For future owners and new acquisitions
Start or buy a business with a financial partner from day one.
TAO helps new owners establish monthly accounting, understand how business decisions connect to taxes, and build a dependable first- year financial rhythm. We work best with owners ready to invest in ongoing support and take an active role in the process.
Two starting points. One financial foundation.
Establish the accounting process before activity builds.
Bring the accounting handoff into the ownership plan.
Use current results as the business gets underway.
Before opening or taking over
Build the financial foundation around the business you plan to own.
Entity, recordkeeping, owner pay, and tax responsibilities all shape the first year. TAO can help explain accounting and tax considerations within an agreed engagement; legal formation advice and transaction decisions should involve the appropriate legal and deal professionals.
Understand entity tax choices
Discuss how structure and elections affect business taxes and owner reporting. Coordinate legal formation and legal advice with your attorney.
Set up the accounting foundation
Organize business records, accounts, and a monthly reporting process before transactions pile up or an acquisition handoff is complete.
Learn the owner responsibilities
Understand how owner pay, estimated taxes, payroll, and business records affect the ongoing accounting and tax work.
Two ways into ownership
Starting from scratch and buying a business call for different preparation.
Starting a business
Create the operating foundation
Set up a business accounting file and chart of accounts that match how you expect to earn revenue and spend. Plan how records will be gathered, how payroll and tax obligations will be handled, and what information you will review each month.
TAO can help establish the accounting process and explain tax considerations as part of the agreed scope. Legal formation, financing, and business-plan decisions remain with you and your other advisors.
Buying an existing business
Prepare for a clean transition
Gather available financial statements, tax returns, account access, payroll information, and details about how the business records revenue and expenses. Plan how accounting records and responsibilities will transfer after closing.
Within a defined engagement, TAO can help review accounting and tax records and organize the go-forward monthly process. Business valuation, legal review, financing, and transaction due diligence are separate professional services.
The first year
Build the rhythm, then use it to understand what is happening.
Onboarding is a project, not an overnight handoff. TAO plans the first 60 to 90 days around understanding the business, setting up access and workflows, completing agreed historical work, and reviewing the initial financial results. Timing depends on complexity, backwork, and the information available.
Clarify goals, records, services, responsibilities, and fees.
Configure the accounting process and complete agreed backwork.
Reconcile accounts, review activity, and prepare statements.
Connect actual results to tax conversations and next decisions.
A working partnership
TAO performs the services in your engagement. Owners provide timely records and system access, answer questions, make operating and payment decisions, and handle responsibilities assigned to them. We agree on those roles during onboarding so both sides know what keeps the process moving.
Additional ownership contexts
Some business models bring extra accounting and tax questions.
Franchise ownership
Understand the recurring reporting, royalty, and operating requirements of a franchise system.
ROBS C-Corporations
Bring the right accounting and tax questions to a team familiar with ROBS structures and compliance considerations.
Buying an existing business
Build a transition plan that brings records, systems, tax work, and responsibilities into focus.
A transparent fit
Early-stage support takes commitment on both sides.
Plan for the real setup effort
A new or recently acquired business may need more setup, historical cleanup, education, and communication than a steady-state monthly engagement. Fees reflect the condition of the records, services selected, expected interaction, and agreed scope. Backwork and additional projects are scoped separately when needed.
We discuss the work and expected investment before onboarding so you can decide whether the support fits your resources and plans.
Understand the cash-support boundary
Monthly accounting helps you see recorded activity, expenses, balances, and tax obligations. TAO can discuss actual results in context; detailed cash-flow modeling and day-to-day cash management are not core services.
Can TAO tell me which entity to form?
TAO can explain tax and accounting considerations for entity options within the engagement. Legal formation advice and filings should be handled with a qualified attorney or formation professional.
Will you build a cash-flow forecast for my startup?
Detailed cash-flow modeling is not a core TAO service. Our core is establishing accurate accounting, reviewing actual performance, and discussing tax obligations and financial results within the agreed scope.
How are setup and monthly fees determined?
Fees depend on the accounting setup, record condition, backwork, selected services, and expected communication. TAO scopes the work and discusses the investment before recurring service begins.
What if I have never filed a business tax return?
During the engagement, TAO can explain the records, responsibilities, and tax process relevant to your business and prepare agreed returns. The exact filings and planning support depend on the entity, facts, and scope.
Talk through whether the timing and support fit.
Tell us whether you are starting or buying, where you are in the process, and what accounting and tax support you expect to need.
Discuss your plans