We are a bookkeeper in Bay Shore, NY working with the bars, restaurants, marine businesses, and Main Street retail that make up the local economy. The recurring problems here are tips, a season that pays for the winter, and merchant deposits that hide what the business actually earned. We handle all three at a flat monthly fee.
Bars, restaurants, and hospitality are most of our Bay Shore work
Tips, credit card fees, and delivery commission separated properly
Seasonal cash flow forecast, so the winter is planned for
We are a bookkeeper in Bay Shore, NY working with the bars, restaurants, marine businesses, and Main Street retail that make up the local economy. The recurring problems here are tips, a season that pays for the winter, and merchant deposits that hide what the business actually earned. We handle all three at a flat monthly fee.
Where restaurant money hides
Video coming soon
Merchant deposits are not revenue
Card fees, delivery commission, and tips, and what each one does to your food cost when it is booked wrong.
[confirm length once filmed]
Bookkeeping for Bay Shore bars and restaurants
Main Street and the streets around the ferry terminal carry a dense run of bars, restaurants, and seasonal businesses. Hospitality is the hardest small business to keep books for, because the money arrives through four channels that all net down before they reach the bank.
Merchant deposits are not revenue. A card batch lands net of processing fees. A delivery platform lands net of commission, which can run a quarter of the ticket. Booking the deposit as sales understates revenue and hides the cost entirely, which is how an owner ends up believing food cost is eight points better than it is.
Tips are not the restaurant's money. Credit card tips arrive in the business bank account and leave again through payroll. Run through sales, they inflate revenue and distort every margin figure that depends on it.
Sales tax on prepared food. Restaurant sales are taxable in New York whether eaten in or taken out, at 8.75 percent here in Suffolk. The reconciliation that matters is sales tax collected against sales tax reported, and it is the one nobody runs until there is a notice.
Marine businesses and the season
Bay Shore sits on the Great South Bay with the Fire Island ferries running out of it, so a real share of local businesses earn most of the year's money between May and September. That shape changes what the books are for.
A seasonal business does not need a monthly profit and loss so much as a cash flow forecast that reaches the far side of the winter. The work is to hold enough history that the season's shape is visible, set aside the sales tax and payroll liabilities as they are incurred rather than when they are due, and know before October whether the season covered the year.
Boat sales and marine services carry their own sales tax treatment in New York, and storage, repair labour, and brokerage are not all handled the same way. We confirm the treatment for the specific work a yard does before setting the book up, because getting it wrong compounds across a whole season of invoices.
What this looks like in practice
These are the situations we are typically brought in to fix on Long Island. Details are generalised, and we never publish a client's business.
1
A Bay Shore bar and restaurant
Bay Shore, Suffolk County
What we found
Two years of books built from the POS export, with card fees, delivery commission, and comps never separated. The owner believed food cost was about 28 percent and could not work out where the money went.
What we did
Rebuilt both years from the bank rather than the POS, split merchant deposits back into gross sales and fees, pulled the delivery platforms out of restaurant sales, and moved credit card tips out of revenue and into the payroll liability where they belonged.
Where it landed
Food cost was closer to 36 percent, and almost the whole gap was delivery commission sitting inside revenue. Delivery menu pricing was reset to carry the commission, and a sales tax under-report was corrected before it aged another year.
2
A marina and boat service yard
Bay Shore, Suffolk County
What we found
Winter storage collected in one lump in October and recognized immediately, so the books showed a strong autumn and an alarming spring that did not reflect the work.
What we did
Spread storage revenue across the months it covers, and separated service labor, parts, and storage so each could be seen on its own.
Where it landed
The yard could see that service, not storage, was carrying the business. Pricing on the storage contracts was raised the following season with an actual basis behind it.
What it costs
A flat monthly fee, quoted from your transaction volume, your accounts, and whether you run payroll. You get the number in writing before any work starts. Catch-up work is quoted separately so it does not inflate the ongoing fee.
Basics
$250per month
Solo owners and single-location businesses under about $50k of monthly expenses.
Monthly bank and card reconciliation
Expense categorization with bank rules
Profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow every month
Sales tax return prepared and filed at your county rate
Ro Sokhi is a New York licensed CPA. The person who signs off on your numbers is the person who can tell you what they mean for your tax bill.
Flat monthly fee
You know the number before the month starts. No hourly meter, no surprise invoice for a phone call in March.
On Long Island, not a call center
Staffed offices in Melville and Hicksville. We will come to the shop if the shoebox is easier to hand over than to scan.
Catch-up work is normal here
Most businesses that call us are behind. Some by a quarter, some by three years. That is the job, and it is quoted separately so the monthly fee stays clean.
Our offices
Both offices are staffed. Most work happens electronically wherever you are, and the offices are there for the businesses that would rather hand something over in person.
