From Columbus to Cleveland, Cincinnati to Toledo, Tides Bookkeeping provides remote bookkeeping, payroll support, and monthly financial reporting for small businesses across Ohio — including the local municipal income tax and RITA filings that trip up so many Ohio employers. Clean books. Real results. No commute required.
No setup fees · Cancel anytime · 100% Remote
Ohio has one of the most diversified economies in the country — Intel's semiconductor "Silicon Heartland" and a deep finance and insurance sector in Columbus, world-class healthcare in Cleveland, consumer-goods giants in Cincinnati, aerospace and defense in Dayton, glass and auto in Toledo, and polymers in Akron.
Ohio is a top-ten U.S. state economy built on manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, and a fast-growing tech base. It sits within a day's drive of more than half the U.S. population, which is why so much of the country's industry — auto, aerospace, glass, polymers, and consumer goods — has always run through the Buckeye State.
But Ohio's real bookkeeping challenge is local. The state has more than 600 municipal income taxes — meaning businesses must withhold local tax for every city and village where employees work, and file net-profit returns through RITA, the CCA, or self-administered cities like Columbus and Cincinnati. Multi-municipality withholding is the single most common headache we clean up for Ohio businesses — and keeping those books straight is exactly what we do.
Ohio's highway network ties its three "C" metros together and connects the state's factories to the rest of the country — from the Lake Erie ports to the Ohio River.
Seven core services designed for small businesses across every industry in Ohio — all delivered remotely, all handled by our team.
Your most important foundation. We categorize every transaction, reconcile your accounts, and deliver clean P&L and balance sheet reports every single month — so you always know exactly where your business stands.
Months or years behind? We clean it all up — systematically organizing your past transactions so you can get current and stay compliant.
Starting fresh or inheriting a mess? We connect all your accounts, configure your chart of accounts, and set everything up correctly from day one.
Every account, every month. We match your books to your bank statements and flag any discrepancies before they become problems.
P&L, balance sheets, and cash flow statements delivered monthly in a format you can actually read and act on.
We track what you owe and what's owed to you — keeping your cash flow picture clear and your vendor relationships clean.
We ensure your payroll expenses hit your books correctly every pay period — including local Ohio municipal withholding — working alongside your payroll processor to keep everything reconciled.
From Central Ohio to the Lake Erie shore to the Ohio River, Tides Bookkeeping serves small businesses in every major county and city across Ohio. 100% remote means we're just as effective in Cleveland as we are in Cincinnati.
Popular OH Cities
From Columbus tech and professional services to Northeast Ohio manufacturing to Cincinnati consumer goods, we understand the financial rhythms of Ohio's most common industries.
Job costing, subcontractor payments, material expenses
COGS tracking, tip payroll, inventory & vendor management
Commission tracking, rental income, property expenses
Consultants, attorneys, agencies — clean P&L every month
Inventory, merchant fees, platform reconciliation
Insurance billing, payroll, HIPAA-aware practices
Fleet expenses, fuel costs, driver payroll
Job costing, inventory, multi-city payroll withholding
We're not a local firm that added remote services. We were built remote-first, which means our process, communication, and delivery are optimized for businesses that never need to meet in person.
Tides is based in Greenville, SC and serves clients across the country. We know Ohio's business climate cold — from 600+ municipal income taxes and RITA/CCA filings to the CAT threshold and the industries that drive Central, Northeast, Southwest, and Northwest Ohio.
No hourly billing surprises. You pay one flat rate each month based on your transaction volume — and you always know exactly what you're getting.
We don't just hand you a spreadsheet. We deliver clean, readable financial reports each month with plain-language summaries so you can make decisions — not just file paperwork.
Your CPA will thank you. Our books are consistently maintained at a level that makes tax season — federal, state, and local — faster, cheaper, and less stressful for everyone involved.
We earn your business every month. There are no lock-in agreements — just great service that makes you want to stay. Cancel anytime if it's not working.
"I run a small HVAC company out of Columbus and take jobs all over Central Ohio — which meant a nightmare of local income tax withholding for every city we worked in. Tides got my books completely caught up, sorted out the RITA side, and now I get a clean report every month without lifting a finger. I finally understand my numbers."
No — we serve businesses nationally. But Ohio is a major service region for us, and we know the state's business climate well — from Columbus and the Intel-driven Silicon Heartland in Central Ohio to healthcare and manufacturing in Northeast Ohio, consumer goods in Southwest Ohio, and glass and auto in Northwest Ohio.
Yes — this is one of the biggest reasons Ohio businesses come to us. Ohio has more than 600 city and village income taxes, which means you must withhold local tax for every municipality where your employees work and file net-profit returns through RITA (the Regional Income Tax Agency), the CCA (Central Collection Agency), or directly with self-administered cities like Columbus and Cincinnati. We keep your books organized so multi-municipality withholding is tracked accurately and everything is ready for filing alongside your CPA or payroll processor.
The CAT is Ohio's gross-receipts tax. As of the 2024–2025 changes, the exclusion was raised so that only businesses with more than $3 million in taxable gross receipts owe CAT — most small businesses are now exempt, but fast-growing firms can cross the threshold. We track your gross receipts throughout the year so you always know where you stand relative to the CAT threshold.
Everything is handled through QuickBooks Online and Puzzle.io — giving you real-time dashboards and an instant snapshot of your books at any time. You connect your bank and credit card accounts, and we handle the rest. Monthly reports and communication happen via email and a dedicated client portal.
That's what our Catch-Up Bookkeeping service is for. We work backward through however many months you're behind, clean everything up, and get you to a current and accurate starting point before beginning regular monthly service.
Absolutely. We provide your CPA with clean, organized books and can share access directly through QuickBooks. Many of our clients find their tax prep bills drop significantly after working with us because their books are already clean and their local filings are organized.
Pricing is based on your monthly transaction volume, starting at $395/month for small businesses. We offer a free consultation to assess your needs and give you an exact quote — no obligation, no pressure.
Yes — because we're 100% remote, we serve businesses across all 88 Ohio counties and every city in the state. Whether you're in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, or a smaller town, we can handle your books.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation. No pressure, no commitments — just a clear picture of where your books stand and how we can help.
No setup fees · Cancel anytime · First month guaranteed
Official government resources for registering, filing, and staying compliant. Tides handles your books; these help with the rest.