Ongoing CPA& Bookkeeping for $1M+ Texas Cleaning Business (S-Corp) — Monthly Retainer - Contract to Hire

ABOUT THE ENGAGEMENT

I'm the founder of a Dallas-Fort Worth residential and short-term rental cleaning business (Texas LLC taxed as S-Corp, $1M+ annual revenue, operating since 2017), and managing member of a separate Texas partnership that provides STR property management.

I'm shopping for an ongoing accounting engagement on a monthly retainer basis, starting for TY2026. I have a few months to find the right fit, so I'm prioritizing quality over speed.

I'm open to three structures and want to see proposals for any of them:

1. Bookkeeper only. You handle monthly QBO work and I engage a US CPA separately for returns and advisory.

2. US CPA only. You handle returns, tax planning, and quarterly advisory. I keep or hire a bookkeeper separately.

3. Full-service team. Bookkeeper plus US CPA, either as a firm or as a coordinated team.

Please propose whichever structure you actually deliver. Don't pad scope to match a wider engagement — I'd rather see you do one piece well than three pieces poorly.

FULL SCOPE (pick what applies to you)

Monthly / ongoing bookkeeping:

- QBO oversight and monthly close (Stripe auto-sync handles ~97% of transactions)

- Monthly financial statements with brief commentary

- Payroll oversight (Gusto, 2 W-2s) and 1099 compliance (15+ contractors)

- Books currently need cleanup and revenue broken out by service line

Quarterly advisory:

- Scheduled quarterly review calls — your team puts them on the calendar, not me

- Estimated tax payment modeling for S-Corp and personal

- Review of all four financial statements, not just the P&L

- Proactive flagging of balance sheet issues

Annual returns:

- Form 1120-S (S-Corp)

- Texas Franchise returns (both entities)

- Form 1065 (partnership)

- Form 1040 with all applicable schedules

- S-Corp reasonable compensation analysis

One-time cleanup:

- Assessment of existing QBO file

- Chart of accounts restructured to segment revenue by service line (residential, deep clean, move-in/out, post-construction, STR turnover)

MY TECH STACK

QuickBooks Online, Stripe (auto-sync), Gusto, field scheduling software, Google Workspace, Slack. Fully digital operation — I run both businesses remotely from outside Texas.

WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR IN PROPOSALS

Please address these directly. Generic proposals will not be considered.

1. Which structure are you proposing — bookkeeping only, CPA only, or full-service? Be specific about what you do and don't do.

2. If you're proposing CPA work or returns: in which US state(s) are you (or the signing CPA) licensed, and roughly how many S-Corp returns did you file last tax year?

3. Pricing. Give me a monthly retainer range or a starting point, not "let's discuss." Separate one-time cleanup pricing from ongoing if relevant.

4. How you'd run the first 60 days of the engagement. I want to see how you think, not just what you charge.

5. Service-business or STR experience. Cleaning, home services, multi-entity STR, or similar. Not required but a strong plus.

WHAT I'M NOT LOOKING FOR

A provider who waits for me to ask questions. I'm a busy operator and I need someone who drives their part of the calendar, flags issues proactively, and treats communication as part of the deliverable. If your model is "file returns once a year and answer emails when you send them," this isn't the right engagement.

NEXT STEPS

Serious candidates: include a 2–3 minute Loom (or written) walkthrough of how you'd approach the first 60 days. That's the fastest way to stand out and the fastest way for me to evaluate fit.

Looking forward to the right proposals.