Caro & Associates - Accountants & Advisors

09/03/2026

Where does the prescription go next? 👓

Industry average optical capture sits near 60%. Well-run dispensaries hit 75%. Each point is worth $15K to $30K a year, and most practices are leaving it on the table.

09/03/2026

Your cost per exam sets the floor for which vision plans are actually worth keeping. 🧮

Most owners have never run the number, and a plan reimbursing below it is paying you to lose money on every covered exam.

09/02/2026

In cases we've seen, bad bookkeeping at a $1-2M service business typically costs $12,000 to $22,000 in a year where nothing went catastrophically wrong. The damage usually shows up 10 to 14 months after it started.

For South Sound businesses, Washington's B&O tax adds its own wrinkle: it's due quarterly on gross receipts, and a bookkeeper who isn't familiar with WA filing requirements can leave you with penalties you weren't expecting.

The 12-month breakdown is in our latest article:
https://caroandassociates.com/learning-center/posts/what-a-bad-bookkeeper-actually-costs-a-12-month-autopsy/

When did you last check that your B&O filings are current?

One year of bad bookkeeping at a $1.5M service business costs $12,000 to $22,000 in cleanup fees, B&O penalties, and added tax liability. Here is where it comes from.

09/02/2026

Payroll at 18–24%. Optical margin at 55–70%. Collection rate above 95%. 📋

Most owners can name maybe two of these off the top of their head.

08/31/2026

Gross revenue isn't on this list. 👓

A $1.2M practice keeping 18 cents of every dollar is in worse shape than an $800K practice keeping 32. Seven other numbers tell you that. Gross revenue doesn't.

08/29/2026

$300 a month or $2,000 a month, and most owners have no idea why. 📊

The difference isn't random. It's whether you're getting reconciliation only, or actual analysis alongside it.

08/28/2026

A real onboarding fee isn't an upsell. 🗂️

It's what it takes to correct the chart of accounts, review prior-year records, and catch up anything that's behind before your books can actually be trusted going forward.

08/26/2026

Transaction volume. Payroll. Whether you're getting reconciliation or actual analysis. 🧾

These are the real reasons two bookkeeping quotes look nothing alike, and it's rarely random.

08/26/2026

Most OD practice owners don't have a revenue problem.

They have a "I have no idea where my money is going" problem.

And that's the one that actually keeps them stuck.

08/24/2026

A $3,000 monthly equipment loan can drain $36,000 a year from a business's bank account without touching a single line on its profit report. 💸

That's how you get a clean income statement and a tense conversation with your bank balance in the same week.