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Everything people actually ask.
65 answers, in plain language, across the things that come up most on a first call. If yours isn't here, it's a quick phone call away.
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01 · GETTING STARTED
Getting started
What working with us looks like before anything is signed.
Call, email, or send a message through the site. We'll set up a short intro call — usually about twenty minutes — to understand your situation. After that you get a clear quote in writing. Nothing begins until you've agreed to it.
Yes. The intro call is how we work out whether we're a fit and what the work would involve. There's no charge and no obligation, and we don't run a follow-up sequence afterward.
No. It's a conversation, not an audit. If you happen to have last year's return handy it's useful context, but it isn't required and we won't ask you to dig anything out beforehand.
We'll tell you. If a single W-2 and a standard deduction is the whole picture, you may not need what we do, and we'd rather say so on a twenty-minute call than take on an engagement you don't benefit from.
Then you're in the majority of people who call us. Unfiled years, books nobody has touched, a notice sitting unopened — none of that is unusual and none of it is a reason to delay. It's genuinely easier to deal with than it feels.
Usually, though capacity gets tighter as deadlines approach. If we can't do the work properly in the time available we'll say so and talk about an extension rather than rushing it.
Yes. Our office is in Sheridan, but we serve individuals and businesses in all fifty states through our secure portal, phone, and video. Most of our clients have never been to Wyoming.
It's less disruptive than people expect. Bring your most recent return and we can request transcripts for the rest. The one thing worth doing carefully is making sure carryforwards transfer — capital losses, depreciation schedules, basis in a business interest. These quietly disappear at a badly handled changeover and they're worth real money.
It's courteous but not required, and we don't need you to have done it before we start. You own your records and you're entitled to copies of anything they prepared for you.
02 · PRICING & FEES
Pricing & fees
How we quote, what changes a price, and what you'll never be surprised by.
It depends on the complexity of the work, which is why we quote after the intro call rather than publishing a price list that wouldn't apply to you. What we can promise is that you'll have a specific number, in writing, covering specific work, before anything starts.
Because the honest answer to 'how much for a tax return' is that returns vary enormously. A quote given without understanding your situation is either padded to cover the unknown or it moves later. Twenty minutes on the phone gets you a number that holds.
Broadly: business income, rental property, investment activity with basis questions, filing in more than one state, prior-year cleanup, and anything requiring reconstruction of missing records. Complexity drives cost, not the size of your refund.
No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. Fees tied to refund size create an incentive to take aggressive positions that you — not the preparer — ultimately have to defend.
We tell you before we do it, not on the invoice. If the scope changes materially — we open the books and find three years of problems nobody mentioned — we stop, explain what we've found, and re-quote. You decide whether to proceed.
Ordinary questions from clients we work with regularly are part of the relationship, not a billable event. If something turns into a substantial piece of work — a full analysis, a structure review — we'll flag that it's a separate engagement before starting.
Terms are set out in your engagement letter before work begins. Invoices are due as stated there.
Yes, they're separate engagements. Plenty of clients take one without the other. When we do both, year end is cleaner — the books are already closed and reconciled when the return is prepared — but there's no requirement to bundle them.
03 · TAX PREPARATION
Tax preparation
Individual and family returns, deadlines, extensions, and amendments.
We send a checklist built around your circumstances rather than a generic one. Broadly: last year's return, income documents, records supporting any deductions, and details for anyone on the return. Our article on a first appointment goes through it properly.
Rarely. Most can be requested, and transcripts cover much of what's been reported to a tax authority. Come in with what you have — an incomplete pile is far better than waiting until it's complete.
It depends on complexity and on how quickly outstanding documents arrive. We'll give you a realistic timeline at the outset and tell you if anything is holding it up. The most common delay is a missing document, not our workload.
Yes, and there's no penalty for the extension itself. One thing worth understanding: an extension gives you more time to file, not more time to pay. If we expect a balance due, we'll estimate it so you can pay by the original deadline and avoid interest accruing.
