Connected work. Different responsibilities.

Bookkeeping organizes what happened.

Bookkeeping brings transactions, reconciliations, and reporting into an orderly record. A catch-up project addresses incomplete periods; recurring bookkeeping establishes a routine for keeping later periods current.

Ask which accounts and months are included, what reports will be delivered, and how unclear transactions will be resolved. A bank feed alone does not define a completed monthly close.

Tax preparation addresses the return.

Tax preparation begins with the taxpayer, return type, tax year, records, and filing responsibilities. Reliable business books support that process, but preparing a return is a separate task from maintaining those books.

Confirm whether cleanup, planning, amendments, notices, or other work is included. A bookkeeping engagement should not leave a business owner guessing whether a return will be prepared or filed.

Advisory work starts with a decision.

Business advisory uses financial information to examine a question: an operating change, a budget, cash-flow timing, or another business choice. It depends on a clear question and an understanding of the reliability of the source records.

Describe the decision and its date first. Then agree what analysis is useful and whether the records need attention before the analysis can begin.

Choose the first step by the problem.

You do not need to request all three services at once. Identify the task that is blocking progress and the work that depends on it.

• Records behind or balances unclear: discuss bookkeeping or cleanup.
• A return needs preparation: identify the year, documents, and deadline.
• A business choice needs clearer numbers: discuss the decision and available reports.