Padgett Advisors

Part of the Padgett network, the office opened in 2008 when Steve Sgrosso took it on, and it works with small businesses across Carlsbad, San Marcos, Oceanside, Vista and Encinitas. The four strands of the practice — tax, monthly accounting, payroll and advisory — are meant to feed each other: books kept tax-ready in Xero support the return, while the advisory side takes up budgeting, forecasting and cash flow questions. Returns are prepared for individuals and for LLCs, S and C corporations and partnerships, multi-state where needed, and the office handles IRS and California notices and audits as well as entity selection, payroll tax and sales tax.

Several industries come up repeatedly: restaurants and bars, where tips and alcohol sales complicate payroll and tax; healthcare practices dealing with patient payments and insurance billing; construction contract accounting; real estate; retail; and professional services.