Bookkeeping & accounting · Suffolk County, NY
Monthly bookkeeping, catch-up cleanups, receivables, and reports you can actually read. For Long Island small businesses and nonprofits, from an accountant who closes the books for a living.
Who I work with
You don't need a controller. You need someone who keeps the books right every month, tells you what the numbers mean, and picks up the phone.
One to twenty people on the team and no time to reconcile anything. You get the books done, the bills tracked, and a report that tells you whether last month was good.
Grants, contracts, and donations each need their own story. You get fund tracking, restricted-gift reporting, and board packets that board members can follow.
You'd rather spend Sunday night anywhere but inside a spreadsheet. You get a light monthly plan, tax-ready books, and someone to ask before you make a money decision.
Services
Pick a monthly plan, add a one-time project, or start with a cleanup. Every engagement is scoped in writing with one flat price.
Transactions categorized, every account reconciled, and the books closed on a fixed schedule each month.
What's includedBehind a few months or a few years? I rebuild the books so they match the bank, then keep them that way.
How cleanups workInvoices out on time, payments tracked, and courteous follow-up on what's overdue. The part I did for a living.
Get paid fasterFund and grant tracking, restricted versus unrestricted reporting, and clean records for your funders and auditors.
For nonprofitsProfit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow, and a plain-English note on what changed and why.
See a sample closeA clean chart of accounts, connected bank feeds, and training so you can see your numbers whenever you want.
Setup and trainingHow it works
A conversation about your business and an honest look at where the books stand today. No pressure, no jargon, and you leave with a clear next step either way.
I connect your accounts, tidy the chart of accounts, clear any backlog, and agree the scope with you in writing. One flat monthly price, no surprise hours.
Transactions reconciled, reports in your inbox by mid-month with notes on what changed, and a short check-in whenever something needs a decision.
Why Steady Margins
I'm Charles Payne, a staff accountant at a Long Island nonprofit, promoted up from accounts receivable. I've chased the receivables, posted the Medicaid billing, reconciled the accounts, and prepared the numbers leadership actually used to make decisions.
Steady Margins brings that same care to businesses and organizations that can't justify a full-time accountant but deserve one on their side. You get an accountant who has lived with the consequences of messy books, and who knows how to keep them clean.
More about meHow I work
If a report needs a translator, it isn't finished. Every set of numbers comes with a note on what it means for you.
Flat pricing agreed up front and in writing. If the scope changes, we talk before the price does.
The QuickBooks or Xero file lives in your name. Leave anytime and take everything with you, no hard feelings.
A calm close every month beats a frantic April every year. The rhythm is the product.
Pricing
Starting points below. After a free consultation you get one written quote that covers everything in scope.
Solo professionals and very small businesses with light activity.
starting price
Growing businesses with invoices to send, bills to track, and more going on.
starting price
Nonprofits and busier businesses with payroll, funds, or classes to track.
starting price
Questions
No. If you're already in one of them, we keep it. If you're on spreadsheets or a shoebox of receipts, I'll recommend the one that fits your business and set it up properly, in your name.
Yes, and your CPA will be glad of it. Clean, reconciled books make tax season faster and cheaper. I send them exactly what they need, when they need it, and stay out of their way.
No. Steady Margins provides bookkeeping and accounting support, not audits, reviews, or other attest services. When you need a CPA for those, I'll help you find one and hand over clean books so their work starts on day one.
Both. I'm based in Lindenhurst and meet clients across Suffolk and Nassau Counties. Most monthly work happens remotely through secure, shared software, so distance isn't an issue if you're further away.
There's no such thing. Cleanup projects are quoted flat after a free review of your records, so you know the cost before anything starts. A year behind is a project, not a crisis.
Access set up, chart of accounts tidied, the backlog cleared if there is one, and a first set of reports with notes. After that, a steady monthly rhythm with reports by mid-month.
Book a free 30-minute consultation. Bring your questions and your messiest spreadsheet.