US Accountant / Bookkeeper — Xero, Gusto Payroll & Multi-Entity (Controller-Level)

ABOUT THE ROLE
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We're hiring a genuinely capable, controller-level operator to run the books and compliance for a small group of related US companies — a few hours a week, done right. This is NOT a junior bookkeeping seat. The volume is low, but the scope is broad and the standard is high: multi-entity bookkeeping, US multi-state compliance filings, payroll operations, cash forecasting, and light financial modeling.

TYPE OF WORK:
Part-time (~5 hrs/week to start) — strong path to full-time based on performance (heavier around payroll, month-end close, and filing deadlines). Must have meaningful daily overlap with US business hours to turn around approvals and coordinate.

SALARY:
$10–$15/hour, depending on experience

You'll work directly with the owner, who approves all payments and material decisions. We care about one thing above all: quality. If you're the right operator, this part-time engagement has a clear path to full-time as we grow.

You'll manage four sets of books:
- Three state-specific neurology practices structured as physician-owned professional corporations (PCs), operating across California and New York
- A management services organization (MSO) that handles all non-clinical support, employs non-clinical staff, and charges each practice a service fee
- A separate Washington-based software consultancy (B&O and sales/use tax exposure)

The three healthcare entities are highly interrelated, with recurring intercompany activity (MSO service fees flowing from the PCs, MSO paying shared costs). Comfort with MSO / friendly-PC ("management company + professional corporation") structures and intercompany accounting is a major plus.

WHAT YOU'LL OWN
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1. BOOKKEEPING — All 4 entities in Xero. Ongoing categorization, reconciliations, and clean intercompany entries between the MSO and the PCs. Keep the books accurate and close-ready.

2. PAYROLL OPERATIONS — Gusto. Own the operational side: enter hourly employee data, add reimbursements, ensure every run is queued and paid on time. Reconcile Gusto-paid taxes and flag/resolve discrepancies.

3. CASH MANAGEMENT & PAYMENT QUEUE — Queue bills and payments (with backup) for owner review and approval. Monitor cashflow health and help sequence/time cash to keep sufficient funds on hand.

4. FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS —
- Maintain a rolling ~13-week cash forecast to support cash-timing decisions and flag risks early.
- Help build and maintain driver-based projections across the entities. An existing model is started; you'll collect operational drivers/inputs and help turn it into real, maintained projections.

5. US COMPLIANCE FILINGS (multi-state calendar) — Own the filing calendar and handle:
- CA franchise tax, Statement of Information, annual reports
- NY / NYC quarterly payments and filings
- WA B&O tax
- DE annual/quarterly filings as needed
- Sales/use tax returns (MSO and/or consultancy)
- Quarterly estimated income tax payments
- 1099-NEC issuance to contractors

6. ACCOUNTANT PREP — Prepare and hand off clean, organized books to our external CPAs for tax prep. Be the day-to-day point of contact for their questions.

MUST-HAVE REQUIREMENTS (HARD FILTERS — do not apply without these)
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- Xero fluency, including multi-entity setups and intercompany transactions. Real Xero experience — NOT "I know QuickBooks and can learn it."
- US multi-state business tax & compliance literacy — able to INDEPENDENTLY handle filings across CA, NY/NYC, WA, and DE. Non-negotiable regardless of where you're based.
- Gusto payroll operations — running the operational side, entering data, reconciling payroll taxes.
- Cash forecasting + basic financial modeling — can build/maintain a 13-week forecast and work in a driver-based projection model.
- Multi-entity / intercompany bookkeeping experience.
- Reliability and timeliness — payments and filings hit deadlines every time; proactive about flagging issues.
- Strong written English and enough US-hours overlap to coordinate approvals.

STRONGLY PREFERRED
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- Healthcare MSO / friendly-PC / DSO or medical-group accounting experience (understands the management-fee + professional-corporation structure).
- Experience preparing books for external CPAs at close/year-end.
- CPA, CMA, or equivalent credential (or clearly equivalent hands-on depth).
- Experience serving multiple small clients as a fractional resource.

HOW TO APPLY (applications that skip these steps will be ignored)
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Start your application with the word "XERO-CTRL" so we know you read this in full. Then answer these directly and briefly:

1. Walk me through your hands-on Xero experience — specifically multiple entities and intercompany transactions.
2. Which US state filings have you PERSONALLY handled? Have you dealt with CA franchise tax/SOI, NY/NYC, WA B&O, or DE filings?
3. Have you worked with an MSO / professional-corporation (medical group) structure or similar management-company arrangement? Describe the intercompany flows you managed.
4. Describe a cash forecast you've built and maintained. How did you handle a cash-timing crunch?
5. How do you operate as a fractional/part-time resource across several clients — how do you keep deadlines from slipping?
6. What's your experience running Gusto operationally and reconciling payroll taxes?

We will not trade skill for a lower rate — bring us your best and it will be
recognized. Right operator, part-time now, full-time potential.