Oh Yelp, I knew it would happen eventually. I mean, I go to Yelp for recommendations on everything, so why not for a book keeper for my business? KYB was very highly rated and I thought I had found my solution. Boy was I wrong.... Maybe it's because I used Becky and KYB for book keeping rather than tax prep, but my experience here was most certainly NOT 5 star. Becky seemed great when I met for my initial consult, but from then on, my books were handled by an assistant, rather than Becky herself. First mistake. Then aformentioned assistant racks up huge amounts of hours without warning me and when I confronted her about it, she BLAMED ME. Now, I have been in customer service for many, many years and rule numero uno is that you never blame the freaking customer!!! Especially when I was politely asking her why my bill had quadruped with no notice. She explains that the extra time has come from me not giving her certain info that she has had to manually figure out, hence the extra time. Fair enough. From that point on, I get her the info she asks for - organize it beautifully and send it to her on time. And yet, nothing changes. She continues to bill me the maximum amount of hours she can on my account despite my efforts to make things more efficient. When I asked her and Becky about it, the response was basically that I should just get over it and expect to keep paying that amount, though there was absolutely NO evidence of her assistant doing the amount of work those bills required. There were also mistakes with them sending me other clients invoices, lost packets of my own info that never turned up and I never received ONE financial report for my business! Do yourself a favor - if you are a small biz owner like me, STAY AWAY. There are plenty of other options out there. I have a great book keeper now if you need a referral...... UPDATE: So mysteriously after my post there are several new reviews extolling the virtues of how great this place is.....all from new users with only ONE review: on KYB Bookeeping! How ironic. Look, no matter how many cheesy great reviews their friends may post, it still not going to keep them from sucking. San Francisco has TONS more bookeepers that will do a WAY better job - trust. UPDATE 2: Due to the overwhelming response by other Yelpers asking for a reference, my new book keeper is booked solid! If you want a reference, I'll see what I can do....... read more

I run a small business in San Francisco and KYB was doing my personal taxes, which I was happy with purely because I didn't have to do them, and I asked them to do the business taxes. The first year was fine because we needed very little tax advice. The second year we made considerably more money and it was a disaster. We met with them several times for advice on tax planning and strategy. Being a startup and doing R&D work I thought we were paying way too much. They gave us NO advice. I finally found a good CPA to take over and look over their work. He found $21,000 in missed deductions. That's not a typo, $21,000. That is either pure laziness or negligence. Do yourself a favor if you have a small business and hire a good CPA and a good bookkeeper. They will more than pay for themselves. read more

Yes, even broke-asses need help with their accounting. Believe it or not, my finances are pretty screwy considering my long periods without income and my strange travel expenditures (can "experiencing" the Red Light District in Amsterdam be considered a tax write-off?). Luckily I found Keeping Your Balance a long time ago and ever since then Becky & Co. have been making sure that I get the biggest tax refund legally possible, thus allowing me to continue this odd lifestyle I've become accustomed to. Definitely go to them, you'll be glad you did! read more

Our company worked with KYB a while ago and while our professional relationship has technically been over for a few years now, the benefit of having used them in our early years just keeps on giving. We started out as a boostrapped startup in SF- no easy feat! We had just enough revenue to pay ourselves with not much surplus, and not much demand for an accounting person. We used KYB a few hours a week doing payroll, A/P, and A/R. They were even kind enough to let us use their office as an official mailing address until our company had a physical office. As we grew, KYB was able to grow with us. A few hours per week turned into many hours per week and another kind, professional, and responsive KYB staffer. Eventually we outgrew KYB and brought finances in-house. The transition was graceful and they were very helpful with residual questions. We now pull in over $25MM in revenue a year and have three full time, in house finance people. The best part is this: Last month, we underwent an IRS audit of our 2010 financials (a year we were still with KYB), and just received a 'no change' report- a clean audit! I will be forever grateful to this awesome, competent, and patient set of individuals. read more