Yes, and it's one of the most common ways people start with us. We pull transcripts to establish what's already been reported, then work through the open years in order — each one often feeds the next. We'll also tell you honestly how far back is worth going.
Yes. We'll review what was filed, tell you whether amending actually improves your position, and handle it if it does. Sometimes the answer is that it's not worth the cost, and we'll say that too.
We can. It's a reasonable thing to want if you've changed circumstances or lost confidence in a previous preparer. We'll tell you what we'd have done differently, if anything.
Every return is prepared by one person and independently reviewed by another before filing — no exceptions. Then we walk you through it. You should understand every significant number before it goes anywhere.
No. Electronic signature is standard, and most clients complete the whole engagement without setting foot in the office.
Send it to us before responding. Reviewing and responding to a notice on a return we prepared is part of the engagement, not a new bill. Most notices are routine and resolve with one documented response.
04 · BUSINESS & ENTITIES
Business & entities
Entity returns, structure, owner compensation, and planning.
It genuinely helps some businesses and adds cost and complexity to others. It depends on profit — not revenue — plus whether you have partners, your own employment situation, your state, and your tolerance for payroll administration. We'll run your actual numbers and tell you which you are, including when the answer is no.
That depends on your structure. Some structures let you simply draw funds; others require formal payroll for owner-employees, with compensation that has to be defensible against the work actually performed. It's one of the most consequential decisions in small business tax and one of the most commonly made by accident.
It's common and usually correctable. We'll look at what's been done, what exposure it creates, and what fixing it involves. Correcting it going forward is nearly always cheaper and simpler than waiting to be asked about it.
If income arrives without tax withheld from it and the resulting liability is more than trivial, probably yes. The penalty for missing them is charged on timing, not on the total — you can pay everything you owe at filing and still be charged. Worth a specific conversation.
Yes, often. If your books are already in good shape we'd rather build on that than replace it. If they need work we'll say so, and you can decide whether we take it on or your bookkeeper does.
The return reports what already happened. Advisory is the work that changes what happens — structure, compensation, timing, and planning decisions made while there's still time to affect the outcome. Filing alone is available if that's all you need.
Autumn. Most meaningful planning moves are constrained by year-end deadlines, so by the time a return is prepared the decisions are already made. October and November are when the conversation is actually useful.
Yes, and please talk to us before it's signed rather than after. How a transaction is structured has consequences that are far cheaper to plan for than to unwind. We'll work alongside your attorney.
We coordinate with your payroll provider so wages, taxes, and benefits land in the books correctly, and we keep the liability accounts accurate between filings. We're not a payroll bureau ourselves.
It's a complication, not a problem — but it's one that needs deliberate attention. Selling into, employing in, or holding property in a state can create obligations there, and thresholds vary. Multi-state situations are among the most common places we find errors in returns prepared elsewhere.
05 · BOOKKEEPING
Bookkeeping
Monthly books, catch-up work, and the systems behind them.
Almost always. We've picked up books that hadn't been touched in several years. It takes longer and costs more than staying current, but it's a defined process, not an emergency. The sooner you start, the less there is to reconstruct.
There isn't really a point of no return. What changes is how much has to be rebuilt from statements rather than adjusted, and how hard the records are to obtain — access to historical statements varies by institution and gets harder with age.
Not usually. We work across the common cloud platforms. We'll only suggest moving if your current setup is genuinely holding you back, and we'll explain what a migration involves before you decide.
Always. It's your file and your data, and you keep full access throughout. If you ever leave us, everything goes with you — no export fees, no hostage-taking.
Reconciled accounts, categorized transactions, and a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement — plus a short plain-language note on what moved and why. Statements nobody reads are a compliance exercise; the note is what makes them useful.
Less than you'd think. Mostly it's answering one batched list of unclear transactions each month rather than a stream of individual questions. We try to make that a single sitting, not an ongoing drip.
Yes. They work well together and the year-end handoff is cleaner, but they're separate engagements.
06 · NOTICES & AUDITS
Notices & audits
What to do when a letter arrives, and what representation means.
