Accurate, detailed and personable; three of many qualities that Diane brings to the table every single day. There is no one I would trust more than Diane with my bookkeeping.
Financial business consulting · $85 an hour
Let’s spend an hour going over your numbers
Some owners have clean books and still want someone to sit down and tell them what the reports are saying. Others have just opened a business and aren’t sure what they’re supposed to be doing with the accounting side at all. Both get the same thing from me: an hour on Zoom or the phone, your numbers on the screen, and straight answers. Financial business consulting is $85 an hour. It’s the one thing I bill by the hour.
Call (417) 323-2629 or have me call you.
What we’ll cover if you’re just starting out
New owners call me with the same worry: they don’t know what they don’t know. An hour usually covers most of it.
- Which accounts to open, and what to keep separate from your personal money.
- What to save. Receipts, statements, contracts, mileage, and how long to keep them.
- How to set the bookkeeping up so it doesn’t need a cleanup a year from now.
- Sales tax, 1099s, and estimated payments, and who handles what. Your CPA files the return, and I’ll introduce you to one if you don’t have one yet.
- Which three numbers to look at every month, and what they’re telling you.
What we do in the hour
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You bring the numbers
Your reports if you have them, your bank statements if you don’t. I’ll tell you beforehand which ones to have open.
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We read them together
Line by line, in plain English. Where the money came from, where it went, and which lines are worth your attention.
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You leave with a short list
You’ll know what to do next, in what order, and what can wait.
More people should learn to tell their dollars where to go instead of asking them where they went.
Real eyes on the numbers
There’s software now that sorts your transactions for you, and some of it calls itself a bookkeeper. It’s fast. What it can’t do is tell you whether a charge is reasonable, because it doesn’t know your business and it has never seen a vendor quietly overbill for eight months. That still takes a real person looking at the numbers. AI can’t tell you what a reasonable charge is, but I can.
That’s most of what this hour is for: going through the report with you and pointing out the parts that don’t look right.
Keep your own books?
If you’d like someone to look them over now and then, tell me on the call and we’ll set it up. I’ve been in the finance sector for 30+ years, and I can usually tell you in an hour what you’re looking at.
If it turns out the books need real work first, I’ll say so. That’s a cleanup project with its own fixed quote, and the pricing page explains how I put one together.
Reviews
5 out of 5 stars
5 out of 5 stars
What people say about working with me
Diane is very competent and dependable. She has been working in the bookkeeping, finance, and records area for many years and does great work. Her services are recommended.
Questions
Questions I hear a lot
Do I have to be a monthly client?
No. Consulting stands on its own. Plenty of people book an hour, get their questions answered, and carry on doing their own books. If you’d rather hand them off later, monthly bookkeeping is a separate flat fee, quoted in writing.
I just started my business. Is it too early?
It’s the best time. An hour now, before the business account and the personal card get tangled together, saves a cleanup later. We’ll cover what to open, what to keep separate, what records to hang onto, and which numbers to look at each month.
What do I need to bring?
Whatever you’ve got. If you have reports, have your Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow open. If you don’t have books yet, bring your bank statements and your questions. Rough is fine.
How is it billed?
Financial business consulting is $85 an hour. Most first sessions run about an hour. If we need longer, I’ll tell you before we keep going, so nothing lands on an invoice you didn’t expect.
Can you tell me if a charge is reasonable?
That’s a lot of what the hour is. Software can sort a transaction into a category. It can’t tell you whether the number is right for your business, but I can. I’ve been in the finance sector for 30+ years, and I know what things should cost.
A Form 990 on extension is due November 16, 2026. Your CPA needs reconciled, fund-level books to finish it, and that’s the part I do.
Filed an extension for 2025? Those returns are due October 15, 2026. Your CPA needs a reconciled 2025 file before then, and the sooner I see it the more room we both have.
1099s for your subs and vendors are due February 1, 2027, and they’re built from a full year of entered payments. If 2026 is behind, the last weeks of the year are the time to catch it up.
1099s for your subs and vendors are due February 1, 2027, the same day your payroll provider sends W-2s. If the 2026 books aren’t entered yet, that’s the first thing I’d fix.
S corporation and partnership returns are due March 15, 2027. Your CPA needs a reconciled 2026 file to file on time.
Individual returns are due April 15, 2027. A reconciled 2026 file is what your CPA needs to file, or to file the extension with real numbers.
Talk to me
You’ll leave the hour knowing what to do next, and in what order.
Bring your reports if you have them, or just your bank statements and your questions. The hour is $85, on Zoom or the phone.
A Form 990 on extension is due November 16, 2026. Your CPA needs reconciled, fund-level books to finish it, and that’s the part I do.
Filed an extension for 2025? Those returns are due October 15, 2026. Your CPA needs a reconciled 2025 file before then, and the sooner I see it the more room we both have.
1099s for your subs and vendors are due February 1, 2027, and they’re built from a full year of entered payments. If 2026 is behind, the last weeks of the year are the time to catch it up.
1099s for your subs and vendors are due February 1, 2027, the same day your payroll provider sends W-2s. If the 2026 books aren’t entered yet, that’s the first thing I’d fix.
S corporation and partnership returns are due March 15, 2027. Your CPA needs a reconciled 2026 file to file on time.
Individual returns are due April 15, 2027. A reconciled 2026 file is what your CPA needs to file, or to file the extension with real numbers.
I’ll call you back within 15 to 20 minutes during the day.