Bookkeeping and Accounting Services for Small Businesses in Aurora, IL

Bookkeeping and accounting services keep the financial record of your business accurate enough to file on time, borrow, and make decisions without guessing. Our CPA firm in Aurora, Illinois keeps monthly books for small businesses, cleans up backlogs, and turns the records into the figures that feed your sales tax, payroll and income tax returns. For owners with activity in Canada or India, we also keep multi-currency records and coordinate with your Canadian CPA and Indian CA so the same transactions are reported the same way everywhere.

Who needs bookkeeping and accounting services?

• Restaurants, contractors, clinics and retailers around Aurora, Plainfield and Elgin that have outgrown a spreadsheet.
• New LLCs and corporations that want a chart of accounts set up correctly from day one.
• Owners who mixed personal and business spending and need a clean separation.
• U.S. companies owned by someone in Toronto, Mumbai or Pune who needs reports in a consistent format.
• Businesses with a notice, audit or lender request that depends on accurate records.

What monthly bookkeeping includes

We use cloud accounting software so you can see the books and we can work with your bank feeds. You keep ownership of the file.

How the engagement works

1. Consultation. We review your business model, systems, volume of transactions and what you need to report.
2. Written engagement agreement. It sets the monthly scope, deliverables and fee basis, and is signed before we touch your books.
3. Document checklist and setup. You provide access and records; we set up the chart of accounts, bank feeds and rules.
4. Preparation. We code transactions, reconcile accounts and post payroll and tax liabilities.
5. Review. We review each month's results for unusual items and send questions before closing the period.
6. Reporting and filing support. We deliver statements and, as separate engagements, prepare sales tax, payroll or income tax filings.
7. Follow-up. We hold a periodic review call and adjust the process as the business changes.

Forms and filings the books support

See our guide to U.S. bookkeeping and record retention and the record-keeping rules by country. For the other two countries, read the T2 corporation return guide and Indian private limited company compliance; sales tax setup is covered under sales tax and GST compliance.

Records, retention and currency

The IRS says to keep income tax records for 3 years in most cases, 6 years if you leave out more than 25% of the gross income shown on a return, 7 years for bad debt or worthless securities claims, and employment tax records for at least 4 years after the tax is due or paid. We keep digital copies and tell you what to retain on your side.

Cross-border owners also need a currency policy. The IRS states that it has no official exchange rate; the general rule is the spot rate when you receive, pay or accrue an item, and the IRS publishes yearly average rates for some conversions. We document the method and apply it consistently, so that a payment from a Calgary customer or to a Pune contractor converts the same way in January and December.

Documents to prepare

• Bank, credit card, loan and payment-processor statements for every month in scope.
• Sales invoices and customer lists, and bills from vendors.
• Payroll reports, and Forms W-4, I-9 and W-9 where applicable.
• Fixed-asset purchases, leases, loan agreements and owner contribution records.
• Prior-year tax return, current chart of accounts and registration letters, such as Illinois Department of Revenue sales tax certificates.
• Foreign statements, if any, in the original currency.

Common situations and fixes

• Months of missed records. We rebuild from statements, in order, and flag items needing your decision.
• Personal expenses in the business account. We reclassify them as owner draws or distributions, and tell you how that affects the tax return.
• Contractors without a Form W-9. We collect them now, since Form 1099-NEC reporting follows contractor payments.
• Cash versus accrual confusion. We set the method with your tax return in mind and explain the effect.
• Foreign vendors and loans. We keep the documents, bank evidence and agreements that support the entries.

A worked example

A landscaping company in Plainfield has six employees and nine months of unreconciled books. Business accounts show $310,000 of deposits. In the rebuild we find $18,400 of family spending coded as repairs and supplies. We move it to owner draws, so net profit rises by $18,400 before tax, which is better to learn from us than from a notice. We also reconcile payroll liabilities to the quarterly Form 941 totals and set up a monthly close.

How we can help

Our Aurora, Illinois office supports small businesses in Kane, DuPage, Will and Kendall counties. We handle the U.S. side and coordinate with your Canadian CPA or Indian CA when books must agree across countries. Pair bookkeeping with payroll and employer compliance and business tax returns and planning, or read our Aurora page for local resources. Our full list of services is on the services page.

Frequently asked questions

General information only. It is not tax, legal, accounting or immigration advice for your situation, and rules change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a licensed professional in the relevant country.