Probably not. Most correspondence is automated — a document that didn't match, a calculation question, a missing form — and resolves with one documented response. A genuine examination is identified as such and says so. Send it over and we'll tell you which you have, usually the same day.
Open it, find the deadline, and don't respond the same day. The instinct to fire off a reply or call and explain is understandable and usually counterproductive — the first response shapes everything after it. What you must not do is ignore it.
Yes, and it's a large part of this work. We'll review what was filed, tell you honestly where it's defensible and where it isn't, and represent you either way.
No. That's the point of representation. With authorization on file we handle every communication, and for office or field examinations we attend in your place. You don't field questions on the spot without preparation, which is where unrepresented taxpayers most often damage their own position.
Legitimate correspondence generally arrives by post, identifies the specific tax year and issue, and tells you about your right to appeal and to representation. Tax authorities do not demand payment by gift card, wire, or cryptocurrency, and do not threaten immediate arrest by phone. If something arrives by phone or email, treat it as fraudulent until independently verified — and don't use contact details from the message itself.
Then the work shifts to resolution: checking the amount is calculated correctly, reviewing whether penalty relief applies in your circumstances, and arranging payment terms you can actually meet. Owing something is a manageable problem. Ignoring it is what turns it into a serious one.
Quickly. Notices carry deadlines and some attached rights expire, including the right to dispute before an amount becomes final. If a deadline is close, say so when you call and we'll prioritize it.
No. Selection is driven by what's on the return and by statistical scoring, not by who prepared it. What a credentialed preparer changes is the quality of the documentation behind your positions — which is what actually determines how an examination goes.
07 · DOCUMENTS & SECURITY
Documents & security
How your information moves, where it lives, and how long we keep it.
Through the secure portal. Uploads are encrypted, everything stays organized in one place year over year, and you can retrieve prior returns yourself without calling us.
Please don't. Tax documents and identification numbers shouldn't travel by ordinary email — it isn't an encrypted channel. Any firm that asks you to send them that way is telling you something about how it handles your data generally.
For as long as needed to provide services and to meet tax, legal, and professional recordkeeping requirements. When information is no longer required we dispose of it securely. Details are in our Privacy Policy.
Keep year-specific supporting documents for as long as that year remains open, and keep basis records — property purchase documents, improvements, investment purchase records, inherited asset valuations — until the asset is gone. That second category is the one people most often lose, and it can be worth a great deal decades later.
Any time, through the portal or by asking us. They're yours.
No. We share information only as needed to serve you and as permitted by law — e-filing at your direction, service providers under confidentiality obligations, or where required by valid legal process. We do not sell personal information.
08 · APPOINTMENTS & LOGISTICS
Appointments & logistics
Meetings, hours, and how the practical side works.
Not at all. Most clients work with us entirely remotely — documents through the portal, review by phone or video, signatures electronically. In-person is always welcome if you prefer it.
Yes. Our office is on N Gould Street in downtown Sheridan. Coffee is generally available and the parking is free, which in this line of work counts as a benefit.
Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:30, with extended hours during tax season. Unlike a seasonal operation, we're reachable year-round — which matters, because notices arrive in August and planning conversations only work in the autumn.
Usually within one business day. Faster if you've flagged a deadline — mention it and we'll prioritize.
Please do. If they're on the return or in the business, it's better for everyone that they hear the same conversation rather than a summary of it.
During tax season we extend hours to accommodate people who can't meet during the working day. Outside of season it's more limited, but ask — we'd rather find a time than lose the conversation.
Just let us know. No fee, no fuss. We'd rather move a meeting than have you attend one you're not ready for.
NOT COVERED HERE
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Most questions are quicker to answer on a call than to read about, and yours probably has specifics a general answer can't cover. No obligation, and a clear quote if you want one.
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Longer pieces on notices, bookkeeping, structure decisions, and working with a preparer.
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That's what the intro call is for. Twenty minutes, no obligation, and an honest answer about whether you need a firm like ours at all.