These aren't two options — they're two halves of one job. A bookkeeper keeps the records: categorizing every transaction, reconciling the bank and card accounts, and closing each month so the numbers are true. A CPA interprets those records and files with them — tax returns, quarterly estimates, entity questions, and anything else requiring a license. Most small businesses need both, and the order matters: the bookkeeper's output is the accountant's input, so clean books make filing quick while messy books make it expensive. Karbon does the bookkeeping half in-house, starting at $500 a month. Your CPA still files your taxes.
See what in-house bookkeeping includes →| Accountant / CPA | Karbon | |
|---|---|---|
| The core job | Interpreting finished numbers — returns, filings, planning, and advice that requires a license. | Producing those numbers — transaction categorization, bank and card reconciliation, a monthly close, and a plain-English P&L. |
| Filing your taxes | Wins here, entirely. A CPA or enrolled agent prepares and files your returns; a bookkeeper neither can nor should. | We don't file returns. We hand your preparer books that are already reconciled, so filing is a short job rather than a forensic one. |
| Tax strategy and entity questions | Wins here. Deductions, quarterly estimates, entity elections, and the rest are licensed advice. | Out of scope by design. We keep the records; your CPA advises on what to do with them. |
| Representation and attestation | Wins here. Only a licensed professional can represent you before a tax authority or attest to statements a lender asks for. | Not offered. What we can do is produce the current, reconciled reports those requests are asking for. |
| How often you're in touch | Commonly seasonal — a year-end engagement plus quarterlies, depending on the firm. | Monthly, with the same in-house team. Your P&L arrives while the month it describes can still be acted on. |
| Day-to-day record keeping | Many firms will do it, though it's usually billed at professional rates and isn't where they'd rather spend hours. | This is the entire job, priced as a flat monthly rate scoped to your transaction volume and account count. |
| Cost model | Commonly hourly or per return — and cleanup time on disorganized books is billed at the same professional rate. | Flat monthly starting at $500, quoted after a free review of your current books. No long-term lock-in. |
| Visibility during the year | If the books are only assembled at filing time, you learn how the year went once you can no longer change it. | A closed month every month, so pricing, spending, and hiring decisions use current numbers. |
Neither option is right for every business. Here's a fair view of where each one fits best.
Where Karbon fits: we're the bookkeeping half, not a replacement for your accountant — and we're glad to work directly with the CPA you already have. Bookkeeping is kept in-house by our own team, starts at $500 a month, and is scoped to your transaction volume after a free review of your current books. The practical payoff is that the licensed professional in your life spends their hours on advice instead of cleanup.
Usually yes, and they overlap less than people expect. The bookkeeper records and reconciles month by month; the accountant interprets the result and files with it. Skipping the bookkeeping half doesn't remove the work — it moves it to your accountant at professional rates, or to you at midnight in April.
Many firms will, and if that arrangement works, keep it. Two things are worth checking: what the rate is for routine categorization compared with a flat monthly bookkeeping fee, and how often you actually receive a closed month. Some firms assemble the books once a year at filing time, which satisfies compliance but gives you nothing to run the business on.
No. We keep the books — categorization, reconciliation, monthly close, and a P&L and balance sheet you can hand over. Filing, tax strategy, and anything requiring a license stay with your CPA or enrolled agent. We send them clean records and answer their questions directly.
Book a free 15-minute call. If the other option on this page is the better fit for your situation, we'll tell you that too.