I was on the hunt for some accounting help late last year and found my way to KYB via Yelp. Since then they have helped me out twice: once with a few year-end tax assessment suggestions and then again in April to prepare my return. In the past I've worked with some pretty experienced/impressive accountants, and I would probably try a different firm if my situation were particularly complicated (e.g., lots of different asset classes or what-not), as they did not overwhelm me with detailed knowledge on a few of my more niche questions. But where the KYT team really shone was customer service: they were always extremely friendly and accommodating, handled questions via email within a matter of hours, and prepared my return in one day even though it was April 14! So if your financial/tax situation is middle range or even simpler, I would highly recommend giving these guys a try for sheer convenience and friendliness. read more

About a week ago I was freaking out since I hadn't yet paid any estimated taxes this year but had income from 4 different companies (three of which I own/co-own). In short, I felt things were a mess. After checking out reviews and other online info for a ton of accountants/tax-preparers etc.. my personal assistant had KYB on the top of the list. I called Monday, got an appt. Friday, and sat down with Katie Summers (who is awesome) for 3 hours! to review all of the stuff I had going on. She was extremely patient and helped me sort through all of my expenses and opportunities for tax savings. Also, since she's a tax-preparer (which is mostly what I needed) and not a CPA she explicitly told me which questions she couldn't answer and directed me to a different firm. Katie said they have grown 4x in the past 1.5 years (but are still small, at 8-9 employees, and personal) - it's no wonder. read more

A cheesey radio/TV commercial would say... "Tired of trying to figure out your own taxes? Are you getting frusturated? Are you looking for someone to do your taxes? Well, look no further...!! Go to KYB for all your tax needs!" I had my dad's friend do my taxes and in the end, I ended up owing money. Really??? NO WAY. I had an inkling feeling that this was uber wrong. I took my taxes to get rechecked at KYB and low and behold, I didn't owe money. Woohoo! Some might debate between going to a bigger company like H&R Block to get taxes done but I prefer a smaller, more homey feeling company. Let me compare it to getting your eye brows done. Would you go to a big company that does it quick, fast and standard? Or go to more of a mom and pop shop to have one worker sit down with you, talk to you while they do your brows? I prefer the latter -- I would feel more comfortable. All the workers of KYB are very personable and definitely professional. read more

Becky and her team of experts will expertly take care of all your bookkeeping services. She has helped me put a system into place which saves me time to promote my own business and gives me confidence my finances are in top notch order! I recommend Keeping Your Balance to every entreprenuer who wants to focus on growing their business and leave the financial details to the experts! read more

I just had Keeping Your Balance do my bookkeeping for our business for the first time, and I have to say, they are the friendliest, most helpful bunch out there. First of all, when my partner Jeremy and I went to them, we had been in business for 6 months, and had not done a bit of bookkeeping. We had receipts and invioces, and whatnot, but no structure to any of it. They waded through it in no time, got us set up on QB online and walked us through how to do the basic entries. We'll be sticking with them as our CPA's from now on. Oh, as a side note: they have several rubber duckies on a shelf in the office (one with devil horns) - how can we not love them??? read more

I won't bore you with rehashes of how awesome Becky is (it's all true!). Instead, I would like to mention that as Keeping Your Balance has grown over the past year, Becky has added really great staff. I worried KYB might lose the personal touch as it grew, but, if anything, I get even more personalized service now. Dealing with KYB is always very easy and stress-free. In particular, Erin Beber is fantastic and a joy to deal with! I hate to crowd the office over there with new clients, but KYB deserves your business! read more

The impeding tax season returns! Among all of that confusion with receipts, W-2s, tax write offs... who can keep all of this information straight? My solution is KYB, Keeping Your Balance. Let them do your taxes, like I do, and your life will be happier. You'll save time and you'll end up richer with a better tax return than expected. Don't be fooled by bitter complaints! The entire team at KYB not only helps out businesses of all shapes and structures, but they can help out individuals- like you and me! So if you are looking for a SF local alternative, I would HIGHLY recommend KYB! read more

