Magic Books

Magic Books is a bookkeeping and accounting firm with an office in Westown Parkway, West Des Moines, and a second in Concord, California. It works mostly with small and mid-sized businesses that have outgrown doing the books themselves but aren't ready to hire a full-time finance team.

The day-to-day work is the stuff owners tend to put off: reconciling the bank, chasing invoices, paying bills on time and keeping expenses sorted so the numbers actually mean something at the end of the month. On top of that, they offer CFO-level help for businesses that want budgets, forecasts and someone to talk through the figures with.

Services:

• Bookkeeping and bank reconciliation
• Accounts payable and accounts receivable
• Financial statement preparation
• Tax planning and compliance
• Budgeting and forecasting
• Outsourced CFO services
• Internal audit and expense tracking
• Business financial consulting

They also run their own software for invoicing, payments, leave tracking and payroll, which some clients use alongside the bookkeeping service so everything sits in one place.

Pricing isn't published on the website. It depends on how many transactions you have each month and which services you need, so expect a short call to scope it before you get a quote. If you're switching from another bookkeeper, have last year's statements and access to your accounting software ready. It speeds up the handover a lot.

A practical point if you're shopping around: ask who will actually handle your file each month and how often you'll get reports. Monthly closes and a clear contact person matter more than a long list of services.

Iowa office: 6600 Westown Parkway, Suite 255, West Des Moines, IA 50266. Phone (515) 809-7770.