You went solo in Ketchikan to do the work you love — guiding, contracting, consulting, creating, selling. We handle the books behind it: clean monthly numbers, seasonal cash flow you can actually plan around, quarterly estimates flagged, and the deductions captured so your CPA gets organized records every spring.
No setup fees · Cancel anytime · Dedicated bookkeeper
Alaska runs on one-person businesses — and a solo income here is rarely a steady paycheck. Here is how Tides supports the single-owner businesses across the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.
Ketchikan solos run tours, charters, and shops that make the year's number between May and September, on the sidewalk in front of the ships. The defining feature of a solo business in Ketchikan is that the money does not arrive evenly. A few months can carry the whole year, and then you are budgeting through a long off-season. That is exactly why month-by-month books matter more here than almost anywhere: without them, quarterly estimates are a guess and the off-season is a surprise.
The mechanics are the same whether you run a boat, a truck, a camera, or a consulting practice. Separate the business account fully from personal. Track income and expenses month by month so estimated taxes are calculated, not invented. Capture the deductions you have actually earned — home office, mileage across Tongass Avenue and the North Tongass Highway, equipment, software, insurance, licenses, and the travel that doing business in Alaska requires. Set up a Solo 401(k) or SEP-IRA so retirement is actually happening while the good season is running.
On tax: Alaska has no state sales tax and no state personal income tax — but more than 100 boroughs and cities levy their own sales tax, and that is where Alaska bookkeeping actually gets interesting. Ketchikan stacks a borough sales tax and a city sales tax — a combined rate in the 6.5% range as of 2026, with seasonal variation in play. Confirm the current combined rate with the Ketchikan Gateway Borough and the City of Ketchikan before you set up a register. There is no state personal income tax in Alaska, which is genuinely good news for a solo — but it means federal estimated payments and self-employment tax are the whole burden, and nobody is withholding them for you. We flag them quarterly so they never become a surprise.
You get one bookkeeper who knows your business, a monthly close, and books your CPA does not have to rebuild. Tides is a 100% remote bookkeeping firm — we work with Ketchikan businesses over secure bank feeds, QuickBooks Online, and an encrypted client portal, so there is nothing to drop off and no meeting to drive to. See the full local picture on our Ketchikan bookkeeping services page, or the wider the Ketchikan Gateway Borough overview.
Whether you're an independent agent, freelancer, or solo creative — we build clean, simple bookkeeping around how your Southeast Alaska business actually works.
Real estate agents riding the Ketchikan building boom, plus independent insurance brokers and financial advisors running 1099 books alongside a carrier or RIA.
Designers, developers, marketers, and photographers working out of the downtown cruise dock and Tongass Avenue waterfront, the downtown cruise dock and Tongass Avenue waterfront, and the downtown cruise dock and Tongass Avenue waterfront creative community. Retainers, project invoices, and the software stack — all clean.
Mobile food vendors around the downtown cruise dock and Tongass Avenue waterfront and the downtown cruise dock and Tongass Avenue waterfront, craft creators at local markets, and solo fitness, yoga, and wellness practitioners running one-person operations.
Solo business owners face unique financial challenges. Here's what we hear from nearly every new client.
Running business expenses through a personal account is the number one bookkeeping mistake solo business owners make. It costs you at tax time and makes your books useless for decisions.
Self-employment tax is 15.3% on top of income tax — and it's due four times a year. Without tracking your income monthly, the quarterly bill always feels like a surprise.
Home office, phone, internet, subscriptions, equipment, mileage, professional development — solopreneurs have dozens of deductions that go unclaimed without organized records.
Pulling together a year of receipts, transactions, and invoices in April is stressful and expensive. Monthly bookkeeping makes tax season a non-event.
Every Tides plan includes all seven core services, scaled to fit your size and volume. Solo entrepreneurs get simple, affordable bookkeeping without the overhead.
Every account reconciled, every transaction categorized, every month — without exception. Simple, clean financials that keep you organized and tax-ready all year long.
Monthly reports that show your income, expenses, and profit — simple and clear, without the complexity you don't need.
Every business account and credit card matched and verified each month. No mystery charges. No unresolved transactions. No surprises.
We track client invoices and outstanding payments so your cash flow stays healthy and you always know what you're owed.
Behind on your books? We get you current no matter how far back the backlog goes — before we start monthly service.
We set up and manage your QuickBooks Online account — so you always have clean, organized financial records you own and control.
"I used to dread tax season. Now I just send Tides access to my accounts and everything gets handled. Worth every penny."
Questions we hear from independent agents, freelancers, and creative professionals across Southeast Alaska before they sign on with Tides.
Remote-first bookkeeping headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, serving small businesses across Alaska and the rest of the United States.
Tides Bookkeeping specializes in bookkeeping across 12 distinct industries. Industry-specific expertise means fewer errors, better categorization, and a bookkeeper who already understands how your business makes money.
Schedule a free 15-minute call. We'll review your current setup, answer your questions, and give you a flat monthly quote — no pressure.
No credit card required · No long-term contracts · Cancel anytime