Tax and accounting for Small and Medium sized Family Businesses
- candid business guidance
- comprehensive tax planning for you and your business
- straightforward finances and bookkeeping (Bookkeeper-In-A-Box)
- regular check-ins with your financial statements
- answers to all your good and bad questions
- access to your books anywhere with an internet connection
We Speak Taxlish
Like Spanglish, except with Tax! The tax code is incredibly complex. You should have a "translator" available to clearly explain what the heck the IRS code is trying to tell us. We're your people. Let us translate.
We're a Family Run Biz!
We understand the family dynamics involved since we live them on a daily basis.
Access Anytime with BIAB
We're your bookkeeper-in-a-box!. As QuickBooks Online ProAdvisors, your books will be instantly accessible from anywhere with an internet connection.
Hi There!!!
I'm Jerry Chyo, and Perry, Chyo is THE Certified Public Accountant for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (SMB). And, you're (presumably) a small- to medium sized business owner in search of a new way to take care of your accounting. Nice to meet you, and welcome to the bottom of my funnel
Let's skip the cliché homepage framework and get straight to the point, k?
You're here because you have a few questions. Specifically, you probably want to know:
- Who are Perry, Chyo & Company?
- What the heck is a "Bookkeeper-in-a-Box?!
- Who do we work with?
- Why we use QuickBooks Online?
- Why we use QuickBooks Payroll?
- What's included?
- Tax planning and a Family Business.
- What's all this cost?
- How do I get started?
The high-level summary is: We are licensed accountants (CPA, ChA's & EA's) that offer year-round tax, accounting/bookkeeping, and consulting services for Small and Medium sized Family businesses.
Tax, Bookkeeping & Business Articles
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How To: Millennials Saving Thousands by Using a Defined Benefit Plan
Do Millenials know what a Defined Benefit Plan is? How often do Millennials think about their retirement plans? Retiring is like that high school crush you never quite figured out. Intriguing yet perplexing, offering promises of golden years filled with leisure,...
How To Use S Corp Payroll for Optimal Tax Planning
Your S Corp payroll can save you MONEY! As an S Corp shareholder, you are required to be on the companies payroll. Let’s look at the best way to “pay” yourself as an S Corp owner. Introduction S Corporations (S Corps) can be looked at as a great blend of a...
About Perry, Chyo & Company
Let's start with me. My name is Jerry Chyo, and I've been a licensed Certified Public Accountant for over 30 years.
I've also been my own personal business owner for almost 30 years. During this time, I've written hundreds of articles on the tax, management, and marketing efforts of SMB's, not just family-owned businesses (although the articles are pertinent to them as well). There's more, but I'll spare you from having to listen to my humble bragging. It's not usually pretty. :^)
The Perry side of the equation is Nicholas and Dianne Perry. Dianne's my niece and has been with me since 2013. Nick is Dianne's husband (duh) and probably begrudgingly lets me refer to him as my nephew. Dudes been around since forever, so he is as far as I'm concerned. Nick came aboard shortly after with the ultimate intent of taking over the firm when my days are done.
Our firm is a modern, technology-infused (not tech-dominated like a lot of firms are going. Shoot, I get it. Makes a lot more money) accounting consultancy.
And even though we are sitting at a desk behind a computer screen, we are always accessible via Zoom or telephone (or visit us on the beautiful Monterey Peninsula for a face-to-face). We'll get you where you need to go:
- Just getting started? Perfect.
- Struggling with back taxes, bookkeeping and unfiled returns? Perfect.
- Already doing your thing and looking for a change? Perfect.
We'll get you right on the money, without the shame. :^)
What's a Bookkeeper-in-a-Box (BIAB)?
Almost Anytime. Almost Anywhere. You just need the internet.
Our bookkeeper-in-a-box (BIAB) is our way of making your business's bookkeeping, tax planning, and tax prep as efficient as possible for a family business. Our version of virtual bookkeeping uses QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Payroll as our foundation.
Exactly how will this benefit you and your business?
Lower your overhead costs - You won't need space for a bookkeeper/accountant, or their furniture and equipment.
Reduce employee costs - No health insurance or retirement costs, or any employment costs (PTO, sick/vacation pay).
