CPA · Nashville, TN
The Nashville homeowner's guide to accounting and tax
What the work involves, what drives the price, what your options are, and what a bad job looks like — written so you can judge any CPA in Middle Tennessee, including us.
Warning signs
How to know you need us
If you recognize any of these, it is worth having somebody look before it becomes a larger job.
- Filing an extension every year rather than by choice
- Books more than a quarter behind, or kept only in a bank feed
- A tax bill in April that you had no warning about
- A notice from the IRS or the Tennessee Department of Revenue
- Starting a business and unsure how it should be structured
- An accountant who does not return calls between February and April
Your options
More than one right answer.
A CPA who only ever recommends the most expensive option is not giving you advice. Here is the honest range.
Tax preparation only
Returns prepared and filed. The right answer if the books are already clean and the situation is simple.
Preparation plus planning
The return, plus conversations during the year when decisions can still change the outcome.
Full bookkeeping and tax
Monthly books, quarterly filings and the annual return as one engagement. Most small businesses land here.
Advisory and CFO
For businesses where the question is no longer compliance but pricing, cash flow and what the numbers are telling you.
What it costs
What actually drives the price.
We do not quote accounting and tax over the phone, because an honest number needs somebody to look at the job. These are the things that move it.
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Individual or business
A straightforward personal return and a multi-entity business with payroll, sales tax and inventory are different orders of work, and the fee follows the complexity rather than the calendar.
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The state of the books
A clean set of books makes a return a summary. A year of unreconciled transactions makes it a reconstruction, and that is the single biggest swing in what tax prep costs.
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Entity structure
Sole proprietor, partnership, S corporation and C corporation each carry different filings and different deadlines. Structure decides the workload before anything else does.
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States and jurisdictions
Multi-state income, out-of-state property or remote employees each add filings, and Tennessee franchise and excise tax catches people who assumed no income tax meant no filing.
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Year-round or once a year
Monthly bookkeeping and quarterly planning costs more across the year and usually reduces both the tax bill and the April fee.
Every estimate is free, written and carries no obligation — including the parts we would find only after starting, which are priced up front rather than left open.
What happens
From your call to the finished job.
First conversation
What you do, how the books are kept and what happened last year. Free, and it decides the scope rather than assuming it.
Engagement letter
Scope and fee agreed in writing before any work starts. No surprises on either side.
The work
Documents gathered, books brought current, return prepared and reviewed with you before anything is filed.
Through the year
Quarterly check-ins for planning clients, because a decision in November can still be changed and one in March cannot.
Done badly
What goes wrong, and why it matters.
These are the shortcuts that make a quote look cheaper and cost you more later. Ask anyone you are considering about them.
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Treating tax as an April task
Nearly every decision that changes what you owe has to be made before December 31st. April is reporting, not planning.
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Mixing personal and business accounts
It makes the books slower, the deductions harder to defend, and the corporate protection weaker if it is ever tested.
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Ignoring quarterly estimates
Underpayment penalties are avoidable and compound quietly across the year.
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Choosing an entity for the tax alone
An S corporation saves self-employment tax and adds payroll, filings and cost. It is worth it above a certain income and not below it.
Before you hire anyone
Six questions worth asking any CPA.
Including us. If a contractor cannot answer these easily, that is the answer.
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Are you licensed for accounting and tax and can I see the certificate?
A licensed and insured contractor will have this to hand and will not be irritated by the question.
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Is the consultation written, itemized and free?
A verbal number is not an estimate. Itemized means you can compare two quotes on the same basis.
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What happens if you find something once you start?
The honest answer names a rate and a process. The answer to worry about is that it never happens.
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Who is actually doing the work?
Employee crew or subcontractor is not a wrong answer either way, but you should know which, and who carries the insurance.
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What is the workmanship warranty, and is it in writing?
Materials carry a manufacturer warranty. Workmanship is the contractor, and it should be written down.
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Will you pull the permit?
For permitted work, a contractor who suggests skipping it is telling you something important about the rest of the job.
FAQ
Choosing a CPA in Nashville
How do I choose a CPA in Nashville?
Check the license and the insurance certificate, get the estimate in writing and itemized so you can compare quotes on the same basis, and ask what happens if something is found once work starts. A contractor who cannot answer those easily has told you what you need to know.
Should I get more than one quote for accounting and tax?
Yes, and compare what is in them rather than the number at the bottom. The cheapest quote is often cheapest because it leaves something out, and on accounting and tax the thing left out is usually the preparation that decides how long the work lasts.
Is the cheapest accounting and tax quote usually a bad idea?
Not automatically — but an unusually low number is information. Ask specifically what is included, what grade of material is quoted, who is doing the work and what the workmanship warranty is. If all four answers are good, the low quote is a good quote.
Do I need a permit for accounting and tax in Nashville?
It depends on the scope. Metro Nashville and the surrounding counties permit and inspect a good deal of this work, and a contractor suggesting you skip a required permit is telling you something about how they approach the rest of the job. We pull the permits our work requires.
How far in advance should I book accounting and tax?
A few weeks where you can. Booking in the quiet season usually means better scheduling and sometimes better pricing than booking in the rush, and it gives you time to make the selections properly.
Free estimate
Need a CPA in Nashville today?
Tell us what is going on and we will get you a free estimate from a local CPA. No obligation, no pressure.