Free health assessment of your books.Call, text or email to set a time.
One person in charge of your books, who answers your questions and closes last month’s books by the 15th.
★★★★★ “Switched bookkeepers this summer and Mike had February through July caught up and to my CPA by the end of August…” Logan Grime · Google review
Built for small businesses
Contractors and trades, professional offices, shops, online sellers: if you run a small business and want books you can trust every month, I can help. Payroll, contractors’ 1099s and sales-tax filings are all part of the work.
Services
Bookkeeping
The monthly engagement, for one flat fee. Catch-up work is by the hour.
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Monthly Bookkeeping
Every transaction categorized, every bank, card and payment account reconciled to its statement, and your profit and loss and balance sheet in your shared folder each month.
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Payroll
Payroll run on schedule and recorded correctly in your books.
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Sales & Use Tax
Your California sales and use tax returns prepared and filed on schedule, and the tax you collect kept straight in your books.
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Year-End Prep
An organized year-end package for your tax preparer, and your contractors’ 1099s filed by the January 31 deadline.
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Year-to-Date Review
Every September: where your year stands, how it’s shaping up and what’s worth raising with your tax preparer while there’s still time to act. Included in your fee.
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Catch-Up & Cleanup
Behind, or not sure the books are right? I bring them current as a separate project, by the hour.
Advisory
By the hour, when you want it.
Looking for something beyond the books? I also offer business advisory: a sit-down to work out exactly what you need — cash flow, forecasting, pricing and owner pay, or something unique to your business that you’d like a second set of eyes on, from someone who thinks like an owner. If I can’t help with it, I’ll reach out to my network and find someone who can take care of you.
How it works
Closed by the 15th, every month.
Every account is reconciled to its statement, to the penny, and last month is closed by the 15th, so the numbers you look at are complete and checked.
One message a month.
At the start of each month I send you a single list of anything I need to ask about last month. That is the only thing I need from you.
You will always hear back.
Email or text any time, and you have a reply within one business day. Emergencies get a same-day answer.
One person in charge of your books.
You have one point of contact who knows your books and your business, with a direct number.
Plain answers, no lecture.
Ask anything. You get a plain answer, and no question is too basic.
One flat monthly fee, in writing.
Set after your assessment and written into your engagement letter, along with anything that would cost extra, so nothing turns up on an invoice you did not expect.
Questions
Do you prepare tax returns?
No. I keep your books and prepare a complete year-end package for your tax preparer, and I work with your preparer directly whenever you ask me to.
What if my books are behind?
Most new clients’ are; that is usually why they call, and nobody gets a lecture about how they got that way. I bring them current as a separate project, by the hour, usually from January of this year forward, so you are not paying to redo a year that has already been filed.
Do I need to understand accounting?
No, and no question is too basic. Each month your profit and loss and balance sheet land in your shared folder, and if something in them doesn’t make sense, ask. When I have a question about a transaction, you answer it in your own words, and I do the categorizing.
How do I know the books are right?
Every bank, card and payment account is reconciled to its statement, to the penny, before the month is closed. An error cannot sit unnoticed for long, and if one is mine, I fix it at no charge.
Will my books be on time?
Yes. Your books are closed by the 15th of the following month, every month, and your contractors’ 1099s are filed by January 31.
What happens at year-end?
Your tax preparer gets a complete package: reconciled year-end statements, profit and loss, balance sheet, general ledger and owner draws. Your contractors’ 1099s are filed by January 31. Nothing about your year is a scramble in the spring.
Will I always deal with the same person?
Yes. One person is in charge of your books and is your point of contact, with a direct number.
How quickly do you answer?
You will always hear back, within one business day. Email or text any time; anything that needs doing is done in that month’s bookkeeping. Emergencies get a same-day answer: a payroll problem before payday, a tax notice with a deadline, or suspected fraud or a frozen account.
What does it cost?
One flat monthly fee, set after the free assessment and written into your engagement letter before any work starts, along with everything that would cost extra: catch-up work, 1099s, advisory hours. It is all up front, and nothing turns up on an invoice you did not expect.
How do you protect my information?
I never ask for your bank logins: I work through read-only bank feeds and accountant access to your QuickBooks file, which you can revoke at any time. Your records live on encrypted devices and in encrypted, backed-up storage, shared with you view-only, and go to no one but your tax preparer, at your direction. I keep a written security plan, as the FTC expects of paid bookkeepers.
What software do you use?
QuickBooks Online. Your QuickBooks file stays yours; I work in it with accountant access.
What do you need from me?
Accountant access to your QuickBooks Online file, read-only bank feeds, any statement the feeds cannot supply, and answers to my questions within a few days. I never ask for your bank logins.
About
Mike Durighello
Bookkeeper & Advisor
Durighello Bookkeeping & Advisory is my practice: bookkeeping for a small number of businesses, with one person in charge of your books.
I founded and ran a beverage company for the last decade — manufacturing, distribution and all — through a sale, which is where clean books get tested. I love business, and I love the point where an owner stops guessing and starts running on real numbers. I’ve been living in San Luis Obispo since 2010, and when I’m not working you can find me riding my mountain bike or spearfishing off the Central Coast.
Ask for your free health assessment.
No cost and no obligation. I look at your books, and you get a written quote. Call or text, or send an email with a couple of details, and we’ll set a time.