Easy scalability - When your business grows and you need more professional help, it's as simple as one phone call.
Advanced security - Our platform's uses the same security that banks use (AES-256 encryption for stored data and TLS/SSL for data in transit). Your data is more easily hacked on your servers than ours.
Access to professionals - Most "bookkeepers" are simply data-entry clerks. Every set of financial statements we issue are reviewed by a professional CPA, EA or ChA.
You focus where you need - Get more sales, expand to another area, change your marketing message. Now you have time.
Your own audit committee - With multiple professional eyes looking over your books on a monthly (or weekly) basis, we will ask questions when a transaction doesn't make business sense. If your employees understand this, the possibility of employee theft is dramatically reduced.
In the name of full disclosure, here are some reasons virtual bookkeeping may not work for you or your business.
No ones home - You can't walk down the hall to ask a "quick" question. And if you are in a different time zone, the pace of communication is slower. Obviously, high importance items will be dealt with expeditiously, but general issues may not be addressed immediately.
Internet speeds - If your internet speed is slow or intermittent, accessing your information can be trying.
Security - ALL work done online is at risk of a security breach. The only really secure setting is a computer with no internet access in a bunker with no possibility of a break-in.
Absolute control - Micromanagers need not apply. You won't be happy. We take ownership of your business's financial data (you obviously still have access) and will perform our duties in a fashion we have found to be the most efficient. This keeps the price down and the work product relevant to your needs.
Who we work with
We don't have a secret handshake or anything (or do we?). Seriously, our clients tend to have a few things in common. Generally, they're businesses with a need (or requirement, talking to you, corps and LLC's). This obvious point has no doubt been addressed at some level, but there's also:
Family-Run Business: You're usually on the smaller side. A small corporation or LLC with 10-20 employees. Revenues are generally less than $2,000,000.
Niche Businesses: You are an expert within your domain. You know what you know, whether it's restoring old Ferraris, cleaning teeth, or a specialty retail outlet. They know what they know.
Entering or in growth mode: You tend to have "lifestyle businesses" with a strong (and established) work/life balance. They care about their team, clients, and the creative process in which they make a living. But something's missing.
By The Boo(s): You don't commingle funds, you don't take sketchy tax or business advice, you don't "inflate" your expenses or try to hide your revenue. And you definitely don't do the wink-wink nudge-nudge, and would never consider tax fraud.
English. Not IRSease: Taxes are confusing. Sometimes I think Congress writes it like this to confuse us into not taking advantage of a specific issue. You need a translator who can speak and communicate in both English and IRSease.
Proactive Planning: You're tired of playing cath-up, unexpected tax bills while on vacation, and making dercisions by the seat of your pants (not good). You want help managing your books, keeping taxes to a minimum and plotting your direction into your future.
Financially-minded feedback: You've done a great job getting to where you are, but you've been managing by braille (seat-of-the-pants, "educated" guessing...and now you need an unbiased, financial mind in the room.
A HUGE weight off your shoulders: You are looking for a strategic partner to handle the yucky stuff like bookkeeping, reconciliations and payroll. And get your taxes done under one URL!
Why we use QuickBooks Online.
We are a QuickBooks Online shop. QBO allows us to maintain your books on an ongoing basis, and allows us to share duties with you.
Real-Time Bookkeeping
Benefit 1: Connect your bank and credit card accounts to your books for automatic transaction syncing. This assures 99% of your business transactions will be captured in real-time.
Accounts Receivable
Benefit 2: In my opinion, the most important aspect of keeping your books. People who owe you money and people who have paid on account. A/R management is imperative for good financial reports.
Accounts Payable
Benefit 3: The 2nd most important aspect of bookkeeping. Smaller organizations use this to track cash flow. Larger companies use AP management as a secondary checkpoint for received inventory.
Seamless Integration
Benefit 4: Connecting to QuickBooks gives access to third-party tools for your specific niche business. Payroll is the most common with inventory management, E-commerce (think online seller), and time management. The availability of third-party add-ons make QBO the best accounting platform for most businesses. I actually have no idea what type of business wouldn't benefit from being on QuickBooks Online.
Tax-Ready Reporting
Benefit 5: The ability to generate tax-ready financial statements and reports makes for more accurate and efficient tax returns. Fewer errors mean a lower possibility of audits or other IRS action.
