What a QuickBooks ProAdvisor costs
Before you engage anyone in Arizona: what a QuickBooks ProAdvisor charges nationally, why the fee is quoted as a written fixed scope rather than an hourly rate, and which factors move it.
The engagementArizona
Your Arizona QuickBooks bookkeeper — ProAdvisor expertise, Arizona rules.
Bookkeeping, QuickBooks setup and cleanup, payroll coordination, and the Arizona complexity that trips up generic bookkeepers — the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT), which is not a sales tax but a tax on the seller’s privilege of doing business, owed by the vendor and levied by business classification (5.6% state plus county and city layers, most city TPT reported through the centralized AZTaxes.gov portal), the prime-contracting rule that taxes construction on 65% of gross receipts, and the state-only withholding with the 60-day rule and the California/Indiana/Oregon/Virginia exemption alongside the flat 2.5% income tax and the flat 4.9% corporate rate — delivered by your TechBrot team, with every close reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, in your own QuickBooks file. Fixed-fee, all 15 counties.
$500–$2,500+/mo
State rule
Arizona rule: a business may not engage or continue in business until it holds a transaction privilege tax (TPT) license; QuickBooks then carries a TPT item for each business classification and location you report. Source: A.R.S. § 42-5005.
What you can check before you sign
- Fixed fee, written first
- Your own QuickBooks file
- No hourly billing
If your file needs our paid diagnostic first, its fee is credited in full against the cleanup. Either way, you get a fixed fee in writing before any work starts.
§ 01 · In short
The short version.
§ In short
An Arizona QuickBooks accountant at TechBrot works in your own QuickBooks Online or Desktop file: every account reconciled, Transaction Privilege Tax items set by business classification, and contractors taxed on the 65% prime-contracting base. Monthly bookkeeping runs $500–$2,500+/mo on a written fixed fee. TechBrot is not a CPA firm; your CPA files the returns.
They took something that felt overwhelming to me as a first-year business owner and made it simple.
What stood out the most was TechBrot Inc’s attention to detail.
Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 2 and QuickBooks Workforce Certification,
§ 02 · What TechBrot does for your Arizona books
Everything your books need, handled by one team.
Every engagement is scoped to your business and delivered in your own QuickBooks file by your TechBrot team — the same team, every month.
Monthly bookkeeping & reconciliation
Every bank, credit-card, and merchant account categorized and reconciled, a clean chart of accounts maintained, and monthly statements you can actually read — in your own QuickBooks file.
QuickBooks cleanup & catch-up
Behind or messy? We fix the file to a CPA-ready standard — undeposited funds, miscategorizations, broken reconciliations, the wrong TPT business classification, contractor files taxing the full receipts instead of the prime-contracting 65% base, commingled entities — then keep it clean.
QuickBooks setup & migration
A new file built right, or a Desktop-to-Online migration done without breaking your history — chart of accounts, the TPT items by business classification and location, and bank feeds configured by a ProAdvisor.
Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) setup
Arizona’s TPT is where QuickBooks goes wrong — it’s not a sales tax but a tax on the seller’s privilege of doing business, levied by business classification with a 5.6% state rate plus county and city layers (most city TPT reported through the centralized AZTaxes.gov portal). Generic setups charge one statewide rate — wrong. We configure the QuickBooks TPT items so the correct combined rate applies by classification and location, apply the prime-contracting 65% base for construction, reconcile them so the filings tie out, and scope multi-state nexus for sellers crossing the California, Nevada, or New Mexico lines. You or your CPA file.
Payroll coordination
QuickBooks Payroll run and reconciled into the books — including state-only Arizona withholding (cities levy TPT, not income tax), the 60-day rule for nonresidents, and the California/Indiana/Oregon/Virginia exemption many Arizona remote-staff employers need — so wages, taxes, and liabilities reconcile every month.
