Chitwood & Chitwood in Chattanooga: Full-Cycle Bookkeeping for Small Business and Individual Tax
Chitwood & Chitwood is a two-person bookkeeping firm based in Chattanooga that handles accounting, payroll, and tax preparation for small business owners and self-employed individuals across the region. The practice operates as a sole proprietorship (not a CPA firm), which means the principals bring bookkeeping expertise and tax knowledge but do not hold CPA licenses; this shapes their service model, pricing, and when they refer clients to a licensed tax professional or CPA for specialized work.
What Chitwood & Chitwood actually does
The firm combines daily bookkeeping services with tax preparation and payroll management, targeting owner-operated businesses with annual revenue under $2 million and self-employed individuals whose finances have grown beyond generic software. They work with clients in construction, retail, professional services, and health care, setting up chart of accounts, reconciling bank and credit-card statements monthly, processing payroll through a third-party service, and preparing estimated tax packets each quarter. Unlike a CPA firm, they do not offer formal audit or compilation services, formal tax advice on complex structures (C-corp elections, entity conversions), or representation before the IRS. They do prepare individual 1040s and small-business returns (sole proprietorship, partnership, and S-corp schedules).
Services and pricing
Chitwood & Chitwood charges on a monthly retainer basis rather than per-transaction fees. Monthly bookkeeping retainers typically range from $300 to $800 depending on transaction volume and payroll complexity; a business processing 50 transactions monthly and running biweekly payroll would fall in the mid-range. Tax preparation fees are quoted separately and run between $400 and $1,200 for a small-business 1040-C return, and $150 to $350 for a straightforward individual return (verify current rates directly, as pricing adjusts annually). Payroll processing is outsourced; clients pay Chitwood & Chitwood a monthly coordination fee of around $50 plus the third-party payroll provider's per-run charges. A consultation to discuss retainer fit is offered at no charge.
The firm does not mark up software or third-party services; clients own QuickBooks subscriptions directly and pay payroll providers directly, which reduces lock-in risk and keeps costs transparent.
How it compares to other Chattanooga bookkeeping options
Chitwood & Chitwood differs materially from both large regional CPA firms and cloud-based DIY platforms. Compared to a firm like Cherry Bekaert (a 100+ person Chattanooga-based CPA group), Chitwood & Chitwood offers lower overhead and faster response time but cannot provide formal tax strategy, audit services, or specialized industry consulting; choose Cherry Bekaert if your business has $5+ million revenue, faces potential IRS scrutiny, or needs strategic planning. Compared to a solo practitioner or virtual bookkeeper operating under QuickBooks certification alone, Chitwood & Chitwood brings deeper tax knowledge and can handle more complex payroll and entity-type returns, though at a premium to an entry-level virtual service.
Compared to platforms like Wave (free) or FreshBooks (starting around $15 per month), Chitwood & Chitwood is substantially more expensive because you are paying for a human accountant's time and judgment, not just data entry. Use Wave or FreshBooks if you are comfortable reconciling transactions yourself and want minimal oversight; use Chitwood & Chitwood if you want a CPA-adjacent review each month and a professional preparing your tax returns.
Who it suits and who it does not suit
Chitwood & Chitwood works well for a sole proprietor with $50k to $300k annual business income, a small LLC with 1 to 3 employees, or a freelancer with multiple revenue streams who is spending 10+ hours monthly on accounting and wants it off their plate. It suits owners who trust a fixed monthly fee and want a local accountant they can call, not an app. It does not suit a business needing formal audit or compilation, a business filing a complex tax election (like a C-corp conversion or ESOP setup), or a household budget that needs only tax prep once yearly (retainer commitment is assumed). It also does not suit a business with no tax liability yet (very early stage), because the monthly fee would outweigh value.
What the first visit involves
Schedule a free 30-minute phone or in-person consultation. Bring a recent QuickBooks export, profit-and-loss statement from the past year, or a folder of receipts and bank statements. The team will ask about transaction volume, current payroll, entity type, and tax history. If there is fit, they will propose a retainer amount and a start date, usually within 2 weeks. You will set up QuickBooks online (if you do not have it) and provide read-only access; the firm handles the reconciliation and payroll setup from there. The first month retainer is often higher if setup is needed; subsequent months are flat.
Hours, parking, and logistics
The firm is located in downtown Chattanooga and operates Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; most client interaction happens via email, phone, and file sharing (QuickBooks portal, secure upload). Street and lot parking is available in the downtown core. Tax season (January through April) can extend response times; plan ahead if you need a return completed by a specific deadline.
Chitwood & Chitwood fills a pragmatic role in Chattanooga's small-business ecosystem: affordable enough for a growing owner to delegate accounting work without paying CPA firm rates, local enough to sit across a table when needed, and tax-capable enough to handle the returns most small business owners file.
