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Thread: Picking an accountant

  1. #1
    Veteran Member taylormadison's Avatar
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    Question Picking an accountant

    I have some accountant questions:

    1. How do I find a good stripper friendly accountant in my area?

    2. This will be my first accountant. What should I look for and what questions should I ask when talking to them?

    3. I know this will vary by area but what is a good price range for an accountant to handle a stripper's quarterly taxes?

    4. What kind of qualifications should I look for?

    5. What services should be provided for the price?

    I hope I asked clear questions. I am a little clueless about the process so any helpful information would be appreciated

  2. #2
    Veteran Member Lola_sinn's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    I'm interested in this as well.

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    God/dess Zofia's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Quote Originally Posted by taylormadison View Post
    I have some accountant questions:

    1. How do I find a good stripper friendly accountant in my area?
    Ask around your club, see if anyone has any recommendations. If no, find out who is doing other entertainers in town, like DJs the musicians at the Symphony, professional athletes.

    2. This will be my first accountant. What should I look for and what questions should I ask when talking to them?
    Are they tax accountants or consultants? If they do tax work, are they IRS enrolled agents. How many audits a year do they handle for taxpayers. (The more the better.) What do you get for what you pay? Being a new client, will you be assigned to a new associate or a partner and how much time will the partner actually spend on your return? (Being with a new associate is not all bad, but you want the partner to make sure you are not paying for the new associate's learning curve.)

    3. I know this will vary by area but what is a good price range for an accountant to handle a stripper's quarterly taxes?
    It really depends on the amount of work the firm does. But, figure the first return, or first quarter is going to be expensive, maybe $1000. After that, the quarterlies should be in the range of $100-200. The final return less than $500. Now, if you have lots of expensive depreciation schedules, require lots of help setting up your bookkeeping and call and ask lots of questions, they will charge a lot more. Also, if you show up on April the 14th with a shoe box full of receipts, plan on paying a premium.

    4. What kind of qualifications should I look for?
    Number one, and by far the most important is for the accountant to be an "Enrolled Agent".

    5. What services should be provided for the price?
    That depends on what services you need. The first year you will need more than in subsequent years, especially if you are a fast study.

    HTH
    Z

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Allow me to 'amplify' some of the very good points raised by Zofia ...

    - in general, your first 'encounter' with an accountant will actually involve much more than tax preparation. The accountant is going to need to evaluate the organization of both your business and personal finance ( or lack thereof ). But you will come away from this 'encounter' with many ideas as to how to be 'smarter' at both in the future !

    - outside of the largest cities, odds are that you will not find an accountant that has actual experience with 'stripper' finances ... well at least not from the standpoint of doing their taxes LOL. In smaller cities, the closest thing you're likely to find is an account who specializes in small business clients ... which share 90% of the same issues.

  6. #5
    Veteran Member taylormadison's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Zofia: Thank You!
    Melonie: Thank You!

  7. #6
    Veteran Member SteveSmith's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    I've had the same accountant for 16 years and she charges $360 (that's total for everything) for my quarterlies and end of year taxes. This accountant has about 6 people working for her. I'm self employed with no employees.

    I have everything pretty much figured out as far as sales, sales taxes, expenses, etc., so she has an easy job of doing my taxes. I don't think it takes her more than 2 hours total for everything. I have everything figured out, she just fills in the numbers. I sit with her for about an hour and we take care of everything on the computer.

    I have a SEP and a Health Savings Account, so don't listen to an accountant who says that this complicates things. It takes my account less than 5 minutes with these deductions.

    Your situation doesn't seem that complicated or time consuming for an accountant so I wouldn't pay more than $400 for quarterlies and year end taxes. I don't see how the accountant would need a lot of time on your taxes. Actually, $250 - $300 seems about right (that's for everything).

    I wouldn't go with a large firm because they all want big money to do your taxes even though they don't do much for it. When I checked around, everyone wanted around $900.

    Find a small outfit and get a recommendation.

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    Veteran Member taylormadison's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Steve: Thank you for sharing.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Hey Steve, after last night's congressional vote, you might want to have a look at the '2010 tax planning' thread re your SEP IRA and your HSA !

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    Veteran Member SteveSmith's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie View Post
    Hey Steve, after last night's congressional vote, you might want to have a look at the '2010 tax planning' thread re your SEP IRA and your HSA !
    I know, I'm getting a little worried. I'll check it out.

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    God/dess Paris's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Are there business offices in your club? You may want to pop in sometime and ask the administrative assistant for a referral to an accountant.

