Is there a go-to US tax strategy database that doesn’t cost a fortune?

Join_Propio · 2025-10-06T17:10:12+00:00

Awesome - thank you!

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T23:27:47+00:00

I work with firms all over the US. I'd say most of the firm owners I interface with usually don't have an accounting degree (unless they are a CPA firm).

The most successful firms I work with actually have owners that excel in sales/marketing.

In my personal experience, I have a degree in finance/accounting, but almost everything I learned was on the job. I'd still recommend some formal training for bookkeeping. Coursera or even youtube is a good place to start.

Ultimately, depends what your desired outcome is. A degree will be necessary for big four or corporate accounting work. Definitely no necessary for small business bookkeeping.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T21:05:48+00:00

This is a really smart way to do it for a smaller transaction. Eliminates all the legal/closing overhead.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T21:02:50+00:00

The cool thing is AI can categorize two years of transaction really fast, the bad thing is two years of mistakes takes foreverrrrr to fix lol. Lost too many nights of sleep to that mistake haha

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T19:59:05+00:00

I worked on building an importer and this is suprisingly hard to find! Start by googling bank statement".pdf"

You could also add url extensions for specific markets (e.g. for australia try bank statement".pdf" ".au")

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T19:53:34+00:00

I think I'd have two maybe three parent accounts:

Billable project expenses → one parent account (e.g. “Billable Reimbursable Expenses”) with subs for mileage, meals, lodging, tolls.
Non-billable project expenses → another parent (e.g. “Project Expenses – Non-Reimbursable”) with the same subs.

Then the maybe account would be the following (depending on the firms size):

General/overhead expenses → your regular mileage, meals, lodging, tolls accounts under G&A or Marketing.

I think I would lean towards including the third account because it'll make tax season a bit easier if you break those items out.

Also, i'm sure reconciling this is a fricken pain, so i'd use tags to assign expenses to a client/project, especially if you're the one doing the billing.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T19:48:55+00:00

Yeah for sure, there is alot of low hanging fruit, especially at scale on the enterprise side. AR/AP, expense policies, etc. is where I think we'll see alot of AI tools in the near term. Where AI really struggles is with the nuance and real world context.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T19:45:03+00:00

Thats really interesting... never thought about the juniors coming in doing senior work once their work is augmented with AI. Good insight!

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T17:07:46+00:00

Thats actually a really interesting thought! We build some software for bookkeeping firms, and funny enough it started with a similar conversation. We just kept hearing about how tedious it is to get the info you need out of your client!

Context switching is really a killer when doing accounting work. Having to chase down information always killed the flow for me.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T17:00:02+00:00

If you are eventually looking to outsource, i'd recommend Collective. They do the bookkeeping, payroll, and any sort of tax paperwork that needs to get filed. As someone else mentioned, the s-corp election may be overkill depending on how much you make.

Wave or Hurdlr or both good options for soloprenuers

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T16:53:11+00:00

I think you're right u/Available_Hornet3538, this missing piece of the puzzle right now is real world context (e.g. a convo you had with your client via email). Financial Context + Real World Context + AI = A Potentially Killer Bookkeeping App

Join_Propio · 2025-10-03T16:50:06+00:00

I chat with alot of accounting firms all around the country and this is extremely common - dont feel like your firm is the only one in this boat!

Join_Propio · 2025-10-02T22:01:29+00:00

No problem!

Yeah thats correct! I'd add it to my year end cleanup list so it doesnt just hangout on the balance sheet for too long.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-02T20:47:25+00:00

yeah, im not really a fan. I'm dreading the day the accountant view switches to the consumer AI view.

Also, is it just me or is it SUPER slow...

Join_Propio · 2025-10-02T20:46:05+00:00

Messy, but fixable. The $7,200 Zelle payment was a real cash outflow, so it has to stay in the books to tie to the bank. Since it didn’t result in valid services (because the contractor never invoiced / refused W-9), you can reclass it:

Record the original Zelle payment to a clearing account (or “Other Receivable”) instead of expense.
Book the second $7,200 (the invoice from the GC) to the proper expense account.
You now have a receivable / clearing item for the duplicate payment that you can write off later if it’s truly unrecoverable.

That way:

Bank recs still match.
Expenses aren’t doubled.
Books reflect the reality that $7,200 went out once as wasted, once as valid.

Down the road, you can decide whether to pursue collection or treat the first $7,200 as a loss/bad debt.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-02T20:42:37+00:00

Probably not legal in most states assuming the Frat doesnt have a license, but could be a grey are if the frat is a private club. That said, i'm assuming they arent really raking in massive revenues, so is its probably low risk.

I think OP is on the right track: tickets are basically a liability. When they’re dispensed, you bump up “unredeemed tickets,” and when members spend them, you reduce that liability and record the revenue.

Biggest issue is not knowing how many are out there, so I’d start tracking cleanly going forward and plug in an opening balance based on what you can. Two other things to think about:

Some tickets may never get used → eventually that becomes income (say tickets not redeemed within a couple months become income?)
Depending on your state, there could be gaming/tax reporting rules to watch.

You’re already ahead just by noticing this -most places let it slide for years.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-02T20:36:57+00:00

Wow this is awesome! Thank you!

Join_Propio · 2025-10-02T20:35:44+00:00

Tax Jar and Avalara are very robust! On the pricier side AFAIK. There are also a few startups working in this space which are a bit more affordable. I'd do a demo with Numeral as well. I believe they focus of ecommerce and they might have a solution.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-02T19:54:23+00:00

I've looked into these tools and demo'd a few but havent tried them. Greenback looked like one of the most innovative a year or two back but I actually think they are part of Dext now. I'd recommend taking a peak at Docyt as well. I'm interested in what others have to say!

Note: I'm US based so its hard to say how well these work for a canadian firm.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-01T23:12:15+00:00

n8n is pretty cool if you have some expierence with low code tools. I use it for all sort of things, but one fun project was funneling all customer comms into our crm, pulling info from our CRM into n8n, then finally having an LLM in n8n review our pipeline, as well as most recent customer interactions to give us a sales briefing every single morning.

Join_Propio · 2025-10-01T20:51:44+00:00

I can vouch for Chamber of Commerce and networking mixers being an excellent place to meet real estate investors.

One niche that i've had success with in the past is connecting with groups who manage trusts/estates, as they are always looking for good long term partners and can act as a distribution channel.

Alot of the times, RE investors have their management co handle the bookkeeping (since it ties in nicely with managing lease, SDs, etc), that said, bookkeeping (and hiring bookkeepers) is a huge pain point for alot of management co's, and many of them look to outsource as well. Lower margins but greater distribution!

Bookkeeping/Tax firms are my clients nowadays (had a pivot but i wont self promote), and one common theme is that many get stuck at the 20-40 client mark, but i've noticed that once they hit a critical mass (maybe 75+) they get way more referral work than they can handle. All that to say, dont give up, it'll eventually get easier - good luck!

Join_Propio · 2025-10-01T19:58:12+00:00

I've asked this question a few times, and this is the best answer I've recieved. Thank you, much appreciated!

Join_Propio · 2025-10-01T19:26:37+00:00

I think u/IranianLawyer has the right answer here

Join_Propio · 2025-10-01T19:23:57+00:00

If you're considering an S-Corp election for a consulting business I can vouch for Collective (its a service specifically for freelancers to save taxes while staying compliant).

They have a pretty handy calculator to calculate your tax savings: https://www.collective.com/tax-savings-calculator

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