Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

No, we don’t. All our work is handled in-house by our dedicated team of U.S.-based employees located across multiple states. This ensures consistent quality, clear communication, and a strong understanding of your business needs.

Our Accounting Specialists go beyond traditional bookkeeping. While bookkeepers typically focus on recording transactions, our specialists combine financial expertise with strong tech skills. They’re proficient in cloud-based tools, automation, and modern accounting systems. Having this knowledge means they deliver faster, smarter, and more strategic support for your business.

Outsourcing gives you access to a full team of experts, without the cost and complexity of hiring multiple employees. Our flexible model means you get the right level of support when you need it, with the ability to scale as your business grows. We become an extension of your team.

Yes! You’ll have a dedicated Accounting Specialist who knows the ins and outs of your business. Depending on your service agreement, you’ll also have access to our Controllers and Fractional CFO services for added strategic support when you need it.

During onboarding, we’ll figure out how you like to stay in touch. Whether it’s email, phone calls, video calls, or even a shared Slack channel. Our goal is to make it easy to communicate.

Yes, we do. We work with secure, cloud-based platforms to share and manage documents efficiently. This ensures your files are always accessible to you and making collaboration together seamless.

We see our relationship as a partnership and believe the best results come from collaboration. Our team is here to provide accurate, timely financial information to support your business decisions. To do that, we rely on you to:

• Share necessary information on time
• Flag anything that’s urgent or time-sensitive
• Set clear expectations and grant access to key systems when needed

Our goal is to empower you with the insights you need to confidently run and grow your business.

We focus exclusively on Client Advisory Services (CAS), which means we specialize in bookkeeping, accounting, and strategic financial support. Tax preparation is a separate discipline, so while we don’t file taxes ourselves, we’re happy to collaborate with your tax preparer to ensure they have everything they need.

At a minimum, we review your financials monthly to keep everything accurate and up to date. We also meet with you quarterly to walk through the numbers, provide insights, and make sure you have what you need to make informed business decisions. Need more frequent check-ins? We can meet more often.

Yes, we’d be a great fit if that’s what you’re looking for. Our goal is to go beyond the numbers and help you understand what your financial reports are really telling you. If you want a partner who helps turn financial data into strategy you have found the right team.

We specialize in QuickBooks Online and are experts in how it integrates with other tools across your tech stack. From mapping data to streamlining workflows, we know how to make your systems work together efficiently. We currently work with a variety of platforms and we’re always excited to learn a new software that supports your business.

We love QuickBooks Online because it serves as a central hub that easily integrates with a wide range of business apps. Its open API and strong ecosystem of third-party tools allow us to build a streamlined, tech-forward accounting system tailored to your needs. If you’re currently using QuickBooks Desktop, we’ll work with you to evaluate workflows to see if making the move to Online is the right fit. QuickBooks Online works well for most industries, and Intuit continues to evolve the platform to meet more complex needs. For certain businesses, like restaurants or retailers, additional tools may be needed, and we’d recommend starting with a diagnostic review to help determine the best setup for your business.

Yes! We offer customized QuickBooks training focused on the features and workflows that matter most to your business. Our goal is to strengthen your confidence and skills in the areas you use every day. Training also includes 30 days of email support with your trainer, so you can get answers as questions come up.

Migrating to QuickBooks Online is often simpler than you think, especially with the right support. We can guide you through every step, from preparing your data to validating the migration. Depending on your current setup, we’ll assess what data can be moved, identify any cleanup needed, and minimize disruptions to your workflow. Most importantly, we’ll help you get the most out of QuickBooks Online right from the start. If you’re not sure whether now is the right time to switch, we’re happy to start with a diagnostic review and walk you through your options.

No! We never recommend sharing your passwords, not even with us. Most platforms, including banks and accounting software, allow you to add users with specific roles and permissions. This keeps your information secure while still giving us the access we need to support your business.

We combine deep accounting expertise with modern technology to deliver clear financial insights that help you make smarter business decisions. Our team is U.S.-based, responsive, and proactive. We tailor our support to fit your goals, communicate in the way that works best for you, and grow with your business.

At Vilms Consulting, we see a CFO as a strategic partner, that helps you look beyond what happened last month and instead focuses on what’s coming next. We use your financial data to help forecast growth, plan for cash flow, evaluate opportunities, and make timely, confident, informed decisions.

Yes, we can! If you’re using Amazon for purchases, Intuit offers a great integration called the Amazon Business Connector. It seamlessly pulls your receipts and purchase details right into QuickBooks Online. Using this will help you know what each charge is for. We can help you get it set up and show you how to streamline other receipt workflows, so your books stay accurate without the frustration.

We work with a wide range of tools to help streamline your operations and keep your financial systems connected. We’re always open to working with your existing tools and love helping clients integrate new systems that improve accuracy and efficiency.
Here are a few we commonly support:

• Payroll & HR Solutions:
  We work with the payroll providers our clients use, and some of the platforms we frequently support include Gusto, ADP, Rippling, and Justworks. These tools help automate payroll, employee onboarding, benefits, and compliance.
• Merchant Services & Payment Platforms:
  For payment processing and merchant services, we regularly work with Stripe, Shopify, and QuickBooks Payments—often using Synder to sync transactions cleanly into QuickBooks Online.
• Expense Management & Corporate Cards:
  Platforms like Ramp and Bill are client favorites for managing spending, streamlining reimbursements, and keeping expense data organized and audit-ready.

Yes, you should always keep your personal and business finances separate. Co-mingling funds can create serious headaches, especially during tax season, and it can raise red flags with the IRS. The good news? It’s simple to fix…just open a separate business bank account to keep everything clean and organized from the start.

At a minimum, your books should be updated monthly. This helps ensure:

• Your data feeds are working properly
• Duplicate or missing transactions are identified
• You have an accurate view of your cash flow and financial position.

You should also reconcile all balance sheet accounts regularly, not just your bank statements. Reconciliation means verifying your records against an outside source to ensure everything matches and nothing is missing.

Yes, accurate categorization is essential. It affects your financial reports, tax filings, and your ability to make smart business decisions. Misclassified transactions can lead to incorrect financials and costly errors. We help ensure your chart of accounts is set up correctly and your data is categorized consistently.

It’s absolutely critical. While accounting might not be the reason you started your business, it’s one of the most important tools for keeping it healthy and growing. And yet, it’s one of the most overlooked areas. The good news? You don’t have to do it alone. We help business owners stay on track by providing expert support so you can focus on running your business.

• IRS.gov – For official guidance on tax regulations, deductions, and small business resources
• Your accounting software’s support center (e.g., QuickBooks Online Help)
• Vilms Consulting blog

The right payroll provider should do more than just issue paychecks, they should help keep you compliant with federal, state, and local tax laws, reduce your administrative workload, and give both you and your team peace of mind. When evaluating a provider, ask yourself:

• Does it support our size and benefits?
• What technology integrations does it offer?