It depends on what kind of help your business needs. A bookkeeper manages the accuracy of your day-to-day financial records, including recording transactions, reconciling accounts, tracking income and expenses, and maintaining the financial information needed to run your business and prepare tax returns.

A CPA is a state-licensed accounting professional who may provide services such as audits, reviews, attest services, financial reporting, tax preparation, and consulting. You do not need a CPA simply because you own a business or need your taxes prepared.

At Taxnbooks, we provide an integrated approach to bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, and year-round tax support. The firm is led by Tammy Arnado, Enrolled Agent (EA) and Oregon Licensed Tax Consultant (LTC 5316-C).

For many small businesses, having bookkeeping and tax services handled together means cleaner records, fewer surprises at tax time, and financial information that is maintained with tax reporting in mind throughout the year.

If your business requires an independent audit, review, or other attest service, you will generally need a CPA firm that provides those services. Taxnbooks can make that process easier by ensuring your books are accurate, organized, and ready for the CPA.

A bookkeeper records and organizes the financial activity of the business so you can see cash, profit, and obligations as they stand. At Taxnbooks that includes monthly account reconciliations, financial statements, QuickBooks Online setup and cleanup, job costing for trades, and year-end documentation. We do not handle accounts payable or accounts receivable. We also run payroll monthly or semi-monthly (not weekly or biweekly) and prepare tax filings, so the books, the pay runs, and the returns are working from the same records.

Hire a bookkeeper when the books are behind, when you cannot see cash clearly, when you hire employees, when QuickBooks has become a second job, or when tax season turns into a scramble for missing records. Growing shops, contractors, and family businesses in Saint Helens and across Oregon often reach that point before they name it. You do not need to wait for a crisis. If the file is already behind, we start with catch-up, then monthly work.

Enrolled Agent. An Enrolled Agent is a federally authorized tax practitioner. The credential is issued by the IRS, not by a state. EAs generally qualify by passing the IRS Special Enrollment Examination covering individual taxation, business taxation, and representation, practice, and procedure, or through qualifying prior IRS experience. An EA has unlimited practice rights before the IRS: audits, collections, appeals, and other federal tax matters, regardless of where the taxpayer lives. An EA’s specialty is taxation. The IRS requires 72 hours of continuing education every three years, including 6 hours of ethics, with a minimum of 16 hours in each year and at least 2 of those annual hours in ethics. That averages 24 hours a year, but an EA can do 16 one year and more in another, as long as the three-year total and the annual minimums are met.

Oregon Licensed Tax Consultant. Oregon separately licenses people who prepare tax returns for compensation. A Licensed Tax Consultant (LTC) is licensed by the Oregon Board of Tax Practitioners. It is the higher of Oregon’s two primary tax-preparer licenses; the entry-level credential is Licensed Tax Preparer. An LTC can prepare and advise on individual and business tax returns and may supervise Licensed Tax Preparers. An Oregon LTC license by itself does not give unlimited IRS representation rights. That is why Tammy Arnado holds both the EA and the LTC: the Oregon license covers Oregon’s professional licensing requirements, while the EA credential provides federal tax-practice and IRS representation authority. Oregon requires an LTC to complete 30 hours every year, with at least 2 hours in professional conduct and ethics. That education must relate to tax law and tax preparation. Unlike the EA cycle, an LTC has a true 30-hour annual requirement.

CPA. A CPA is licensed by a state Board of Accountancy. Becoming a CPA generally involves substantial college-level accounting education, passing the Uniform CPA Examination, meeting experience requirements, and satisfying the state’s licensing requirements. CPAs can work in accounting, financial reporting, consulting, and taxation. The service that distinguishes the CPA in this comparison is attest work. Certain financial statement audits, reviews, and other attest engagements must be performed by licensed CPA firms. CPAs also have unlimited representation rights before the IRS. An active Oregon CPA must complete 80 hours during each two-year renewal period, including 4 hours of ethics, with at least 20 hours in each year of that period. That averages 40 hours a year, though a CPA does not have to complete exactly 40 in each year. CPA continuing education does not have to be tax education. Oregon allows CPA CPE across qualifying technical and some nontechnical subjects.

If your business needs an independent audit, review, or other attest service, you will need a CPA firm for that work. Taxnbooks can make that process easier by keeping your books accurate, organized, and ready.

Yes. We prepare business and personal tax returns, and many clients prefer one firm for both. That includes personal income tax, small-business and corporate filings, rental reporting, quarterly estimated payments, multi-state returns, and year-round planning. When household, rental, and business activity sit together, one set of records reduces gaps.

Yes. Our office is at 2155 Columbia Blvd, Saint Helens, Oregon 97051. The firm has been in business since 1994 and was previously located in Bend. We have been serving Saint Helens from this office since June 2022. We also serve Scappoose, Clatskanie, Rainier, Bend, Redmond, Sisters, and Sunriver, plus other Oregon clients who work with us remotely. Appointments are required. Walk-ins are not accepted. You can meet in person at the Saint Helens office or online.