A+ Bookkeeping

What A+ Bookkeeping does

A+ Bookkeeping is a privately held, founder-owned professional services firm providing bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, and QuickBooks training to small businesses, sole proprietors, and individuals in Middle Tennessee. The company operates from two physical offices — headquarters in Columbia TN (2120 Circle Drive, owned and run by co-founder Tamara Barnett with five full-time bookkeepers) and a second office in Murfreesboro TN (co-founder Melissa Branchau) opened in 2007 — collectively serving clients across Columbia, Spring Hill, Smyrna, Franklin, Brentwood, and surrounding counties. Revenue is generated on a quote-based, monthly professional services model with no publicly disclosed pricing; the firm cites a quality guarantee under which it absorbs any IRS penalty caused by its own errors.

The service portfolio comprises four integrated offerings: full-service bookkeeping (invoicing, bill payment via Bill.com, bank and credit card reconciliation, financial statement review, and fraud-prevention second-set-of-eyes review); full-service payroll (calculations, direct deposit, W-2 issuance, and IRS reporting via IRS Reporting Agent status); tax preparation and IRS representation for individuals, sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs, and small corporations under $1M in gross revenue (operated through a related entity, A+ Tax Services, LLC); and individualized QuickBooks training delivered by Intuit Certified ProAdvisors. The underlying technology stack is conventional accounting SaaS — QuickBooks as the core ledger and Bill.com for client-approved digital bill pay — with no proprietary platform, no mobile application, and no public API. ShareFile is used for client document exchange.

The firm holds multiple stacked professional credentials: IRS Enrolled Agent (unlimited representation rights), AIPB Certified Bookkeeper and NACPB Certified Bookkeeper (each requiring a national exam, 3,000+ hours of experience, and ongoing CE), and Intuit Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. Go-to-market is sales-led and relationship-driven, relying on local community presence, word-of-mouth referrals, and a Facebook page rather than paid digital marketing. The customer base is entirely SMB and individual, spanning unrelated verticals (ballooning, landscaping, plumbing, creative services, electrical contracting, financial planning). The company has not raised external capital, holds no patents or trademarks, and shows no recent expansion beyond the 2007 Murfreesboro office opening.

Name

A+ Bookkeeping

Legal name

A+ Bookkeeping of Columbia, Inc.

Website

https://aplusbookkeeping.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

A+ Bookkeeping is a privately held, founder-owned bookkeeping, payroll, tax preparation, and QuickBooks training firm serving small businesses and individuals in Middle Tennessee from offices in Columbia and Murfreesboro, TN, using a relationship-driven, professional services model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Columbia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Bookkeeping Services: Business bookkeeping services including bank reconciliations, balance sheets, profit & loss statements, budget comparisons, sales & use tax filing, and payment processing. Services tailored to client needs including check-behind, fraud prevention, and full office administration.
2. Payroll Services: Full-service payroll processing including calculations, check issuance, direct deposit, payroll reports, W-2 generation, and IRS reporting agent services. Handles all payroll tax reporting and regulatory compliance.
3. Tax Preparation: Tax return preparation and filing for individuals, sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs, and small corporations with gross revenue under $1 million. Enrolled Agent representation before the IRS.
4. QuickBooks Training: Private individualized training sessions for QuickBooks users, including on-site or at-office training covering various accounting functions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

A+ Bookkeeping provides outsourced bookkeeping, payroll processing, tax preparation, and QuickBooks training services to small businesses and individuals in Middle Tennessee. The firm operates from two physical offices in Columbia and Murfreesboro, using QuickBooks software and Bill.com integration to deliver bill payment, bank reconciliation, financial statement review, and IRS representation through Enrolled Agent credentials.

