As I spent several hours on my intitial interviews to find a CPA, I wanted to help my fellow real estate people looking for a new CPA, by providing my notes. If you have a great cpa you would recommend, please post your recommendations here as a reply to this post.
Several weeks or even months ago, on a local networking message board, everyone was asking for recommendations for a good CPA. I took down all the recommended names and numbers and did a little digging. From conversations with them here is what I have found out, other than those who did not call back or just did not do much of anything we might need, they all seemed like services you should at least sit down with for an hour to check out.
Rick Hughey -
- referred by Rick Simmons
- 816-554-9422
- Located in Lee's Summit
- Will Manage your payroll systems
- Is Familiar with Kansas City Missouri's paperwork
- Has many clients with real estate
- Does not use quick books
- So will not be able to do your year end adjusting entries in quick books
- Does have a book keeping service
- Spoke with directly
Scott McRuer
- referred by Troy Meyer
- 816-741-3249
- Located in Parkvill
- Offers Payroll Services
- Familiar with KCMO papweork
- Has Real Estate Cliens
- Uses Quick Books
- Has Book Keeping Services
- Really Connected Well on the phone, seemed very proactive
- Answered his own phone
Tom Prater
- Referred by Nicole Daney
- 816-753-3460
- Located on the Plaza
- offers payroll serfvices
- Familiar with the KCMO paperwork mess
- Has Real Estate Clients
- Does not use Quick Books
- Has quick books specialists to make your adjusting year end entires
- Has a book keeping service
- Also connected well on the phone, recommended meeting with a client several times through out the year to make sure they are on track, and look at ways to help them save on taxes - seemed very proactive
Jeff Katz
- Referred by David Nachman
- 913-451-4510 x 105
- Located in Leawood
- Does not offer payroll services & recommended PayChecks a payroll service
- Did not seem to be very familiar with KCMO paperwork
- Had Real Estate Clients
- Used Quick Books
- Could complete year end adjusting entries
- Had bookkeeping serivces
- Did not connect well on the phone, and wanted to argue with me that I had any clue how to do my own bookkeeping or that I knew how to use quick books.
- Marked him off my list, but it could have been me - I was in a bad mood
Carl Heinz
- Recommended by Nicole Daney
- 913-491-1040
- Located at College & Roe in Leawoos
- Offers Payroll services
- Familiare with KCMO paperwork
- Has real estate cliens
- Use Quick books
- Can complete your adjusing entires
- And I forgot to ask about book keeping services
- I have not yet talked with Carl, but do have an appointment with him. Had to leave a message and they called back several days later - but it was a holiday week. Spoke with his daughter. Carl teaches other CPA's about the latest and greatest in the CPA world.
- His daughter Hillary is in the business with them, small office with Carl, his daughter, an office manager and 3 other accountants - not to big or too small.
- Thing I liked the best so far - at the end of the year they give you a book with all your papwerwork from the entire year enclosed so you have good records.
Craig Chance
- Recommended by David Nachman
- 913-491-7200
- Located in Overland Park
- Offers Payroll
- Familiar with KCMO paperwork
- Forgot to ask about the real estate clients
- Uses Quick Books
- Could do adjusting entries
- Has Book keeping services
- connected well on the phone
Ron Minda
- Recommended by David Nachman
- 913-649-9222
- Located in Prairie Village
- Left a message, but no return call - maybe I didn't press the right button, but he was my list call of 7 and I really needed to narrow my list
From all my interviews on the phone
I would go and sit down with Rick Hughey, but I don't want to drive to Lee's Summit.
I would definitely sit down with Scott McRuer, but again - I don't want to drive to Parkville.
I really liked Tom Prater, but Don used to use him a long time ago and they did not connect well, but he seemed very well worth an interview.
Jeff Katz, turned me off with arguing with me, so I guess he really didn't want any new clients and they didn't offer a lot of things that we needed.
Carl Heinz will be my first interview.
Craig Chance will probably be my second interview, if Carl does not work out.
And I am still waiting for a return call from Ron Minda.
I hope this will help you narrow down your search for an area CPA in Kansas City.
Wow what research, I will book mark this if anyone needs this info for sure.
You've definitely done your share of research... but I do have one question: why specifically a CPA?
No prejudice here... but if you are preparing for tax season, why not an EA?
If you want someone to do year round accounting and bookkeeping, that I can understand.
I was just curious. I prefer CPAs, but I have an EA do my taxes.
Thanks for the info. I'll reference this to my peeps.
Do you mean an Enrolled Agent?
Many of the CPA's I talked with were EA's or have one on staff, but they promote that they are CPA's - I don't hear the Enrolled Agent term much. And in reading up on it on google, I get the impression that the CPA exam is much harder and covers a much broader spectrum of information than the Enrolled Agent needs to know.
But with 4 companies I want someone who does year round accounting and bookkeeping. I can find just about anyone that can do my year end taxes ok - not really concerned with that. I want a company that will keep track of all my companies, all the monthly, quarterly, and annual reports that need to be done for federal, missouri, kansas, and the city of KCMO and if you have never delt with KCMO its a mess.
Most investors if they only do one or two houses or only have an LLC may be find with just dealing with taxes on a once a year basis. But when you buy and sell 3 or 4 houses a month, manage 60 rental properties, and have other business concerns (say you are a doctor or other wise self employed outside of real estate) and you have your CPA on speed dial to ask how this transaction will affect the bottom line, how should it be handled to lessen taxes, and oh by the way the city want's another form. I want to turn the whole thing over to a company and let them handle it - as I don't have the time and don't want to find the time.
Oh - and I guess it's time for me to go - got to get to the accountants office. CPA and an EA on staff I think - will find out.
Kim in KC
www.TuckerOneProperties.com
www.MAREInet.com
I hear ya, the CPA exam is much more difficult, and that's because it covers a broader range.
EAs deal specifically with taxes, and are the ones with the qualification to represent you in front of the IRS in case of an audit.
I use a CPA to do my year round bookkeeping, but come tax season, he hands it over to my EA.
The funny thing is, one of my in-laws is a CPA, and the other is an EA. They get into it all the time.