Southampton
Bookkeeping and accounting in Southampton, NY
Contractors, landscapers and property managers make up most of the bookkeeping work here.
What you get
- Accounts reconciled every month
- Statements you can make decisions from
- Payroll and sales tax filed on time
- QuickBooks set up to fit the business
The MyCleverCPA team
- 25+ years in regulated finance, compliance and audit
- Tax work led by a CPA. Jillian Sinel holds the CPA and the CAA
- Hamptons Office at 30 Lincoln St, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
In Southampton
Bookkeeping and accounting for Southampton
Job costing, retainage and subcontractor reporting are the three things that decide whether the margin showing on the file is real.
Crews that scale up for the season and back down after it make payroll the other half of the job, and classification mistakes made in June are expensive in January.
Scope
What is included in bookkeeping and accounting
The same work wherever you are. Scoped to what you actually need.
Monthly close
- Bank and credit card reconciliations
- Accruals and adjusting entries
- A close calendar you can rely on
Reporting
- Profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow
- Management reports for owners and lenders
- Budget against actual, and the variance explained
Payroll and sales tax
- Payroll processing and payroll accounting
- Federal, New York State and local payroll filings
- Sales tax registration and returns
Cleanup and systems
- QuickBooks setup, cleanup and conversion
- A chart of accounts rebuilt to fit what you do
- Inventory and job costing where they apply
What this covers
- Bookkeeping and general ledger maintenance
- Financial statements and management reports
- Account reconciliation and adjusting entries
- Payroll processing and payroll accounting
- Payroll tax compliance
- Sales tax compliance
- QuickBooks setup, cleanup and conversion
- Financial and accounting analysis
- Budgeting, forecasting and cash flow analysis
- Cost, profitability and performance analysis
- Internal accounting support and advisory
- Inventory control
Local tax
A permit for every rental, and the U.S. Open question
Southampton town requires a rental permit for any home rented for any period, with a 14 day minimum stay. Anything shorter is a prohibited transient rental. Permits last two years and are not transferable, which means a buyer of a rental house needs their own permit rather than inheriting the seller’s. That one catches people at closing. Advertising, listing or showing a house for rent without a permit in place can bring violations, suspension and a two year rental restriction. Processing takes roughly one to three weeks off season and two to four in summer, so it is not a last minute item.
The 2026 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in June is the live local question. Southampton moved to temporarily relax its short term rental limits for the event, and neighboring Sagaponack waived its two week minimum for 12 to 23 June. Both of those rest on local reporting rather than on a code section we can point you to, so confirm the adopted resolution with the Town before you let anything.
The tax side is clearer. If you rent your home for 14 days or fewer in the year and you use it as a residence, the income can be excluded entirely under the section 280A rule, though no expenses are then deductible. At 15 days it becomes reportable rental activity with allocation between personal and rental use. For a single championship week, that distinction is usually the whole conversation.
The Peconic transfer tax applies at 2.5% across the town with the $400,000 improved residential allowance, again only where consideration is $2,000,000 or less. Zone 2 for MCTMT at 0.34%.
How it works
How bookkeeping and accounting runs
Four stages. Most of the value sits in the first two, before anything is filed.
Look at what exists
The current file, the bank feeds and the last month anyone actually reconciled.
Clean up the history
Past months reconciled and categorized before anything new gets built on top of them.
Close every month
A fixed schedule, with statements that arrive without being chased.
Review the numbers with you
Reports walked through, so they answer the question you actually have.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
I want to rent my house for U.S. Open week. What do I need to know?
Two things. Whether the permit rules allow it, which the town moved to relax temporarily for the event but which you should confirm directly with the Town before committing. And the tax treatment: at 14 days or fewer the income can be excluded entirely, at 15 days it is reportable rental activity. For one week, that usually means it is excludable, but the permit question is separate and comes first.
I just bought a rental house. Does the seller’s permit carry over?
No. Southampton rental permits are not transferable, so a new owner needs their own before renting or even advertising. Allow two to four weeks in summer.
Do you work with the trades out here?
Yes, and it is a large part of this office. Worker classification between 1099 and W-2, seasonal payroll, equipment depreciation and the sales tax treatment of capital improvements are the four that come up every year.
Do you work in Spanish?
Tell us what you need when you book and we will arrange the meeting accordingly.
Our books are a mess. Is that a problem?
It is the normal starting position. Cleanup is a defined piece of work with an end, and we would rather do it properly once than build a year of planning on top of numbers nobody trusts.
Do you work in QuickBooks?
Yes, including setup, cleanup and conversions from other systems. If you are already on something else that works, we are not going to move you for the sake of it.
Can you run our payroll?
Yes, along with the payroll tax compliance that goes with it. Payroll is also where worker classification gets decided, and getting that wrong is expensive in New York.
How often will I see numbers?
Monthly, as a rule, with the reporting shaped around what you actually decide from. A statement nobody reads is a cost, not a service.
Also in Southampton
Our other services here
Tax preparation and planning
Southampton returns split two ways, because the town has a real year round economy alongside the second home money.
Tax preparation and planning in SouthamptonTrust and estate tax
Southampton estates often include both a residence and income property.
Trust and estate tax in SouthamptonNonprofit accounting
With the largest year round population on the East End, Southampton has the most service delivery nonprofits we see.
Nonprofit accounting in SouthamptonIRS representation
Contractor notices here are usually about worker classification.
IRS representation in SouthamptonTalk to us about bookkeeping and accounting in Southampton
Book a time online, or call the Hamptons office directly.
Nearest office
Hamptons Office
30 Lincoln St, Sag Harbor, NY 11963
Phone
Office hours
Sunday to Friday, 11am to 8pm Eastern.
Closed Saturday.