Suffolk County Office
68 S Service Rd #100 Melville, NY 11747
On the South Service Road off the LIE, serving Suffolk County and eastern Long Island.
Sales tax rates by county.Publication 718: New York State Publication 718 lists the combined rate for every jurisdiction, including Nassau at 8.625 percent and Suffolk at 8.75 percent.
Suffolk's rate change.Sales tax rates bulletin: Suffolk raised its local rate from 4.25 to 4.375 percent effective March 1, 2025, which is why the two counties no longer match.
Clothing under $110.Publication 718-C: Publication 718-C sets out which localities exempt clothing and footwear under $110 and which continue to tax their local portion.
MCTMT employer rates.MCTMT employer rates: The payroll expense threshold and the Zone 2 bracket rates that apply to Nassau and Suffolk employers.
CPA licence verification.NYSED licence register: The New York State Education Department register, where any CPA licence can be checked, including ours.
Every rate on this page links to the New York State authority that publishes it. Figures are current as of the date shown above. They explain how the numbers work and are not tax advice for your situation.
Every rate on this page links to the New York State authority that publishes it. Figures are current as of the date shown above. They explain how the numbers work and are not tax advice for your situation.
Questions
Do you work with bars and restaurants?
Yes, they are the largest group we serve in Bay Shore. The recurring issues are merchant deposits booked as revenue, delivery commission hidden inside sales, and credit card tips run through the profit and loss instead of through payroll.
My business is seasonal. Does monthly bookkeeping still make sense?
Yes, and arguably more. A seasonal business needs the liabilities set aside as they are incurred and a cash flow forecast that reaches the far side of the winter. Doing the books once a year tells you how the season went after it is too late to act on it.
How much does a bookkeeper cost on Long Island?
Our plans start at $250 a month for a solo owner and run to $850 for a multi-entity business, set by your monthly expense volume rather than by the hour. You get the number in writing before any work starts. Independent bookkeepers on Long Island often quote hourly, which looks cheaper until a busy month arrives; a flat fee is a number you can budget.
My books are two years behind. Is that a problem?
It is the most common reason people call. We work backwards from the last filed return, rebuild the periods in between, and reconcile to the bank rather than to whatever the prior file says. You get a clean starting balance and a written list of what changed. Catch-up is quoted as a one-time project, usually one to two months of the recurring fee.
Do you file sales tax returns?
Yes, and on Long Island that matters more than most places. Nassau charges 8.625 percent and Suffolk charges 8.75 percent, so a business selling in both counties collects at two rates and has to report them separately. We register you if you are not registered, review what you are collecting, and file on whatever schedule the state has put you on.
Are you a CPA firm?
Ro Sokhi is individually licensed as a CPA in New York and leads the work. The operating entity is a business corporation and is not registered with NYSED as a public accounting firm, so we do not perform audits, reviews, or compilations. If your bank or a buyer needs assurance work we will tell you plainly and point you to a registered firm.
What is the difference between a bookkeeper and a CPA?
A bookkeeper records what happened. A CPA is licensed, can represent you before the IRS, and can tell you what the numbers mean for your tax position and your decisions. Most small businesses are sold one or the other. Here the bookkeeping is done to a standard a CPA is willing to sign off on, and the same person handles the return.
Do you work with QuickBooks, or do I have to switch?
QuickBooks Online for most clients, and Xero where a business is already on it. We do not force a migration for its own sake. If you are on spreadsheets, a shoebox, or a system your last bookkeeper set up badly, that is a normal starting point and we will move you when moving is worth it.
How long does it take to get started?
A first call takes about twenty minutes and a quote follows the same day. Once you accept, we need read-only access to your bank and card feeds and your last filed return. Most businesses are fully onboarded inside two weeks; a business needing catch-up work takes longer, and we tell you how much longer before you commit.
Do we have to meet in person?
Only if you want to. Most clients send documents electronically and talk to us on a call. The Melville and Hicksville offices are there for the businesses that would rather hand over a box of receipts than scan them, and for anyone who wants to meet the person doing the work before handing over the books.
Can you handle payroll as well as the books?
Yes. We process payroll, file the NYS-45, and track the MCTMT, which applies here because Nassau and Suffolk are inside the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District. We also review worker classification, because contractors who work like employees are the payroll issue New York challenges most often.
What happens if I get a letter from New York State or the IRS?
Send it to us the day it arrives. Most notices are routine and are resolved with a reconciliation and a reply. Ro is a CPA and holds unlimited representation rights before the IRS, so if a notice turns into something more, you are not looking for help at that point.
Are you taking new clients right now?
Yes. We keep the client list small enough that the same person reviews your file every month, so there are periods when onboarding runs a few weeks out, and we tell you that on the first call rather than after you sign.