QuickBooks Online is a robust, cost-effective platform for businesses on the rise. If you have a specific need, let's chat and see if there's an option available that serves your needs.
Why we use QuickBooks Payroll
The seamless integration with QuickBooks Online Accounting is fantastic. The features available cover most special payroll situations you will run into, including prevailing wage jobs.
Seamless Syncing
Benefit 1: Each of your payroll transactions will automatically be categorized and allocated to your books, eliminating the need to enter payroll manually.
1099 Contractor Management
Benefit 2: The requirement to issue 1099s to independent contractors can be daunting. QBO Payroll can handle this easily on an ongoing basis. At year-end, 1099s are ready to be printed and processed.
Automated Payroll Tax Compliance
Benefit 3: Payroll taxes are the largest part of the outstanding taxes owed by businesses. QBO Payroll calculates and pays your federal, state, and local payroll taxes. There's even a penalty guarantee if they make a mistake!
Integrated Time Tracking
Benefit 4: The ability to track hours on an ongoing basis gives better job costing and reduces errors brought about by manual entry.
Employee Self-Service
Benefit 5: QuickBooks Workforce allows your employees to view paystubs, download W-2's and track time off without an HR department.
Automated Payroll
Benefit 6: If your payroll is set at standard salaries (not hourly), we will set your payroll to run on autopilot.
Garnishment Support
Benefit 7: Allows you to manage and calculate most garnishment orders, such as child support and back taxes.
What's Included
💊 S-Corporation eligibility assessment: If you Google, "I own a business and taxes make me sad," the internet will tell you to form an S-corp. But, taxes aren't that simple and S-corps don't alwaysss save money. We'll check and make sure they do before helping you make the S-corp election.
🟠 Reasonable compensation & payroll: S-corp owners need to pay themselves payroll. The IRS left how much open to debate tho. We'll run a reasonable compensation study, optimize your payroll to save tax without adding audit risk, and get payroll set up.
🏦 Personalized tax savings plan: Saving for taxes is a pain. Feels like you're always playing catch up. I'll show you an easier method, with a series of bank accounts, and give you a personalized tax savings rate bassed on your tax situation.
👷 Capture and categorize every transaction: Everything starts with your bookkeeping - your business tax return, cash flow forecasting, tax planning, financial decision-making, quarterly estimates - everything. We'll capture and categorize every transaction for more accurate books, and more importantly, a more accurate everything else.
👷 Managed bookkeeping: Bookkeeping is an energy vampire. Let me do it. I'll tame the accounting software, categorize the transactions, reconcile the accounts, and track down any annoying errors. You'll just have to update the bank connection (I'll remind you 😉), send me the statements, and answer a few questions. I got the rest.
☎️ Onboarding call(s): You probably have lotsss of questions that previous accountants ignored. We'll start with two calls about taxes & finances, to teach you the best practices and give you a chance to finally ask all those questions.
🤐 Confidentiality: It should go without saying, but everything we discuss is just between you, me, and the IRS. I don't share client names, my client list, or any details about them with anyone. And, while you may inspire a LinkedIn post, I'd absolutely never bully you via LinkedIn (I cannot believe I need to point that out, but people have asked 😅).
💸 Flat-fee subscription pricing: No hourly. No surprises. No 'the tax return costs extra.' One monthly price, everything included, and revisited yearly.
🙏 Please & thank you: My mom would say I don't have manners. But, I know how to say please, thank you, and send a polite email. And, nowadays, that's saying something 😅
🥼 Industry expertise: They say marketing has too much jargon and too many acronyms. Go ahead and use it. I'll know what you mean, because you aren't the only agency I work with.
🔔 Quarterly tax estimates: Your quarterly tax payments are due April 15th, June 15th, September 15th, and January 15th (with any remainder when you file). A week before each payment date, I'll remind you how much to pay, how we arrived at our estimate, and where to pay (with links).
🧠 Year-end tax review: Tax season surprises are the worst. We'll get ahead of them with a tax planning meeting in November/December to discuss your business, any updates, and look for opportunities to minimize your tax bill.
🏛️ Year-round tax support: Tax questions happen all year. When you have a Q, shoot me an email and get an answer within 24hrs - without the dreaded surprise invoice.