Keeping Your Balance is a fantastic bookkeeping company. I recently recommended them to my brother for some tax prep. He was really stressed and the team at KYB alleviated his stress, worked quickly, and completed the work at a fraction of the cost (about 25%) of a CPA firm. They also work with a reliable payroll company that has much lower fees than ADP or PayChex. Thinking you normally get what you pay for, I asked, and learned this is because the payroll company doesn't have a sales staff to pay for and works directly with bookkeeping and CPA firms, so they are able to offer much better rates. All told, Keeping Your Balance saves a lot of time, angst, and the team is excellent at what they do. read more

Amanda says: Ugh taxes. A few years back the hubs and I decided that a copywriter with a tendency to freelance (moi) and a self-employed guy with an online store (hubs) were going to stop giving gobs of money to questionable H&R Block employees who rushed through our relatively complicated paperwork. Enter the lovely and talented Brandee Murphy of Keeping Your Balance. This woman is unflappable, smart as a whip, and so freaking nice. She is incredibly attentive and has helped us immensely come tax time. Bonus: we get to tell people we have an "accountant" which makes us look like we have our act seriously together. relationship status: still going strong read more

I thought this company was just bookkeeping but they actually do most of the accounting work for your taxes too. PAYROLL is the hottest selling point for me here. For a business, their payroll fees are a lot lower than ADP and the other top names. The services included are greater and better too. I definitely recommend them. read more

I filed an extension last year and didn't get around to actually doing my 2009 taxes until October of 2010. KYB was matter of fact and to the point, but pleasantly so. They told me the facts about filing late and what to expect. This year I am trying to stay ahead of the game and have already contacted them to do my 2010 taxes, and on-time this time. Yay me. read more

Keeping Your Balance is Fantastic! I used them to do my taxes, and they were right on the money. They had great rates, fantastic service, and stellar people! I have already recommended them to friends and family. The best part is - I already got my return! When the need strikes... Call KYB! read more

I'd definitely recommend KYB to anyone running a small business. My other company has an in-house accounting manager so I was a bit hesitant to outsource bookkeeping, but they've done a great job, are on top of things and everyone over there is very nice. The invoices are always fair and we are able to trust them with an important part of our business that we don't have expertise in. Thumbs up! :) read more

Becky and her team at Keeping Your Balance are amazing! Smooth, easy, accurate. If I ever have questions, they get back to me immediately with the answer and always give us sound advice. Becky has offered our I.C.s workshops like bookkepping 101 and done many of their taxes, all satisfied customers. We love KYB at EHS! read more

Picking an accountant/bookeeper is sort of like dating. No, really. A couple years ago I had my taxes prepped by a small company that helped me find all sorts of things I could write off and then put it all together in this pretty lil' package. Seriously, I was in love. But when I tried to go back, they disappeared off the face of the earth. Wha? Was it me? Wasn't I a devoted client? Didn't I shower them with compliments? Then, I went through a series of "rebound" relationships with a number of tax companies, but nothing quite worked out. Well, let me tell you, Becky and her team are awesome and will never let you down (unlike others who shall not be named). Forget about dating, go ahead and get the ring. This one's a keeper! read more

COSTLY MISTAKES WERE MADE If you do risk using KYB, check their work. Doing so saved me over $5K. Two "final" versions of my tax return each had errors which together increased my taxes due by over $5K. I found the errors and they did correct the mistakes but it was a poor overall customer experience. They did waive the fees after emails and phone calls but I would not use them again. read more

I am writing primarily to respond to "Nick R," who clearly gets off being the center of attention, not someone looking to be objectively analytical. He refers to the positive reviews that came after his, as if he really engendered such responses, when in fact there were many positive reviews prior to his self-promoting stab at a review. People--his review is not helpful, useful or cool; it is mean-spirited and adolescent. Tim read more