Year-end CPA handoff
Clean, reconciled, documented books delivered to your CPA at year-end — with the TPT detail kept filing-ready by classification and the balance sheet kept PTE-ready — so your return is faster, cheaper, and audit-ready. We coordinate with them directly so nothing falls through.
§ 03 · Arizona tax realities we build into your books
Three Arizona facts that change how your books are kept.
These aren’t footnotes — they shape how the chart of accounts, the TPT items by business classification, and the state-only payroll withholding are set up from day one.
The Transaction Privilege Tax — not a sales tax
Arizona’s defining indirect tax is the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) — not a sales tax but a tax on the seller’s privilege of doing business, legally owed by the vendor (who usually passes it through). It’s levied by business classification — retail, contracting, restaurant, commercial lease, and more — with a 5.6% state rate plus county and city layers, so the combined rate varies by activity and location. Most city TPT is reported through the Arizona Department of Revenue’s centralized AZTaxes.gov portal, though each city sets its own rate. Because the rate and base depend on classification, generic setups that charge one statewide rate are wrong. We configure the QuickBooks TPT items so the right combined rate applies. Confirm current rates against the ADOR TPT rate table.
Prime contracting — construction’s 65% base
For construction, Arizona’s prime contracting classification taxes 65% of the gross receipts — the other 35% is treated as a standard deduction for materials — and the prime contractor, not the subcontractors, generally owes the TPT. Maintenance, repair, replacement, and alteration (MRRA) work is taxed differently, at the point of materials purchase. It’s one of the most distinctive things in Arizona accounting and a frequent source of errors, so the equity, job-costing, and revenue accounts have to be clean to compute it. We keep contractor books prime-contracting-ready so the filing is straightforward for your CPA.
A flat 2.5% income tax — but the 60-day rule
Arizona’s individual income tax is a flat 2.5%, in place since 2023, and the corporate rate is a flat 4.9%. There is no local or city income tax (cities levy TPT instead), so payroll withholding is state-only — but a nonresident working in Arizona is generally withheld once they’ve worked here 60 days, while residents of California, Indiana, Oregon, or Virginia can claim exemption from Arizona withholding on Form WEC (the credit itself is claimed on the Form 140NR return). We configure QuickBooks Payroll so multi-state and remote staff are withheld correctly, and keep the books PTE-ready (the elective pass-through entity tax at 2.5%) for growing pass-throughs.
§ 04 · The scope
What we do — and what we don’t.
What TechBrot does
- Monthly bookkeeping & reconciliation in QuickBooks
- QuickBooks cleanup, catch-up, setup & migration
- The Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) by business classification & location, the prime-contracting 65% base, state-only withholding & the flat 2.5% rate set up in QuickBooks
- Payroll coordination & year-end CPA handoff, books kept PTE-ready
- CPA-ready financial statements every month
What your CPA does
- Files your Arizona & federal income-tax returns & the 4.9% corporate income tax
- Files the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) return; represents you before the Arizona Department of Revenue
- Makes the pass-through entity (PTE) election & provides formal tax planning & opinions
- We coordinate directly — bookkeeper vs accountant
§ 05 · Bookkeeping or tax work
Small business accountant or bookkeeper: which Arizona owners need
A small business accountant in Arizona can mean the books or the tax work done from them. TechBrot does the books.
Just starting: set the books up first
The right entity and QuickBooks setup, a chart of accounts built for your industry, the TPT items set by business classification and location, and Arizona withholding configured before the first payroll. Your CPA or attorney handles the entity filing and the TPT license.
An LLC, S-corp or partnership: entity-aware books
Each entity reads differently on the balance sheet. The chart of accounts is built so owner draws, distributions, guaranteed payments and reasonable S-corp compensation land where your CPA expects them, and the books stay ready for Arizona’s elective pass-through entity tax if your CPA recommends it.