🦸♂️ Audit protection: No one likes a tax department letter, but you're bound to get them. There's a tech hiccup, the IRS misplaced a payment, a state claims they never got a payroll return, an automatic letter got spit out, you forgot to register for something, etc. Forward those letters to me and I'll write responses - included.
🔍 Prior tax return reviews: I'm sure your last accountant was wonderfully competent. I'll review your prior returns just to give us all a lil more peace of mind tho.
🔎 Bookkeeping review: Every set of books gets reviewed before using them to prepare your tax return. I'll drill down into your Profit & Loss, check your Balance Sheet for any bodies, and make sure everything's looking good for you and the IRS.
😇 Judgment-free support: Accountants aren't exactly known for their sparkling personalities or bedside manner. We're known for being gruff, grumpy, and grouchy. Not exactly a pleasure to work with. I can't promise to be a pleasure, but I won't judge you for where you're at in your business journey.
🎙️ Recordings: You'll get recordings of all our calls. Rewatch them, run them thru AI, or let them collect dust in our cloud storage. I don't collect, but they're yours. (Just don't try to clone my voice 😅)
✅ Tax-ready books: Tax season is stressful for two big reasons: the April tax bill and getting your books ready. Once we implement a savings plan and get bookkeeping off your plate, it'll be smooth sailing.
🔒 Secure portal & tech stack: Your taxes and financials include a lot of sensitive info. Safeguarding it is mission-critical. All your documents are held in a SOC2 audited secure portal, my accounting software requires two-factor authentication, and I'll never ask for full-access bank logins.
More What's Included
Business and Individual Tax Returns - Your corporate, partnership, or LLC federal and state(s) income tax returns will be prepared using the books we kept for you. With the complexity of the current tax code, there are very few things you can do after the tax year to take advantage of any current tax benefit available.
(tax prep is also available on it's own. Entities start at $1200, individuals start at $525)
S Corp Assessment and Salary Study - The highest audit point for S Corporations is whether the owner/shareholder's salaries are high enough. This can also open up a discussion at to whether the corp in question still qualifies as an S. This is all stuff you gotta keep straight.
Accidental S status termination is a real thing. If your company was inadvertently terminated 2 years ago, that's two years of amended corporate returns and every family member's returns as well.
Business and Individual Tax Planning - While filing your returns is an essential part of what we do, it's the tax planning, but business and individual, which will give you the biggest benefit. Every business has its own dynamic, and family businesses are no different, but they offer something the others don't. Continuity.
Managed Bookkeeping - The actual bookkeeping function is a time suck and cost center. A lot of the family businesses we've consulted for have Aunt Bev or Mom doing the books (we even had a $4mil company that still had Mom coming in every morning to do the previous day's books).
Flat-Fee Pricing - One of the first things we'll do is review your books and prior income tax returns. Next will be your payroll and any other tax returns you file (sales, excise, property). With this information, we can determine your monthly fee. Mulitply by twelve and thats your tax and bookkeeping cost for the year.
Prior-Year Tax Return Review - We'll review the past three years of income tax returns (Federal and All States). If we see anything that would be worth amending for, we'll present you with a short report showing the issues and expected savings.
Secure Portal - You will have your very own secure portal in the cloud. This makes the sharing of documents as easy as drag-and-drop. The portal uses bank-grade 256-bit encryption (SOC 2 type II compliant and DPR compliant). This is the highest level of security available for an accounting firm.
Online or Face-to-Face or some combination of both - Being a tech geek, this is my favorite part. I'm that weird CPA who actually likes people, but I gotta get my geek-on with all the technology. We're constantly looking for new technology that will help our clients.
Tax Planning and Family Businesses
Tax planning for a family business is about long term wealth preservation, while keeping an eye on the current tax situation.
Family Business Corporate Structure - Family businesses typically favor the S-Corporations to allow for pass-through taxation
Regular Business - To be more attractive to financial lenders and outside investors, a regular business will generally report as a C corporation (regular corp)
Family Business Audits - Family businesses will atract more scrutiny from the IRS simply because of the closeness of all "owners". That's why you need to keep a close eye on vehicle and meals/entertainment deductions.
