There’s a stage every growing business hits where the old way of doing things stops working.
You started lean. You kept your own books, filed your own taxes, made financial decisions on instinct and experience. And for a while, that worked fine. Because when the numbers are small enough, you can hold most of it in your head.
But something changes as the business grows. The decisions get heavier. The cash flow gets harder to read. A bad quarter doesn’t just sting, it threatens payroll. Tax season stops being an annual inconvenience and starts being a recurring source of anxiety. And somewhere in the back of your mind, there’s a growing awareness that you’re running a real business now, with real financial complexity, using tools that were built for something much smaller.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. It’s the story we hear from growing business owners in Harrisonburg every year.
Harrisonburg is a city that rewards entrepreneurship. James Madison University anchors a young, active economy. The food and beverage scene is thriving. Healthcare, construction, professional services, and light manufacturing all have strong roots in the region. Businesses here grow, and that growth creates exactly the kind of financial complexity this guide is designed to address.
At Tax Resolution Accounting, we’ve been working with small business owners across Virginia since 2016. We’re based in Lynchburg and serve clients throughout the state, including Harrisonburg and the Shenandoah Valley. Our team includes IRS Enrolled Agents, federally licensed professionals authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS in all matters, alongside Fractional CFO advisory services built specifically for growing businesses like yours.
Here’s everything you need to know about both.
NOT SURE WHERE YOUR BUSINESS STANDS FINANCIALLY, OR WITH THE IRS?
Our Harrisonburg-area team offers a free consultation where we look at your full picture, cash flow, tax history, IRS standing, and give you an honest read on where things are and what they should look like. No pressure. No generic advice.
Schedule your free consultation with Tax Resolution Accounting
What CFO Advisory Actually Does for a Growing Business
Most business owners have a clear enough picture of what a bookkeeper does and what a CPA does. What a CFO does is less understood, and that gap is part of why so many growing businesses operate without one for longer than they should.
A bookkeeper records what has already happened. A CPA files your returns, keeps you compliant, and minimizes your tax bill. A CFO looks forward. Their job is to help you understand where your business is headed, surface the risks before they arrive, and make sure the decisions you’re making today are building toward something that lasts.
In practical terms, CFO advisory for a growing business in Harrisonburg looks like this: monthly financial review and analysis that actually explains what the numbers mean, not just what they are. Cash flow forecasting so you can see a cash crunch coming in October before it arrives in November. Budgeting built around your real revenue patterns, not a spreadsheet template downloaded from the internet. Profitability analysis by service line or product so you know what’s actually making you money and what’s quietly bleeding it.
It also means having a financial expert in your corner when the decisions that matter most come up, a line of credit, a new piece of equipment, a lease for a larger space, a new hire that would significantly increase overhead. These decisions carry real financial consequences, and the right CFO advisor helps you evaluate them with real data.
For a Fractional CFO, that expertise comes without the cost of a full-time executive hire. A full-time CFO in Virginia carries a total compensation package that typically runs between $180,000 and $300,000 annually, a figure that makes no financial sense for most small businesses. A Fractional CFO delivers the same strategic leadership at a fraction of that cost, scaled to the actual time and scope your business needs.
Our Fractional CFO services at Tax Resolution Accounting start at $1,500. For most growing businesses, that investment pays for itself in better decisions, avoided mistakes, and the kind of financial clarity that changes how an owner runs their company.
Why Growing Businesses Are More Vulnerable to IRS Problems Than You’d Expect
Here’s a truth that surprises most business owners: IRS problems don’t happen only to businesses that are failing. They happen to businesses that are growing, often precisely because they’re growing.
Growth is cash-intensive. Revenue goes up, and so does everything else, payroll, vendors, rent, inventory, overhead. Cash flow gaps open up in the middle of expansion, and when they do, something gets deprioritized. Sometimes it’s a vendor. Sometimes it’s a credit card. And sometimes, quietly, it’s a payroll tax deposit.
One missed deposit becomes two. Two becomes a pattern. By the time the IRS sends a formal notice, the balance has been compounded by penalties and interest into something that looks much larger than the original shortfall, and is significantly harder to resolve without professional help.
