Essential Business Concepts

I have been working with Sonja for over a year now. Extremely helpful, prompt and friendly. She has done an amazing job clearing up my back tax issues and preparing current taxes. I am looking forward to being a long term client. No need to look further than EBC.

Essential Business Concepts is the cream of the crop when it comes to your everyday business needs! They are prompt, accurate and amazing to work with! I am a client for life. Their professionalism is top notch. I cannot say enough good things about them! I’d give them 10 stars if I could… You cannot find a better company to work with. They do everything they can to help you and your business out, as if it were their own.

I have used this company for the last 3 years and I am so happy that I have! They are great at what they do and put their heart and soul into YOUR business. The best part is I don’t have to worry about it and they free up my time so I can focus on my clients. I highly recommend them!

When you have found a company that excels at everything it does, it suddenly becomes very hard to write a review. I first contacted EBC to help organize the books for a now-​defunct consulting firm that I ran in the past. This was stimulated due to an impending IRS inquiry. Sonja K. at EBC and her partner Stephanie had to re-​construct the consulting firm finances from bank and credit card records since the 5 yr old computer had suffered a hard-​drive malfunction and no documents could be recovered.
Needless to say, they did such a great job that the IRS was satisfied with the breath of documentation they received from EBC. I had initially hired a tax attorney to help with the matter, but ended up not using him since EBC was able to handle all issues without skipping a beat.
Moreover, I found everyone at EBC to be friendly, caring, and extremely professional. This was quite a refreshing experience from previous experience with other firms.
After such a stellar performance, I decided to have them review my previous personal tax returns. They found an IRS mistake in my 2009 taxes that decreased my tax liability by about $ 2k, and a few weeks later I received the return from the IRS and from the state. Since then, they have worked on my personal 2012 taxes, are tracking the finances for a small partnership they helped me set-​up, and are scheduled to work on my personal 2013 tax returns.
I believe that any individual with complex tax returns or any small business owners would benefit from the services that EBC has to offer. I recommend them fully without reservations.

Sonja has been the Finance Director of our small law firm for about two years now. She works tirelessly to take care of our small business needs and always does so with a smile on her face. When confronted with difficult problems, she is solution oriented and flexible in addressing the issue. I should also note that she takes the time to call and really talk issues out; I never feel rushed in working through assignments with her.
Sonja brings extensive background knowledge to our firm. She has an abundance of useful knowledge at her fingertips regarding medical insurance, health savings accounts, retirement plans, tax laws, and the list goes on. In addition to accounting services, she essentially acts as a consultant to our firm, and we couldn’t be happier with her services.
Sonja is a pleasure to work with, and I highly recommend her and Essential Business Concepts.

Both Sonja and Stephanie have been great to work with! Not only do they provide excellent bookkeeping services, they are very friendly and take their time to explain the answers to your questions. Our books (or lack thereof…) were a complete mess. Stephanie and Sonja organized our books and were very friendly and attentive during the process. They also educated and guided us on best practices for managing our business. I highly recommend EBC!

Sonja and Stephanie are amazing! I was referred to Essential Business Concepts while I was looking for a new accountant for my expanding business and they have been a dream come true!
Essential Business Concepts offers more than just bookkeeping and accounting services, they are a small business consulting team. Sonja has helped me with countless tasks and lead me through the maze of regulations and requirements that business owners face. It is very reassuring to have someone to go to with all my questions about my growing business and she always has time for me.
Some areas of help have included helping me review the health insurance plans my agent provided, setting up employees, setting up payroll, answering any and all tax questions, having an open and welcoming office for First Wednesday Street Parties… etc
I highly recommend them to anyone who needs bookkeeping, taxes and overall business support.

If you are just starting your own business, or have your own business that is already established but are in need of someone to help organize your finances, book keeping or help in preparing your taxes, look no further than Essential Business Concepts. I recently started my own law practice and did not know a thing about how to keep the finances in check or even keep organized records of my finances until I met one of the owners Sonja. She was truly a blessing to my mental well-​being as she helped me every step of the way in organizing my finances and figuring out how to use Quickbooks, creating invoices and many other financial accepts of my practice. I would recommend Sonja and her business to anyone who is need of personal assistance when it comes to dealing with their finances or tax needs.

I absolutely love this team of ladies! I originally hired them to set up and maintain my books, but now they are my entire accounting department. It is such a HUGE relief to not have to deal with things like A/​R, A/​P, banking, and payroll anymore and know that someone else is taking care of it all. I know that they’re always there to put out any fires, and also to prevent them. I don’t know what I’d do without them!

I had the pleasure of working with Stephanie Kaye of Essential Business Concepts on a logo and sign project I did for one of her clients, Coffee Ali. Stephanie was overseeing the business setup, construction and opening of this new great coffee house in Pleasanton, CA.
Stephanie was a pleasure to work with. She was always ready, willing and able to get me the information I needed in order to complete my part of the work quickly and successfully… a tell tale sign of a great project manager.
Coffee Ali is lucky to have Stepanie and EBC on the job! And, although I have not yet had the pleasure of EBC doing work for me directly, I was a witness to her dedication and professionalism throughout the Coffee Ali project and would recommend her services to any of my own clients without hesitation.
— Lauren Devine
Owner /​Designer

I’ve worked with Sonja and Stephanie for the past few years, and have loved every moment. As a small business owner, I focus on my craft, but find bookkeeping daunting and challenging. EBC takes the stress of bookkeeping in check and allows me to do what I love. «The Ladies» as I affectionately call them, are kind, thoughtful, intelligent and very easy to work with. If you are challenged with bookkeeping skills and need sound guidance, I recommend EBC.

Need a bookkeeper? EBC has you covered! Thank you for a job well done!
Bouzon Art