Regular Business - With a broader ownership structure (unrelated, with separate wealth goals), IRS audits are generally less intense and invasive. In their eyes, there isn't as much possibility of collusion.
Family Business Compensation - It's common for a family business to "employ" spouses and kids to shift income into lower tax brackets. Documention of duties is imperative here.
Regular Business - Compensation is based on business criteria. Stock options and other equity based options are also used as compensation. Non-discrimination testing is thing with these businesses.
Family Business Bookkeeping - Your books need rigorous documentation to ensure expenses that can be both business and personal are properly allocated. Items of specific scrutiny are family cell phone plans and stipends for home office or personal vehicle use.
Travel is another area of scrutiny. Going to a conference in Hawaii is a legit business expense. Taking the spouse and kids (who don't work for the business) and trying to deduct this on the business books is a no-no.
Another area scrutinized is family loans to the company (or from). The IRS requires loan agreements that outline the terms in the document.
Documentation justifying the expenses should be available in the event of an audit. Do you have the above items?
How we can work together (and how much BIAB costs)
Starter BIAB
Your Bookkeeping Starter Pack- Monthly after-the-fact financial statements
- Get your bookkeeping totally off your plate
- Up to 2 bank/CC accounts and 150 transactions categorized and reconciled
- Up to 15 bills paid/mo
- Perfect for Schedule C's
- Discounted tax return available
Incubator BIAB
Helping With Your Growing Pains- Get your taxes and bookkeeping totally off your plate
- Included semi-monthly payroll for 4 employees
- Up to 4 total accounts and 300 transactions categorized and reconciled
- Up to 30 bills paid/mo
- Includes business tax return (Sch C)
- Annual Tax Planning report
Growth BIAB
Getting You Into Growth Stage- Everything in Incubator, plus:
- Semi-monthly payroll for 7 employees
- Up to 6 total accounts and 450 transactions categorized and reconciled
- Up to 50 bills paid/mo
- Monthly AR and AP reconciliations
- Includes entity level tax return (Corp, Pship, LLC)
- Bi annual tax planning reports
Dynasty BIAB
Your Virtual Accounting Office- Everything in Growth, plus:
- Semi-monthly payroll for up to 10 employees
- Up to 8 total accounts and 600 transactions categorized and reconciled
- Up to 75 bills paid/mo
- Monthly AR and AP reconciliations
- Includes entity level tax return (corp, Pship, LLC)
- Quarterly tax planning reports
To download a matrix of all bookkeeping duties to be performed by the different plans, click here.
Pricing FAQ
What factors affect your pricing?.
- your gross revenue
- number of partners
- number of states
- entity type (ie, sole prop, SMLLC, S-corp, partnership)
- general complexity
'Tax Hero' pricing also depends on:
- the number of financial transactions
- the number of financial accounts
- whether you have payroll, loan, or complex transactions
What's the minimum commitment?
Both 'Tax Hero and 'Tax Buddy' packages are 12-month commitments.
'Tax Essentials' is just that season's tax return and a meeting at the end of the year.
Do you prepare à la carte tax returns without a subscription?
Absolutely, Entity returns (Corp, S Corp, LLC and P'Ships) start at $1,200, Individual start at $600. But that won't include any year-round support, check-ups, letter support, or tax consults.
Do you offer one-off consulting calls?
Sure do. You can schedule one here.
Getting Started
We'll talk about your business and goals and a little about the future. If nothing else, it'll get you thinking with direction.
Step 2. Our First Date: If we connect and you'd like to start working together, we'll start the deep dive.
We'll review your tax returns, go through your books at a transactional level, and then schedule two calls to dive deep into all your questions that previous accountants ignored.
At the end, we'll discuss our findings and submit our proposal for your review.
Step 3. Catch up & Clean up: Once you've signed on the dotted line (and paid our first invoice), we'll get started by cleaning up any messiness, like inaccurate books, unfiled taxes, or IRS notices.
Step 4. Smooth Sailing: Finally, we'll get into a monthly rhythm of doing your bookkeeping, updating forecasts, and discussing your agency's finances. We'll have a few tax planning sessions each year, with your return being prepared to start the next year. Before you know it, you won't even remember the time finances stressed you out.