Product overview

A+ Bookkeeping operates as a unified service business offering an integrated suite of four core accounting services: Bookkeeping (invoicing, bill payment, reconciliation, fraud prevention), Payroll Services (calculation, direct deposit, tax filing, W-2 issuance), Tax Preparation (individual and business returns via A+ Tax Services), and QuickBooks Training (private sessions by certified ProAdvisors). The company also partners with Bill.com for client-approved bill payment processing. There is no platform-plus-modules software architecture; all services are delivered as professional service offerings through two physical office locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bookkeeping Services Outsourced bookkeeping services including invoicing, bill payment, bank and credit card reconciliation, financial statement review, fraud prevention through second-set-of-eyes review, sales and use tax filing, and full back-office administrative support tailored to small business needs.
• Payroll Services Full-service payroll processing including calculations, check issuance, direct deposit, payroll tax payments and filings, W-2 preparation, and IRS correspondence handling as an IRS Reporting Agent.
• Tax Preparation Tax return preparation and filing for individuals, sole proprietors, partnerships, LLCs, and small corporations with gross revenue under $1 million, including Enrolled Agent representation before the IRS.
• QuickBooks Training Individualized private training sessions on QuickBooks software covering check writing, bill posting, invoicing, deposit posting, reconciling, and report generation, delivered by Intuit-certified ProAdvisors either on-site or at the office.

Quantifiable outcome

• Error-free books can save enough on taxes to cover the cost of bookkeeping services

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bench (formerly Bench Accounting): Bench provides online bookkeeping, tax filing, and financial reporting services to small businesses using a combination of software and dedicated bookkeepers. It is the closest direct competitor to A+ Bookkeeping's outsourced bookkeeping model, with the key difference being Bench's tech-led national delivery versus A+'s local in-person approach.
• Bookkeeper360: Bookkeeper360 provides cloud-based bookkeeping, payroll, tax, and advisory services to small and mid-sized businesses using Xero and QuickBooks. Comparable to A+ Bookkeeping in its SMB-focused full-service accounting bundle and QuickBooks ProAdvisor positioning.
• 1-800Accountant: 1-800Accountant provides bookkeeping, payroll, and tax preparation services to small businesses and individuals nationwide via remote delivery. Highly comparable to A+ Bookkeeping's service mix, with virtual delivery rather than physical offices.
• Pilot: Pilot is a tech-enabled bookkeeping, tax, and CFO services firm serving small businesses and startups. Comparable to A+ Bookkeeping in core service mix (bookkeeping, tax, financial reporting) with the addition of higher-tier CFO advisory, delivered through a software-augmented model.

Broad incumbents

• H&R Block: H&R Block is a national tax preparation and financial services franchise with small business tax and bookkeeping offerings. Overlaps with A+ Bookkeeping's tax preparation and small business services but operates at a vastly larger scale through retail locations.
• QuickBooks Live (Intuit): QuickBooks Live is Intuit's own on-demand bookkeeping and tax service staffed by certified bookkeepers for QuickBooks-using small businesses. Direct competitive overlap with A+ Bookkeeping's bookkeeping and QuickBooks training services, with the strategic advantage of being built into the QuickBooks platform.
• KPMG Spark: KPMG Spark is the small business accounting arm of Big Four firm KPMG, providing bookkeeping, payroll, and tax services to SMBs. Highly comparable in service mix to A+ Bookkeeping but operates under a major brand with technology platform delivery.
• Jackson Hewitt: Jackson Hewitt is a national tax preparation franchise focused on individual and small business returns. Comparable to A+ Bookkeeping's tax preparation services for individuals and small businesses, with a retail-office footprint model similar in concept to A+'s physical offices.
• Liberty Tax: Liberty Tax is a national tax preparation franchise network serving individuals and small businesses. Comparable in tax preparation service line and small business target market, with a broader geographic footprint and franchise model.

Emerging players

• Botkeeper: Botkeeper combines AI/machine learning with human bookkeepers to deliver automated bookkeeping services to small businesses. Comparable service category but differentiated by an automation-first approach that competes for the same SMB clients A+ Bookkeeping serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/payrollqueens
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/a-plus-bookkeeping

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about A+ Bookkeeping