This is how payroll tax debt develops. It is the category of tax problem the IRS pursues most aggressively, for a simple reason: payroll taxes are money that was withheld from your employees’ paychecks, money the IRS has always considered to belong to the government, not to your business. When a business falls behind, the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty can hold individual owners and officers personally liable for the unpaid withholding amounts. That liability follows you personally, even if the business closes. It can attach to your personal bank accounts, personal assets, and wages.
Unfiled returns are another pattern that shows up consistently in growing businesses. A high-volume year leaves records in chaos. Filing gets pushed to next quarter, then next year, then the year after that. Meanwhile, the IRS hasn’t forgotten. Using the income information it has from W-2s, 1099s, and third-party reporting, the agency can prepare a Substitute for Return on your behalf, with none of your business deductions, credits, or expenses included. The resulting balance is almost always higher than what you would actually owe, and you cannot access any IRS resolution program until those returns are filed.
Audits are a third exposure point for growing businesses. Field audits involving multiple years, self-employment income, significant business deductions, or rental properties require professional representation, not because the situation is necessarily dire, but because IRS auditors are experienced at expanding scope, and an unrepresented business owner is at a significant structural disadvantage in that conversation.
HAVE AN IRS NOTICE, UNFILED RETURNS, OR A TAX BALANCE THAT’S BEEN GROWING?
It’s more fixable than it feels right now, but it gets harder with time, not easier. Our Harrisonburg-area team has helped business owners in exactly this situation get current with the IRS and negotiate real, lasting resolution.
Talk to a tax resolution professional at Tax Resolution Accounting
How CFO Advisory and Tax Resolution Connect
It’s tempting to think of these as two separate services, one for healthy businesses, one for businesses in trouble. The reality is more integrated than that.
Tax problems in growing businesses almost always have a financial management root cause. Cash flow gaps that made payroll tax deposits feel optional. No budget or forecast to anticipate a tax liability before it arrived. A business making significant financial decisions without the data infrastructure to see the consequences coming.
A Fractional CFO addresses those root causes directly. Active monitoring of cash flow, monthly financial reviews, and forward-looking planning create the conditions where tax problems are spotted before they become IRS problems. The visibility changes what’s possible.
On the resolution side: when Tax Resolution Accounting resolves an IRS problem for a growing business, we don’t stop at negotiating the balance. We look at the financial habits and systems that allowed the problem to develop, because resolving the debt without addressing the underlying cause creates the conditions for the same situation to return.
The two services aren’t just compatible. They’re complementary. Forward-looking financial leadership that prevents the next problem, and expert resolution that handles the current one. For a growing business in Harrisonburg, that combination is what a complete financial foundation actually looks like.
What the Tax Resolution Process Looks Like
For business owners who are already dealing with an IRS problem, the resolution process can feel opaque and overwhelming. It doesn’t have to be.
The first step is compliance. If there are unfiled returns, they come first, every IRS resolution program requires a taxpayer to be current on filing before any relief can be considered. Our team reconstructs missing returns, identifies every deduction and credit you’re entitled to, and gets the filing record clean.
From there, the resolution path depends on your financial situation. An installment agreement establishes structured monthly payments and halts active collection. An Offer in Compromise, for qualifying taxpayers, allows settlement of the full liability for less, based on a careful analysis of income, expenses, and asset equity. Currently Not Collectible status is available for taxpayers whose financial situation genuinely cannot support any payment, temporarily halting collection while the hardship exists.
If a Final Notice of Intent to Levy has already been issued, a 30-day window exists to request a Collection Due Process hearing, a formal process that temporarily halts levy action and opens the door to presenting resolution options. That window is tight. If you’ve received this notice, the time to act is now, not after you’ve thought about it for a few more weeks.
Throughout the entire process, an IRS Enrolled Agent represents you directly. You don’t navigate the IRS’s systems alone. You don’t field calls from collectors without knowing your rights. That representation is one of the most concretely valuable things a tax resolution specialist provides, and it changes the outcome of nearly every case we handle.
Why Harrisonburg Businesses Trust Tax Resolution Accounting
The tax resolution industry has a well-documented problem with firms that advertise aggressively, promise settlement for “pennies on the dollar,” collect large upfront fees, and deliver very little. It’s one of the reasons business owners hesitate to reach out even when they clearly need help.
Working with a local, credentialed firm is a different experience. You’re working with people who are accountable to the communities they serve. Someone who knows your case answers when you call. The people advising you have the credentials and the track record to back up what they’re telling you.
