Bookkeeping questions, answered

SJ Rose provides bookkeeping and financial organization services for small businesses, individuals and families. We help our clients understand their finances, stay organized and feel confident that the details are being handled.

For businesses, that may include categorizing transactions, reconciling accounts, reviewing financial statements, cleaning up QuickBooks, payroll support and other ongoing bookkeeping needs.

For individuals and families, we can help organize household finances, track income and expenses, manage bills, gather information for tax preparation and create systems that make day-to-day financial life easier.

Think of us as the people who help keep your financial life organized throughout the year.

A CPA or tax preparer generally focuses on tax preparation and tax strategy. A bookkeeper maintains the underlying financial records that help make tax preparation—and financial decision-making—much easier.

We regularly collaborate with our clients' CPAs, tax preparers and other financial professionals. Our goal is to make sure they have clean, organized information when they need it.

No. SJ Rose does not prepare income tax returns or provide tax advice. We can, however, help make tax season significantly less stressful by keeping your records organized and working with your tax professional to provide the information they need.

Yes. We can process payroll through QuickBooks, Gusto, ADP and other platforms, or, if you run payroll in-house, make sure every payroll transaction is tracked correctly in your books. We also prepare and file 1099s, or get the information ready for your CPA.

The first conversation is an opportunity for us to learn about you, understand what's currently working—and what isn't—and determine how SJ Rose may be able to help.

For a business, we'll typically discuss your accounting system, bank and credit card accounts, payroll, current bookkeeping process and any immediate problems or cleanup needs.

For an individual or family, we'll talk about what financial tasks are creating stress or taking too much time and where you'd most like support.

From there, we'll recommend an appropriate next step.

Start by reaching out through our Contact Us page and telling us a little about what you're looking for.

We'll schedule an introductory conversation to learn more about your needs, determine whether SJ Rose is the right fit and discuss the next steps.

Not necessarily.

For most of our business clients, QuickBooks Online is our preferred bookkeeping platform. If you aren't currently using QuickBooks—or aren't sure whether your current system is working—we can help determine the best approach.

Our personal and family bookkeeping services are customized based on each client's needs and don't necessarily require QuickBooks.

Yes. Alongside businesses and families, we support a number of nonprofit organizations with bookkeeping, reconciliations and financial organization, so their teams can stay focused on their mission.

Absolutely not. That's often why people call us!

We've worked with clients who are several months—or even longer—behind, have unreconciled accounts, mixed business and personal expenses, duplicate transactions or simply aren't sure whether their books are accurate.

We'll start by figuring out where things stand and create a plan to move forward.

Yes. Catch-up and cleanup bookkeeping are common projects for us.

We'll first review your books to understand what needs to be done. Depending on the condition of the records, we may recommend completing a cleanup project before beginning ongoing monthly bookkeeping.

Both.

SJ Rose was built around the idea that financial organization isn't just a business need. We work with individuals and families who want help managing the financial details of everyday life.

Our clients may be busy professionals, families juggling multiple accounts and expenses, older adults who would like assistance staying organized, or adult children helping manage a parent's finances.

Every engagement is tailored to the individual or family's needs.

Yes, depending on the engagement. Our personal bookkeeping services can include bill management, expense tracking, account organization, budgeting and cash-flow oversight, as well as helping gather and organize financial information for tax time.

We can provide as much or as little support as you need.

Not at all.

People fall behind on their finances for all kinds of reasons—running a business, raising a family, caring for a loved one, managing an illness, dealing with a major life transition or simply not having enough hours in the day.

You don't need to have everything organized before you call us. Helping you get organized is our job.

Susie oversees SJ Rose and remains involved in client relationships, but SJ Rose is intentionally built as a team.

Depending on your needs, you'll be matched with an experienced SJ Rose consultant whose background and expertise are a good fit for you or your business. Susie remains available for oversight, questions and more complex issues.

This team approach gives our clients both personalized attention and the benefit of broader bookkeeping expertise.

Yes. SJ Rose is based in Deerfield, and most of our clients are right here on the North Shore, including Northbrook, Highland Park, Glenview, Lake Forest, Wilmette, Winnetka, Glencoe, and Evanston. We also work with businesses and families throughout Chicagoland, and remotely with clients across the country.

Whichever you prefer. Our team comes to your home or office, works with you remotely, or does a mix of both. Many of our individual and family clients like having someone sit down with them at the kitchen table; others prefer to handle everything online.

Yes! While SJ Rose is based in the Chicagoland area, we work remotely with clients in multiple states. Today's accounting technology allows us to securely collaborate with clients and their other financial professionals from virtually anywhere.

Absolutely. We believe financial professionals work best as a team.

With your permission, we're happy to collaborate with your CPA, tax preparer, financial advisor, attorney or other professionals to help ensure everyone has the information they need.

Confidentiality is extremely important to us. We use established accounting and financial platforms and follow secure practices for accessing and exchanging sensitive financial information.

We also limit access to client information to the SJ Rose team members who need it to perform their work.

Because every client's financial situation is different, we don't offer one-size-fits-all packages.

Most services are billed based on the time required, and we'll discuss the anticipated scope and fees before beginning an engagement. Larger cleanup or implementation projects may be quoted separately.

Our goal is to provide the right level of support for your needs—not to sell you services you don't need.

The scope depends on the type of engagement. Some clients need a one-time cleanup or special project, while others work with us on an ongoing monthly basis.

We'll discuss what makes the most sense during your initial conversation.