In Arizona specifically: a nonresident employee who lives in California, Indiana, Oregon or Virginia, and is allowed a credit against Arizona tax for taxes paid to that state, can claim exemption from Arizona withholding on Form WEC, which goes to the employer, so each employee’s state of residence has to stay current in payroll. Separately, A.R.S. § 43-403(A)(5) excludes the wages of a nonresident physically present in Arizona for less than sixty days in a calendar year, where the employer has property, payroll and sales in the state.
§ 06 · How an Arizona engagement starts
Four steps from messy to handled.
Every Arizona engagement follows the same rhythm — file accurate first, monthly cadence second, advisory third.
- Step 1
Discovery call
A free call to review your QuickBooks file and your Arizona situation — volume, accounts, which TPT classifications you fall under, whether prime contracting applies, where your multi-state withholding runs (the 60-day rule and the CA/IN/OR/VA exemption), whether the PTE election fits, entity structure, and where things are breaking. No pitch.
- Step 2
Written scope
A fixed-fee proposal within 3 business days — cleanup, monthly, or both — with the price in writing before any work begins.
- Step 3
Cleanup & setup
Your senior bookkeeper gets the file CPA-ready and reconciled — fixing categorization, the TPT items by classification and location, the prime-contracting 65% base for contractors, the state-only withholding setup, and broken reconciliations to a known-good baseline.
- Step 4
Monthly cadence
Same preparer, same file, every month — reconciled accounts, the TPT current by classification and location, Arizona-source wages withheld correctly under the 60-day and exemption rules, the books kept PTE-ready, statements delivered, with a clean year-end handoff to your CPA.
§ 07 · The advisory line
Automation handles the data entry. We handle the judgment.
Software can categorize a transaction. It can’t tell you which Transaction Privilege Tax classification a new revenue line falls under, whether your construction work is prime contracting or MRRA, or whether your S-corp should make the pass-through entity (PTE) election at 2.5% this year. As bookkeeping commoditizes, that judgment is where the value moves.
Once your Arizona books are clean and reconciled, the question shifts from “are the books right?” to “what do they tell me to do next?” That’s what a fractional CFO engagement adds once your books are clean. Explore fractional CFO & advisory
Checked against the Arizona Department of Revenue and its Transaction Privilege Tax guidance.
§ 08 · Who works on your books
Your TechBrot team.
Every engagement runs on three roles: a client advisor who scopes it and stays your point of contact, a senior bookkeeper who prepares your setup and monthly close in your software, and a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor who reviews every close before it reaches you. A U.S.-based bookkeeper is available on request; we can share their public directory profile with you.
Specialists when your books need them.
Senior bookkeepers who specialize in rental portfolios and Xero, and specialist partner practices for trust accounting for law firms and CFO advisory. We bring the right one onto your engagement when your business calls for it, under the same standards and review.
§ 09 · Around the engagement
Before you engage an Arizona ProAdvisor.
Arizona QuickBooks cleanup
If the file is behind or the numbers do not tie out, cleanup comes before any monthly engagement — what that involves in Arizona, and how it is scoped.
The engagementArizona small-business accountant
Bookkeeping or tax work: which one an Arizona small business needs first, and where TechBrot’s work stops and your CPA’s starts.
The engagement§ 10 · Around this page
Around Arizona.
Arizona QuickBooks ProAdvisor & bookkeeping
The state page: services, industries, cities and the Arizona tax terms in one place.QuickBooks accountant, nationally
The national engagement this page is the Arizona version of — same scope, same written fixed fee.Also in Arizona
Searching for a QuickBooks ProAdvisor near you, working remotely? Distance doesn’t change the work: it happens in your own QuickBooks file.
Not sure where your file stands? Start with the free QuickBooks file review · how Arizona compares: state-by-state tax quirks.
§ 11 · Questions
Arizona QuickBooks accountant questions.
Do I need a QuickBooks ProAdvisor in Arizona, or will any bookkeeper do?
