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Complete small businessbookkeeping & accounting

Our friendly Staff Accountants and CPAs make it easier to stay on top of your business. Less worry. Less uncertainty. More time spent on doing what you love (running your business).

How It Works

Tell us about your business

Answer a few questions about your business on our Get Started form. Then, we will reach out for a quick chat to make sure we’re a good fit for your business. Together, you’ll assess whether there’s a good fit between our two companies. If you decide to move ahead, it’s on to the next step.

We get you on board

The Origami Account Management and Staff Accountant teams will get you on board. This includes getting CRA authorization, reviewing the current state of your bookkeeping and filings, and identifying the extent of catch up work. If you already use QBO, then we would review your file to make sure that it’s up to our bookkeeping standards, and that we could take over the bookkeeping without any issue. We’ll carefully go over everything with you and quote you a flat fee to bring everything up to date. We’ll also go through our systems and processes to make sure that you’re comfortable and confident you’ll stay up to date.

We get you caught up

At this point, we’ve identified the scope of the catch up work and given you a flat fee quote. Once we’ve determined what is required to get you caught up, we’ll request documents from you from the catch up period. After we’ve completed the bookkeeping, we’ll ask questions to clarify any transactions we were unable to categorize. All outstanding sales tax returns will be filed before the CPA prepares the financial statements and completes any outstanding corporate tax filings. Our turnaround for catch up work is between 30 - 60 days.

We keep you on top of your business

Each week, we’ll import the transactions from the bank and credit card accounts connected in QuickBooks Online. We’ll record sales and vendor invoices and payments received on sales invoices as they’re provided. We’ll confirm accounts receivable and accounts payable balances. We’ll also prepare and file your GST/HST/PST returns as needed. Your books are up to date, your sales tax returns are filed, and you have the reporting and insight you need to grow your business right at your fingertips. Origami handles the bookkeeping and accounting so you can focus more time and energy on what you’re really passionate about.

We handle your corporate tax return

Once your fiscal year end is completed, you’ll have a tax planning meeting with your Origami CPA. We have a tax planning discussion when you first sign up for the service, but nothing is set in stone until we’ve reviewed your first year end with us. Your tax plan is updated annually based on your changing circumstances. We can also revisit it in the course of the year if you feel the need. With the tax plan in place, our team will start to work on your year end. We’ll contact you with any questions that come up as we go through the numbers. Within a few days, we’ll have your draft notice to reader financial statements and a statement of taxes owing ready. You’ll go over these drafts in a second meeting with your Origami CPA and, together, you’ll identify any changes that need to be made. Once everything looks in order, you’ll sign off on your year end package and your T2 return. Your Origami CPA will file your returns with the CRA. Corporate tax season, over.

Frequently asked questions

I’m behind on my bookkeeping. Can you help me get caught up to date?
Absolutely. The fact is most clients need us to do at least some catch up work to get their books up to date. We determine the scope of your catch up work (bookkeeping and prior year tax filing) during the onboarding process. And we’ll give you a flat fee quote to complete the work. Catch up work is still priced per month, but our catch up fees are discounted from our regular monthly fees.
I’m way behind. Is Origami still a good fit?
We cannot take on more than 5 years (60 months) of catch up work per new client. Most of our bookkeeping team is assigned to regular monthly work so we have to be careful in managing the workload in our catch up queue. Although we’d be happy to work with you once you’re caught up, if you have more than 5 years of catch up work, Origami, unfortunately, wouldn’t be a good fit.
I’m in the middle of my fiscal year. Can I switch to Origami from my current provider?
If you’re more than 9 months into your fiscal year, and your current provider has already done the bookkeeping work for those months, then we recommend that you finish the year with your current provider and start with Origami for your new fiscal year. If you want us to take over the bookkeeping from another service provider in the middle of your fiscal year, we’d need to review the file to identify issues that need to be addressed before we can start. We will also need to charge a minimum fee to cover the year end filing if you are more than half way into your fiscal year.
What bookkeeping software do you use?
We work exclusively with QuickBooks Online (QBO). If you’re currently using another system (Xero, Wave, etc.), we’ll handle getting you set up on QBO. If you have a requirement to use something other than QBO for your bookkeeping, then, unfortunately, we wouldn’t be a good fit for your needs.
I’ve been doing bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online. I’m up to date. Can you simply take over?
Yes. But before starting our monthly service, we’ll review your existing QBO file to make sure it’s up to our bookkeeping standards. If for any reason there are issues with the file, we’ll send you a detailed list of what needs to be fixed. Alternatively, we could fix or redo the bookkeeping for you depending on what state it’s in. We would tell you up front if we need to charge additional fees for this fix-up work.
Can you pay my bills for me?
Unfortunately, we’re unable to take on AR/AP management. We don’t have dedicated staff to handle this work, and it would go against best practices to assign it to our Staff Accountants. To ensure adequate financial controls, the person recording the transaction should be distinct from the person generating the transaction.
Do you work with not-for-profits?
Not-for-profits require a specific set of financial reporting that just isn’t our forte. You’ll be better off finding a firm who specializes in what you do, and we’re sorry to say in this case that just isn’t us.
Are there businesses that wouldn’t be a good fit for your service?
We currently serve federally incorporated businesses and businesses incorporated in Alberta, B.C., Ontario, or Saskatchewan. We don’t serve not-for-profit corporations, sole proprietors, condo corporations, or law firms or real estate firms that require trust accounting. If you’re looking for more support, e.g., AR/AP, payroll, controller support, or more frequent bookkeeping, our sister company Clerk may be able to help. We focus strictly on monthly bookkeeping, monthly financial statements, and corporate tax and sales tax preparation and filing.

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