Tax Resolution Accounting was founded by Jeremy Lassiter, an IRS Enrolled Agent, NTPI Fellow, Certified Tax Coach, and Liberty University graduate with a BS in Finance. The NTPI Fellow designation reflects advanced specialization in IRS representation, a level of expertise that goes well beyond standard tax preparation into the complex, high-stakes work of resolving IRS problems and protecting taxpayer rights.
Jeremy and his team work with one consistent standard: honest assessments, realistic expectations, and a genuine focus on the best possible outcome for each individual client’s actual situation. Not a template. Not a pitch. A real plan built around your real numbers.
Services for Harrisonburg-area businesses include Fractional CFO advisory starting at $1,500, tax resolution starting at $500, bookkeeping starting at $200 per month, and full tax planning and preparation. Flexible financing is available through trusted lenders for clients who need it.
We’re located at 500 Stuart St, Lynchburg, VA 24501, and serve clients throughout Virginia. Reach us directly at +1 434-338-7149.
Quick Reference: What Each Service Covers
Fractional CFO Advisory: Monthly financial review and analysis, cash flow forecasting and management, budgeting and variance reporting, profitability analysis by product or service line, strategic business decision support, KPI development and tracking, lender and bank relationship assistance. Best for growing businesses that need financial leadership without a full-time executive hire.
Tax Resolution: Unfiled return preparation and filing, installment agreement negotiation, Offer in Compromise applications, payroll tax resolution and Trust Fund Recovery Penalty defense, wage garnishment and bank levy releases, Collection Due Process hearing representation, audit representation and appeals. Best for individuals and businesses with active IRS problems.
Tax Planning: Proactive, year-round strategies to minimize your tax liability before it’s locked in. Best for business owners who want to stop overpaying and start planning ahead.
Tax Preparation: Accurate, complete filing for individuals and businesses. Best for anyone who wants their returns done right the first time.
Bookkeeping: Clean, reliable monthly records that support every other financial function. Best for businesses that need organized data they can actually use.
READY TO GIVE YOUR HARRISONBURG BUSINESS THE FINANCIAL FOUNDATION IT ACTUALLY NEEDS?
Whether you’re managing a current IRS problem, looking for financial leadership that supports real growth, or both, our team is ready to look at your situation honestly and build a plan that fits. No generic advice. No inflated promises. Just a clear picture and a real path forward.
Book your consultation with Tax Resolution Accounting →
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if my business needs CFO advisory, tax resolution, or both?
If you have an active IRS problem, unfiled returns, back taxes, collection notices, a levy, tax resolution is the immediate priority. If your business is growing but lacks financial strategy, forecasting, or profitability clarity, CFO advisory is the right starting point. In many cases both apply, and working on them together produces the strongest outcome. A free consultation will tell you exactly where you stand.
What kinds of IRS problems can tax resolution actually fix?
Unfiled returns, back tax balances, payroll tax debt, wage garnishments, bank levies, audit representation, penalties and interest, all of these are addressable through the right resolution programs and representation. The severity and the specific resolution path depend on the financial details of each case, which is why an honest assessment is always the first step.
What if my business owes both the IRS and the Virginia Department of Taxation?
Both can be resolved, but they require separate processes. The IRS and the Virginia Department of Taxation are independent agencies with their own enforcement timelines and programs. We manage both tracks simultaneously for clients so nothing gets overlooked or falls through the cracks.
How quickly do Fractional CFO services get up and running?
Typically within days of your initial consultation. There’s no lengthy hiring process, no onboarding runway, no waiting for a candidate to accept an offer. You get experienced financial leadership from the first engagement forward.
Is tax resolution affordable for a small business?
Our tax resolution services start at $500, with total cost depending on the complexity of the case. In nearly every situation, the fees for professional resolution are a fraction of what continues to accumulate in penalties and interest while the problem sits unaddressed, and a fraction of what an uninformed negotiation with the IRS could cost in missed relief opportunities.
What do I need to bring to my first consultation?
Any IRS or Virginia tax notices you’ve received, your most recent filed returns, a general picture of your business income and major assets, and any prior IRS correspondence. You don’t need to have everything organized before you reach out, we’ll help you figure out what’s needed and take it from there.
