Bookkeeping Services FAQ

All the Benefits, Packages and Software Options in plain English…

We’ve compiled a list of the burning questions most business owners (and not-for-profit organizations) have about Stern Cohen’s bookkeeping services.

If you don’t find the answer to YOUR question on this page, please contact us directly.  We are happy to help!

• How can a Stern Cohen bookkeeper help me as my business (or charity) grows?
• How do Stern Cohen’s bookkeeping services work with their accounting services?
• Pricing
• What’s included in the bookkeeping packages?
• Training
• Getting Started
• Technology
• If I hired Stern Cohen, would I need to purchase software?
• What are the benefits of using Quickbooks Online

Bookkeeping Services FAQ

How can a Stern Cohen bookkeeper help me as my business grows?  What am I going to encounter that I will probably need help with?

When you first started your business, you may have had one bank account, no employees and not enough revenue to trigger HST requirements.  Fast forward to today and your business has grown! Now you might have multiple bank accounts, credit cards and employees. It’s gotten a whole lot more complicated because now in addition to running your business you need to record and reconcile credit card transactions, set up payroll for employees, submit payroll remittances, calculate HST on invoices, record HST on bills, and prepare HST remittances.

These bookkeeping requirements are time consuming and painstaking, especially for those without training.  As an entrepreneur, why not let Stern Cohen take care of the bookkeeping and accounting tasks while you focus on the growth of your business?

How do Stern Cohen’s bookkeeping services work with accounting services?

Bookkeeping Services: Processing the monthly transactions of your business. This can include payroll and also monthly financial reporting.

Accounting Services: Processing your year end to create a “Notice to Reader” report and corporate tax return (T2) required for lending organizations, the Canada Revenue Agency and other interested parties.

Better Together:  When both bookkeeping and accounting services are provided by Stern Cohen, you’ll benefit from a reduced cost for year-end services due to fewer adjustments and a speedier correspondence between the two services.  As an added bonus, your bookkeeper will have ready access to Stern Cohen’s tax team for complex tax transactions and for flagging tax planning opportunities.

Pricing – How it Works

Simply contact us for a custom estimate! We will provide options to include your corporate tax, year-end and even your personal tax so you’ll know exactly how much your bookkeeping and accounting services will cost.

Pricing is based on the services you need, the number of transactions you generate per month and how many different banking and/or credit cards are used in the business.  Why? We’re trying to understand the time required to process and reconcile so that we can give every customer a fair and accurate monthly fee.

Our bookkeeping packages can include:

Bank and/or Credit Card Reconciliations:

For all packages, bank and credit card accounts will be reconciled monthly. This will ensure all transactions have been captured correctly.

HST remittance:

Your HST filing frequency is mandated by the Canada Revenue Agency and is based on your annual revenue. With higher revenues, the Canada Revenue Agency requires more frequent filings.

Payroll Filing:

Full and partial payroll services are available and include payroll remittances.

Financial Statements (for personal records):

We generate monthly financial reports in QuickBooks Online so that you can keep tabs on your business numbers. These statements do not replace the Notice to Reader Reports for year-end purposes. They are for your personal use only.

Year-End Support:

For all customers, we provide year-end support. Should you choose another accounting firm to process your year-end report, we will provide all the required documents and information. We are also available to answer inquiries as needed.

24 Hour (or Better) Response Time:

Typically we respond within the same business day or the next business day to all inquiries.

Consultation with a CPA for Business Advisory:

This is a great value! It will allow you the time to ask questions and seek advice on business-related items that your bookkeeping team may not be able to answer.

Training

Do you offer training services?  Our staff requires training on industry best practices for bookkeeping.

Yes! We offer QuickBooks Online training services for our customers and their internal staff who help with your bookkeeping. Our QuickBooks Online technicians are certified ProAdvisors! That means we can make QuickBooks Online adoption a very smooth process for your business or organization.

Getting Started

I’m interested in using Stern Cohen’s bookkeeping services. Where do we begin?

Our starting point will begin with a painless assessment of your needs!

We have created an easy to complete “Bookkeeping Checklist” for you to complete.  Contact Julie at 416-967-5100 x 252 to get started.  Our checklist allows us to understand your requirements and determine the time required so that we can come up with a fair monthly fee.  Alternatively, if you already have QuickBooks in place, you could send us a backup or general ledger.  If you don’t have QuickBooks, an electronic or paper statement from your records might  be helpful.

Technology: Recommended Cloud Software

Which technologies should business owners look at for bookkeeping, accounting and reporting?

First off, we strongly recommend business owners embrace cloud-based accounting software. In fact, we no longer support the desktop version of QuickBooks. There are just too many great benefits with QuickBooks Online! There are many inexpensive cloud accounting and bookkeeping software programs and apps available. Our team uses an industry-leading technology stack that we are fully trained and certified in. Here is our go-to technology stack:

If I hired Stern Cohen, would I need to purchase software?

There is a low monthly subscription fee for QuickBooks Online software. And here’s some good news – Stern Cohen offers our clients a wholesale rate thanks to our strong partnership with Intuit – the people who create QBO.

Why QuickBooks Online? Here are just a few of the Pros:

There are many benefits to using QuickBooks Online. Here are just a few:

• Easily access your financial information on any device with an internet browser and an internet connection. This means you can instantly see your business KPI’s in real time from your desktop, mobile phone or tablet.
• Share access to your QuickBooks Online account with your accountant, bookkeeper, and other users via a secure log in.
• You will not have to perform backups – QuickBooks Online will take care of it.
• Bank level security for your business information. Your information will be safely and securely maintained on the QuickBooks server.
• Integration with 100’s of third-party apps that will help make you and your work flow more efficient!
• It’s easy to use and there are many free tutorials available.

Here are a few things to remember:

• QuickBooks Online is not backwards compatible with the desktop version.
• If you temporarily lose internet connectivity, you will not be able to access your account.

Interested in working with us? Scroll down and click the button to contact us if you’d like to get started!

More resources:

• Try our Finance Team service: Learn about Stern Cohen FIT
• What functions and services can be included in Stern Cohen’s outsourced bookkeeping services?
• 6 Reasons to Outsource Your Bookkeeping & Back Office Accounting Services
• Accounting Services – including services for international companies opening a Canadian office