Question 1

What's the difference between a CPA and a bookkeeper?

Accepted Answer

A bookkeeper records and categorizes transactions; a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is a state-licensed accountant who can also represent you before the IRS, sign tax returns, audit financial statements, and provide tax strategy. Bookkeepers cannot legally do those last four. I am a licensed Florida CPA who also handles your monthly bookkeeping, same person on the books and on the tax return.

Question 2

Can a CPA do my bookkeeping?

Accepted Answer

Yes. I am a Florida CPA (license #AC62625) and I personally handle monthly bookkeeping for my small-business clients. Most CPA firms delegate bookkeeping to a junior staff member or refuse it entirely. I built my practice around doing both, because the person who prepares your tax return should be the same person who built the books it is based on.

Question 3

Do I need both a CPA and a bookkeeper?

Accepted Answer

Usually no. Hiring a separate monthly bookkeeper and an annual CPA typically runs $400 to $900 per month for the bookkeeping side alone, plus a tax return on top, and leaves a hand-off gap at year-end where deductions and planning opportunities get missed. I handle the monthly bookkeeping myself with CPA review built in, and I prepare your tax return at year-end. Same person on both sides, no hand-off, custom-quoted on a discovery call.

Question 4

Is it cheaper to hire a CPA for bookkeeping?

Accepted Answer

Often yes. A bookkeeper-only service runs $200 to $500 per month, and a CPA then charges $800 or more at tax time to clean up the books before filing. I combine both roles in one engagement, software included, and the year-end cleanup bill never exists because I am already inside your books all year. Book a discovery call and I will give you your number on the phone.

Question 5

Should I hire a bookkeeper or a CPA?

Accepted Answer

Most small businesses do not need both. A bookkeeper alone misses tax planning and cannot represent you before the IRS; a CPA without their hand in the books is reacting to numbers they did not build. If you are trying to decide whether to hire a bookkeeper, the better question is whether you can hire a CPA who also does the bookkeeping, same monthly cost, broader scope, no year-end hand-off.

Question 6

Do you offer bookkeeping services near me?

Accepted Answer

I am based in Mount Dora, FL and work with small businesses across Central Florida, Sanford, Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, Longwood, Tavares, Leesburg, Apopka, Groveland, and The Villages, plus remote clients nationwide. Everything runs through a secure client portal, so distance is never a barrier.

Question 7

What bookkeeping software do you use?

Accepted Answer

I run client books on Forty Two Six, my in-house bookkeeping platform built specifically for CPA-managed engagements. You do not pay a separate QuickBooks subscription, and you see clean, reconciled monthly financials in your client portal. If you have an existing QuickBooks file you would prefer to keep, I can also work in that.

Question 8

How much does your bookkeeping service cost?

Accepted Answer

Every engagement is priced individually, for the transaction volume, the number of accounts, and whether payroll is included, with no long-term contracts. Book a discovery call at timcpa.com/contact and I will give you your number on the phone. Catch-up bookkeeping is scoped and quoted up front after a look at your accounts.

Question 9

What's included in monthly bookkeeping?

Accepted Answer

Daily transaction categorization, bank and credit card reconciliation, monthly Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow statements, in-house bookkeeping software, and ongoing CPA review, all handled by me, a licensed Florida CPA. Year-round tax planning is part of working with me monthly, not an add-on.

Question 10

What makes this different from outsourced or app-based bookkeeping?

Accepted Answer

Every engagement is run to a licensed CPA standard. This is not an app that auto-categorizes without context, and not a junior associate reporting to a partner. Because I handle both your books and your taxes, I catch deductions and planning opportunities bookkeeper-only services miss.

Question 11

Do you offer catch-up bookkeeping?

Accepted Answer

Yes. If you are months or years behind, I clean up and reconcile historical records, scoped and quoted up front after a look at your accounts. Once current, we can transition to monthly service.