From first call to signed return, here’s the route.
No mystery, no black box: this is exactly what happens when you engage the firm — how onboarding works, how documents move, and the three-station process every piece of work travels before it reaches your inbox. The rule here is simple: if a step requires judgment or adds value, a human does it. If it doesn’t, it gets optimized, automated — and human-gated before it ships.
Four steps to fully onboarded.
Talk
Book a meeting or call. You describe how you run; we tell you honestly whether we’re the right fit and what engagement makes sense first.
Connect
Your secure portal access is set up first — the encrypted front door for everything that follows: documents, signatures, and deliverables.
Engage
Your engagement letter — scope, terms, timeline — arrives through the portal for e-signature, along with any consents federal law requires before technology touches your return information, in plain language. Nothing starts until both are signed.
Work
The engagement runs on the process below, with questions answered along the way — not billed by the minute.
The CPA in the loop.
AI makes our firm faster. A license makes it accountable. Every deliverable travels all three stations — no exceptions, no shortcuts.
AI Accelerates
Governed AI tools handle intake, document extraction, and first drafts inside our secured environment — cutting turnaround from weeks to days.
A CPA Verifies
A licensed CPA or EA reviews every figure against source documents. Reconciliations tie to the penny, or the work doesn’t move forward.
A License Stands Behind It
Nothing is filed or delivered without professional sign-off — and every tax return is reviewed and signed by the firm’s principal CPA before it goes out. A credential and a signature, not a disclaimer.
Process, answered.
How long does onboarding take?
For most engagements, days rather than weeks — the pace is usually set by how quickly documents arrive through the portal. Time-sensitive situations (a deadline, a notice) are triaged accordingly; tell us the date you’re facing and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s makeable.
What happens in the first meeting — do I need to prepare anything?
Just the honest version of how your business runs. Prior returns and current books help if you have them handy, but the first conversation is diagnostic: what you have, what hurts, and what engagement actually fits. You’ll leave knowing the recommended next step and an estimated fee range.
Can I switch to you mid-year from another accountant or bookkeeper?
Yes, and it’s routine. We request records from your prior provider (or you upload what you have), reconcile forward from the last clean point, and carry year-to-date payroll and books across so nothing is orphaned. The professional handoff is our job to manage, not yours.
Ready when you are. Virtual or in-office.
Every tax return prepared and signed by a licensed CPA or IRS Enrolled Agent. Everything runs through the secure portal and e-signature.
Free 15-Minute CPA Consultation
Fifteen minutes with Kevin Hemingway, CPA. We discuss your tax or accounting needs, determine whether our firm is a good fit, and you leave with an estimated fee range and next steps. This consultation is for engagement evaluation and does not include tax advice, tax planning, or detailed analysis of specific tax situations.
Book a Free ConsultStrategy Consult
A paid, flat-fee review of your prior return and current books, ending in a prioritized action list you keep either way.
Book a Strategy Consult