We believe in our name and our motto: Adding Sense to Your Dollars. We believe it is important to educate as we serve, to look at the whole of our client’s financial lives and to offer support wherever we can. Our approach to preparing taxes involves simultaneous interview and preparation, evaluating the return for possible ways to improve our client’s lives. For instance, if a client has a substantial refund, we will discuss with the client the importance of NOT letting the government borrow their money interest free. We will then help them figure out how to adjust their withholdings to maximum their take home pay without risking a tax bill at the end of the year. We have also counseled clients on modifications, bankruptcy, debt reduction, personal financial management, starting their own businesses, planning for retirement, estate planning, the importance of investing, and a whole host of other topics. We believe in developing a relationship with our clients and becoming part of their advisory team. We don’t do everything, but we can refer to trusted members of our community who can provide many of the professional services we do not.

We offer the same care to our bookkeeping clients. We do not believe in just putting numbers into the computer and printing out a report. We believe it is important to help the client understand the story the numbers are telling. We believe the business owners need to understand changes in their revenues and costs, the importance of cost management and understanding the bottom line. We find that many small business owners are great at providing the goods or services they sell, but many are not so great at the business aspect of their business. We exist to support our clients in their business management.

When it comes to working with the IRS on behalf of our clients, we continue this philosophy of interaction. We work with clients to evaluate what options are truly available to them, and then determining how to make it happen. Often this involves substantial changes to lifestyle, which can be very hard to accomplish. We offer support and encouragement along the way. We do not accept payment for work with the IRS on behalf of our clients until we have conducted a thorough interview with the client to determine what, if any, options are available to them to reduce their debt with the IRS. We find this is in contrast to many other debt resolution companies who collect fees without qualifying the client for any resolution programs.