    I think $1000 sounds a little high priced for a tax accountant, but I suppose that depends on your region. Ultimately, the accounting fees are deductible but you want to make sure you don't end up paying your accountant more than you would have owed in taxes anyway.

    Also listen to your instincts. If your gut is telling you a person isn't right for you, don't hesitate to just keep looking for someone else. I had an accountant I just loved and when he retired I went through 3 new people before I found someone I liked. I had her look at my past returns and she was able to amend some mistakes of my past preparers. I like someone who is knowledgeable and bold. You may want someone who is more cautious. I like activist accountants, but that is just me.


    Promote yourself and earn more money! This is a business that is owned by strippers for strippers. Let's make that money!


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    Member taxguy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Quote Originally Posted by taylormadison View Post
    I have some accountant questions:

    1. How do I find a good stripper friendly accountant in my area?

    2. This will be my first accountant. What should I look for and what questions should I ask when talking to them?

    3. I know this will vary by area but what is a good price range for an accountant to handle a stripper's quarterly taxes?

    4. What kind of qualifications should I look for?

    5. What services should be provided for the price?

    I hope I asked clear questions. I am a little clueless about the process so any helpful information would be appreciated
    1) You'll have to ask around the club for that. I haven't worked with anyone that adversities being "stripper friendly," although there are accountants that have specialized fields. They will be older but you might be able to find one focused on "entertainment." They are very familiar with clubs and their employees.

    2) Look for a full-time accountant that you can contact with any financial problems. Seasonal accountants could be hard to reach after June.

    3) Initially it may be more work intensive for the accountant so the cost will be higher. $150-$350 is an acceptable range

    4) CPA/Enrolled Agent

    5) That varies based on the firm, location and individual tax professional

    I do recommend smaller firms over giant corporations. The business is more personal at a small firm and the accounts do your entire file. At a large company, work is divided into teams, which ranges from 4 to 10 people. If there's a problem, it's difficult to get help since no one knows your file entirely.

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    Featured Member wish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Does this also include cam girl taxes?

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    God/dess Paris's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Quote Originally Posted by wish View Post
    Does this also include cam girl taxes?
    That depends on if you are an independent contractor and get a 1099 or if you receive a W-2 from a studio. If you get a 1099, everything in this thread applies to you, but if you get W-2's then you should be able to file easily using something like Turbo Tax and don't need to worry about hiring an accountant.


    Promote yourself and earn more money! This is a business that is owned by strippers for strippers. Let's make that money!


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    Featured Member wish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    Quote Originally Posted by Paris View Post
    That depends on if you are an independent contractor and get a 1099 or if you receive a W-2 from a studio. If you get a 1099, everything in this thread applies to you, but if you get W-2's then you should be able to file easily using something like Turbo Tax and don't need to worry about hiring an accountant.
    Ok not to threadjack but I would also like my accountant to handle other financial plannings of mines. I'm guessing H&R Block would not be the place to go and an individual / non commerical accountant would be cheaper. As I am independent I'm guessing strippers and camgirls alike can use this info so I don't feel too bad about jacking for this question(s):
    (1) How much should I be looking to pay for services involving managing my budget? Including setting aside health care cost , bill paying , taxes, retirement and savings?
    (2) Since it's the end of the year should I be focused on looking for one urgently or can I take my time and take care of it in April?
    (3) I'm setting up a wishlist on Amazon.com. How do I handle gifts?
    Last edited by wish; 11-24-2009 at 09:52 AM. Reason: added a question

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Picking an accountant

    ^^^ #1 - like everything else, the prices for professional services vary from geographical market to geographical market. However, if you don't live in a 'gold plated' area, and don't have any 'exotic' financial issues, the cost should be well under $1000.

    # 2 - technically speaking, you really only need the accountant to complete work on your 2009 tax return before the April 15th filing deadline. However, this will also mean that you will not be able to benefit from any professional advice re 'strategic' moves regarding tax minimization prior to the end of 2009 ( see 2010 tax planning thread ) - and that you'll have to continue to rely on your own estimates when filing your 4th quarter estimated tax payment due on January 15th the same way you did this past Sept 15th, June 15th etc. But if you find an accountant quickly, you can take advantage of these other possibilities for essentially the same price !

    #3 - good question. I really don't know if the IRS will buy into the theory that goods provided to you at 'no cost' via an internet solicitation are genuine gifts versus 'non-cash payment for services rendered' ( with the latter being fully taxable on the basis of equivalent cash value )

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