An excerpt from an email I received from them, before my appointment: "Below is a link to download your Electronic Tax Organizer, which will help us gather your current tax year information. We will use this information to prepare your 2008 Individual income tax return. Click on the link below and save the EXE when the File Download dialog appears. Run the EXE and enter your password without dashes. Enter your current tax year information on the Electronic Tax Organizer screens..." Really? REALLY? A .EXE file that I'm supposed to put my personal financial information into? Do they realize how horrible and insecure and awful this is? And how much it makes them look like they're spreading malware? After some Googling, I found that the same software is used by CPAs all over the country, and has been in use since at least the early 2000's. Wow, wow, and wow. Have they not heard of web forms, or at least something that lets you upload? This is San Francisco, people - we are a tech-savvy crowd. I'm extremely surprised nobody has commented on this so far; all of my friends (who, granted, are mostly software engineers) were as shocked by this as I am. They mention that it's "password protected," but the password is your birth year and last 4 digits of social. I found a message board post with the same email from 2003, describing the password access in the same way. Who makes you download a .EXE from an email to enter your personal information into? At least they don't *require* you to fill it out in full. I'm sorry that I can't get over the shock of this enough to write an actual review of their services. I'm considering taking my tax preparation needs elsewhere next year because this, to me, is an indicator that these guys don't have a clue. read more

I got an IRS bill a few weeks before the 2007 tax deadline saying that I owe them $8500 for some stocks I sold in 2005. The day before my deadline, I called Becky to get her advice before I write the whole $8500 check. She told me to bring all the paperwork she needed then she'll look at it. An hour and a half later she told me that I only owe $2600 to the IRS and $1500 to the state. That's $5900 less I would have paid to the IRS! And we completed filing it on the day of the deadline! Thank you Becky for saving my life and my business. read more

I cant say enough about this company! Use them! I came to them a few months ago with a small business that had grown way out of my control. I handed them a mess of too many bank accts, money flying all over the place, a boe that was due in days and no systems in place but a check ledger. Well worth the money! read more

Signed up for Yelp just to give this review. We felt like KYB really misrepresented their services and charged us after we declined to use them. Walked away feeling fleeced. Back story: We went to KYB for assistance with our taxes because we wanted protection from a possible audit (our house burned down last year and we figure deductions from this might raise a red flag). We made this clear when we called and scheduled an appointment as well as when we had an initial meeting. At the initial meeting we were told that the representative was not sure what audit services were included but he said, "I am sure we would help walk you through a paper audit." We left the meeting feeling okay with this only to receive an e-mail that audit services were not included in KYB's services. We immediately said if this was the case we did not want to use them only to be told work had already been preformed and that they would be charging us regardless of the fact that we would not be using them to file our taxes. read more

If an accountant could be equated with a super hero than my vote goes for Becky at Keeping Your Balance. I had been totally screwed over by an evil accountant which i had sent in all of my tax info into about two months before it was due. I found Becky last minute and was very pleasantly surprised at how calm and professional she was in dealing with my situation. I plan on now using her services to help keep my business account all ticked and tied. If you like amazing customer service and some one you can depend on and trust that this is the place for you. read more

This small accounting & tax preparation outfit specializes in small businesses and individuals. In my years of working alongside Becky Shahvar (the founder) as both a customer and consultant, I have seen her company's attention to detail and vast knowledge base pay dividends to all involved. read more

