Austin, Texas
Bookkeeping services for Austin small businesses
Austin-specific bookkeeping: no state income tax but a Texas franchise tax return, food trailer permits, mixed beverage tax and heavy contractor activity.
The short answer
- Texas has no personal income tax, but most Austin entities still file a Texas franchise tax report, and books must support the revenue figure on it.
- Austin's food trailer scene needs prime cost and permit tracking; bars owe mixed beverage gross receipts tax that must be separated from sales.
- Travis County property tax bills land in October, which makes escrow and accrual timing matter for property owners.
- LedgerDude works remotely with Austin businesses and connects directly to QuickBooks Online.
What is different about Austin books
Austin's mix is heavy on food trailers, breweries, construction and small technology consultancies. Each carries a different chart of accounts, and the most common local mistake is running a trailer or bar on a generic retail setup.
- Mixed beverage gross receipts and sales tax must be tracked separately from food sales
- Food trailer commissary rent, permits and propane belong in operating costs, not cost of goods sold
- Contractors need job costing because Austin remodel work is bid-driven
- Consultants often collect prepayments that belong in deferred revenue
Texas franchise tax and no income tax
No state income tax does not mean no filing. Most entities file a franchise tax report where total revenue comes straight from your books. If revenue accounts are inconsistent, that report is guesswork. We keep revenue clean by type so the report is supportable.
Travis County property tax timing
Bills arrive in the fall and are commonly paid in January. Businesses that own property or hold escrow should accrue property tax monthly so December does not look artificially profitable and January artificially awful.
Working with a remote bookkeeping team
We work through QuickBooks Online and your phone camera, so nothing depends on driving a shoebox across town. Onboarding is one call, and the connection is read-only until you approve anything that writes back.
Typical results we see
Austin food trailer prime cost
54%
Lower than full service because labor is thinner
Local contractor gross margin
26%
Residential remodel work
Consultant effective rate
$142 / hr
Fixed-fee projects, after real hours
An Austin food trailer month
- Net sales
- $41,800
- Food cost
- $12,700 (30.4%)
- Labor with taxes
- $9,900 (23.7%)
- Commissary rent and permits
- $1,450
- Propane, ice, packaging
- $1,980
- Net income
- $9,640 (23.1%)
What this tells you: Trailers can run much better margins than restaurants because occupancy is small — but only if commissary and permit costs stay out of food cost, where they would distort your food percentage by four points.
What you see inside LedgerDude
How your Austin numbers look once the books are closed each month.
Real example
Two Austin trailers and a brick-and-mortar opening
Where they started: An owner opening a permanent location could not tell whether the trailers would fund the buildout.
What we did: We split the books by location, built daily sales entries and modeled the new location's fixed costs against trailer cash flow.
How it ended up: The opening was pushed one quarter, funded from operations instead of a high-rate loan.
3
Locations separated
$14,000
Interest avoided
5 days
Close time
Businesses we see most in Austin
Questions people ask
Do I need a local bookkeeper in Austin?
Not physically. What matters is that your bookkeeper understands Texas franchise tax, local permit costs and your industry. Everything else works through QuickBooks Online and photos from your phone.
Does Texas have a state income tax on my business?
Texas has no personal income tax, but most entities file a franchise tax report based on total revenue, so your revenue accounts need to be accurate and consistent.
How is mixed beverage tax handled?
Mixed beverage gross receipts tax is tracked as its own liability and kept out of revenue, exactly like sales tax collected. Mixing them overstates sales and creates a filing problem.
Keep reading
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All locations
Every city page we have written.
Our services
What we do for you every month.
Pricing
Flat monthly plans based on your revenue.
Want your books handled for you?
We read your receipts, match your bank activity, and close your books every month. You get one short list of questions and a dashboard that always tells the truth.