For an Arizona business, a QuickBooks ProAdvisor brings two things a general bookkeeper often can’t: verified QuickBooks expertise and fluency in Arizona’s specific rules — the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) charged by business classification and location (5.6% state plus county and city layers), the prime-contracting 65% base for construction, state-only withholding with the 60-day rule and the CA/IN/OR/VA exemption, the flat 2.5% income tax, the 4.9% corporate rate, and the pass-through entity (PTE) election. TechBrot pairs ProAdvisor-level QuickBooks work with that Arizona context, delivered as a fixed-fee engagement.
What does an Arizona QuickBooks accountant actually do month to month?
Each month: categorize and reconcile every bank, credit-card, and merchant account; maintain a clean chart of accounts; keep the Transaction Privilege Tax charged correctly by classification and location and the balance sheet PTE-ready so the returns are accurate; produce a profit & loss, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement; and hand your CPA clean, year-end-ready books. The work is done by your TechBrot team, with every close reviewed by a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor
How much does a QuickBooks accountant cost in Arizona?
TechBrot quotes fixed monthly fees against a written scope, not hourly. Ongoing monthly bookkeeping runs from $500/mo depending on transaction volume and accounts. One-time QuickBooks cleanup starts at $1,200, and setup at $750. You get the scope and price in writing before any work begins — no metered clock, no surprise invoices. Call (877) 751-5575 to scope it.
Is TechBrot an Arizona CPA firm?
No. TechBrot is a bookkeeping and advisory firm. We deliver bookkeeping, QuickBooks work, payroll, and advisory, and we coordinate with your CPA or EA — who files your Arizona and federal returns, the 4.9% corporate income tax, the Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) return, and the pass-through entity (PTE) election, and represents you before the Arizona Department of Revenue. You may need both: TechBrot runs the books, your CPA files.
How do the Transaction Privilege Tax and Arizona withholding affect my setup?
Arizona’s TPT is the genuine indirect-tax complexity, and it’s not a sales tax: it’s a tax on the seller’s privilege of doing business, owed by the vendor and levied by business classification (retail, contracting, restaurant, commercial lease, and more), with a 5.6% state rate plus county and city layers, so the combined rate varies by activity and location and most city TPT is reported through the centralized AZTaxes.gov portal. For construction, the prime-contracting rule taxes 65% of the gross receipts. Separately, Arizona has no local income tax, so withholding is state-only — but a nonresident working in Arizona is generally withheld after 60 days, while residents of California, Indiana, Oregon, or Virginia can claim exemption. We build the per-classification TPT and the correct state withholding into QuickBooks so the right amounts apply and the filings reconcile; you or your CPA file.
What does a small business accountant do in Arizona?
In practice the title covers two sets of work. The books: recording and reconciling transactions, producing financial statements, running payroll with Arizona withholding (including the Form WEC exemption qualifying residents of California, Indiana, Oregon and Virginia can claim), and tracking the Transaction Privilege Tax by business classification and location. The tax work: filing returns, making elections and giving tax advice, which is a CPA’s or EA’s role. TechBrot does the first set and coordinates with your CPA for the second.
Can you fix a messy QuickBooks file and then keep it clean?
Yes — the path is a one-time cleanup or catch-up to get the file accurate and reconciled, then ongoing monthly bookkeeping to keep it that way. We scope the cleanup first, fix it to a CPA-ready standard — including the TPT classifications and locations, the prime-contracting 65% base for contractors, and the state withholding setup — and roll straight into a monthly cadence so the file never drifts again.
How do we get started?
Book a free Arizona discovery call, or call (877) 751-5575. We review your QuickBooks file and your situation, identify whether you need cleanup, monthly bookkeeping, or both, and send a written fixed-fee proposal within 3 business days. If it’s a fit, your senior bookkeeper starts on your file; if it isn’t, we’ll point you in the right direction.
§ 12 · Talk to a client advisor
One call tells you exactly where your books stand.
Tell us what you need QuickBooks help with. We’ll tell you which engagement fits, and whether we’re the right fit at all.
What happens when you call