I've had my taxes done here for the past few years and I highly recommend it. They work pretty quickly, everyone is very friendly and nice to deal with, and they are very organized. My taxes were a little complicated the first time I used them as I had all sorts of addendums that needed to be refiled and I moved across country. The last couple years were much more straightforward. They have been consistently great and the accountant that I've been working with (Brandee Murphy) is really great, laid back, and easy to work with. But I get the feeling that all their accountants are good so you should be fine no matter which accountant is assigned to you. They were able to send me PDF's of all my tax info for easy storage and record-keeping as well as showing me how to pay my taxes online. Their fees are reasonable as well. read more

they've raised their prices, and lowered their service since last year. Took my '07 & '08 taxes in to be prepared. Did not get a refund either year that Keeping Your Balance did them. Yet, every year previous, I did. Obviously, I'm just a layman, and have therefore sought their expertise. However, I find a lot of their materials and processes particularly confusing. The agent has been very responsive via email. And I'm sure she's more than competent. However, our 5-minute office visit seemed inadequate. The overall experience doesn't make me feel confident or secure that my taxes have been prepared "professionally". I don't feel the service merits a $385 charge. I'm left feeling uncertain that I was quoted the right amount, disappointed in the lack of clarity, and care. - their office is more cramped - there isn't any privacy - price increase to $385 - service has suffered - NO TAX REFUNDS 2 years in a row!!! read more

I have met Becky a few times but just recently got to know her on a personal/professional level. She is an amazing person and the way to handles her business and clientale is second to none. What is great about how KYB does business is that they don't just focus on your finances; they leverage their resources and contacts to make your life more managable while continuing to find creative ways to save you time and money. read more

Keeping Your Balance is the best place to get your taxes done. Becky has done my taxes for the past few years and she is always fast, friendly and professional! Not to mention she always manages to get me a large refund! read more

I have had very good experiences with KYB. I am a small business owner and have found them to be oranized, fairly priced, responsive, and on the ball. I was referred by my CPA, a brilliant guy, and I'm happy I followed his recommendation. 4.5 stars all the way! read more

A friend recommended KYB, and we've been working with Bryna Mc. for our joint tax return since 2012. Experienced, knowledgeable, thorough, organized, and friendly! Secure online tools available to upload sensitive documents, along with online scheduling to book appointments. Super convenient location steps from Montgomery BART. While some may consider their pricing to be on the high side, I think its worth every penny to know my taxes are complete, and no stone was left un-turned for minimizing our tax liability. I strongly recommend Keeping Your Balance! read more

The company is professional, accurate and not very expensive. I own a small company and I called for help. The location is in the Financial district which is just a cross my work place. So far so good.... read more

I used the KYB service this year based on the 5 star reviews. In the past I've used H&R Block online, a great service if your tax situation is simple.... My taxes have gotten more and more complicated through the years, it was time for professional help. I thought the services were outstanding. Had a one-on-one hour meeting with my tax advisor to go through my situation, then dropped off all the paperwork. I'm not sure what the other review is talking about (.xls doc). They did send me a link to a secure site to enter my info, but I just put in my name and address... My tax advisor put in all the personal stuff - SS number, etc. I'm overly sensitive with online security - I've been in the online biz for 10 years and am very careful when it comes to keeping my identity safe online and off - I did not feel a threat, and would recommend them for anyone not wanting to deal with the headache of filing taxes. Thought the services were affordable, secure, and most important, easy and painless. read more

I just moved her from out of the State and with Tax's from two different states i was concerned i would have problems - Becky has helped me enormously.....Professional, and worry free. TWO THUMBS UP read more

I hired Keeping your Balance to take care of my payroll. From the very beginning they have provided an outstanding service. Alyson has provided at all steps of our collaboration great advices and services, replying to any request within the hour (and most of the time within 10 mn). They clearly exceed my expectations. I highly recommend them. Outstanding provider. read more

I can't imagine running our business without KYB. We first engaged them for bookkeeping services 2+ years ago, and they quickly converted a huge backlog of credit card and bank statements into a well-structured system that gives us full visibility into the expense side of our operation. Since then, Chris, Steve, and their team have been an on-going fount of time-savings, insight, and humor. We've recently started working with them on payroll and the experience has been equally impactful for us. If I could give more than five stars, I would. read more

In my line of work, I have the pleasure of working with a variety of Keeping Your Balance's clients. I must say that I have never spoken with a more satisfied group of clients. The combination of KYB's youthful energy and dedication to a job well done is a must for your business. read more