Recommendations
Accounting software manages and records the day-to-day financial transactions of an organization, including fixed asset management, expense management, revenue management, accounts receivable, accounts payable, subledger accounting, and reporting and analytics. A complete accounting system keeps track of an organization’s assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. These transactions then populate the general ledger in real time, providing Chief Financial Officers, Treasurers, and Controllers immediate access to real time, accurate financial data. It also allows P&L owners visibility into their performance at the operational level.
How We Can Help...
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Software recommendations help with the client relationship to be able to help tax planning throughout the year and not just last minute. Making a software change can allow the taxpayer and By the Book Accounting to continue the year on the same page. The result being growing the business and aligning with client goals. We can assist and help you understand the software that will work best to meet your needs.