Our Voyage
Every client journey aboard the SS Tied Out is a partnership — steady, transparent, and built on trust. Here’s how we keep your books balanced and your sails full from port to port.
Preparing for the Sea
Most of our clients come aboard because they want to ensure their books are sea-ready — or they’re ready to learn the ropes and handle their own bookkeeping with a little training from our crew.
You see, “the sea” represents that endless wave of paperwork and documentation that never seems to end. Most business owners are tempted to toss it all in a shoebox and deal with it “someday.” But that’s not how things work on the SS Tied Out.
Our ship is built to weather those choppy waters. We take your stacks of financial paperwork and transform the stormy seas of recordkeeping into smooth, calm sailing. But fair warning — when you’re part of our crew, you’ll learn a lot about maintaining proper source documents and organized records.
Because when you sail with us, you’ll never have to worry about whether you’re audit-ready or tax-ready — you’ll already be there.
No one said running a business or nonprofit was smooth seas every day — especially when GAAP compliance enters the conversation — but with the SS Tied Out, you’ll have a well-built ship and a steady crew to guide you through it all.
What’s the Final Destination of Our Voyage?
That’s an easy one: your annual tax return!
At SS Tied Out, we navigate by the charts laid out by the IRS and California tax laws, with important port stops along the way. Some voyages include quarterly or annual sales tax filings, others include 1099 reporting, but every journey ultimately leads to your year-end tax destination — with your books fully tied out and ready for review.
Here’s the truth: a tax preparer’s job is to file based on what you, their client, provide. But that doesn’t always mean your financials are accurate or reconciled.
That’s where we come in.
We make it a win-win-win voyage — for you, your tax preparer, and us as your crew. We ensure your books are organized, balanced, and compliant, so your tax preparer can easily do what they do best: focus on tax planning, returns, and advisory work without the stormy stress of messy books.
Our voyage spans 12 months of steady, tied-out month-end check-ins, keeping us on course, asking the right questions, and ensuring that by year’s end, you’re ready to dock at your final destination: audit-ready and tax-ready peace of mind.
So How Do We Do It?
Smooth Sailing Systems
Here at Tied Out, we keep things smooth and streamlined — working electronically, digitally, and remotely with our clients. And if you’re local, you might even get the pleasure of meeting one of our crew members in person to exchange documents and talk shop dockside.
From the moment you open your business or take on a financial leadership role in a nonprofit, the sea of paperwork never stops rolling in. To keep your ship afloat, those everyday tasks must be managed with precision and care.
And let’s be honest: there are just too many emails these days. That’s why we focus on organizing the chaos, creating clear systems and communication channels so nothing gets lost in the storm.
We use powerful tools like BILL.com, Hubdoc, and Financial Cents to keep the current flowing smoothly — controlling the information tides and keeping everything centralized and organized.
Because aboard the SS Tied Out, it’s not just about bookkeeping. It’s about charting your financial course, building a strong crew, and keeping your business ship steady no matter the waters ahead.
Apprentice Sailors: Learning the Ropes
Every voyage begins with an Apprentice Sailor learning the skills of bookkeeping the SS Tied Out way. Our Apprentice Sailors handle the Accounts Receivable (AR) and Accounts Payable (AP) tasks that keep the ship steady, ensuring the day-to-day paperwork doesn’t flood the lower decks.
Some of our clients even choose to become their own Apprentice Sailors, taking coaching sessions directly with our Admiral to learn the ropes firsthand — a course we highly recommend unless the workload is simply too heavy to manage solo.
Quartermasters: Keeping the Ship Steady
From Apprentice Sailors to Quartermasters, every member of our crew learns to master the ropes — reconciling checking, savings, credit cards, loans, assets, liabilities, equity, and POS systems to ensure every line item is properly tied out.
Our Quartermasters keep a steady hand on the wheel, reviewing general ledgers and making sure the ropes stay tight and true all year long.
And for clients with simpler, less-complicated reconciliations, some even choose to take the helm themselves once they’ve been properly trained — proving that with the right guidance, anyone can sail confidently through their financial waters.
First Mates: Master Navigators
Next on the crew are our First Mates: seasoned sailors who have spent years mastering their craft. It takes time, training, and experience to understand what it truly means to navigate from day-to-day bookkeeping all the way to a tax return that’s tied out, clear, and with horizons in sight.
Our First Mates review your financials to ensure the ship is seaworthy before it leaves each port. They serve as that vital second set of eyes, double-checking every detail to make sure everything aboard the SS Tied Out passes the sniff test and the reason test — just like any expert providing deep review and insight into your books.
This level of care is especially important for nonprofits and businesses with investors, where fiduciary responsibility runs deep. You want to be prepared so that if questions ever arise, you have the knowledge, documentation, and confidence to back up your word — proving that your financial ship is as strong and reliable as you are.
At the Helm: The Admiral
Every great ship needs a strong captain at the helm, and aboard the SS Tied Out, that’s our Admiral — the visionary who charts the course, steadies the sails, and ensures every voyage runs smoothly from port to port.
Our Admiral doesn’t just oversee the crew. She trains, mentors, and sails alongside them, ensuring that every Apprentice, Quartermaster, and First Mate upholds the same high standards of accuracy, integrity, and care. Her mission is to guide businesses and nonprofits through the unpredictable financial seas with clarity, confidence, and calm waters ahead.
With years of experience across industries, she’s seen every kind of storm — from tax-time turbulence to audit waves — and knows exactly how to navigate them. Her passion lies in helping clients understand their numbers, empowering them to make sound decisions, and ensuring their books are not just compliant but truly tied out.
Bookkeeping isn’t just about numbers. It’s about building strong ships, confident captains, and smooth voyages for everyone who comes aboard.
Want to know what guides every voyage? Return to Our Compass to explore the values behind our work.