"Unless it's protected, it's not an asset"

Traders Accounting is a professional tax advisor specializing in active traders. Our products and services provide a comprehensive method for building and operating trading business, including entity formation, bookkeeping, tax preparation, pension plans and business consulting.

Our mission is to develop and provide specialized products and services for active traders which minimize tax, reduce liability risk and provide wealth building and wealth preservation opportunities.

We opened our doors in 1998, started providing day trading services and launched a website a few days later. Shortly thereafter, we started publishing and offering day traders accounting software. Our aim was very simple, help traders succeed by taking their minds off of recordkeeping and taxes. Our original motto was, "You trade, and we'll do the rest." Traders Accounting had arrived.

To get the word out about our day trading services we wrote articles, spoke at trader conferences, and basically did everything we could to get our name in front of the growing legions of online traders. We started working with all types of traders, accounting being our specialty.

An IRS Insider Who Knows What Works and What Doesn't

Part of our initial team was Duane Severson who headed up the west coast audit division for the IRS. With his unrivalled background and insider access to IRS practices, we were able to investigate every possible tax strategy that might benefit traders. Accounting with IRS insider knowledge proved to be a distinct advantage for us and our clients.

Pioneering Work on the Definition of Trader in Securities

One of the hottest areas of inquiry was, and is to this day, the concept of Trader in Securities. Duane was a pioneer in uncovering the IRS's attitude towards online traders and their ability to write-off their trading expenses and losses.

An Exhaustive Inquiry into the Use of Legal Entities for Traders

Another founder of Traders Accounting, Joe Wishcamper, Esq, was able to investigate the intricacies and nuances of using legal entities for one's trading capital. Joe's exhaustive work, along with Duane's IRS knowledge has made it possible for Traders Accounting to add consulting that is unparalleled in the industry to our list of day trading services.

Mistakes We Have Made and Lessons We Have Learned

In Traders Accounting's first year, we were fortunate enough to be mentioned in articles in Kiplingers, Forbes, and Business Week. On the other hand, all the publicity was a problem. We were swamped with traders looking for help with day trading services. We were buried, and didn't fully dig out for almost a year. Wow! It was the most difficult year of our lives: trying to keep up while maintaining excellent service. That year forced us to re-evaluate our business model, in order to keep with our desire to provide unsurpassed customer service. Here is what we did:

1. We began offering year-round bookkeeping in order to create more efficiency at tax time. Now, many of our clients simply send us their brokerage and bank statements each month, and we reconcile their accounts and provide them with regular financial reports. With this kind of organization, tax time is a breeze for our clients.
2. To help better educate our clients, we started publishing our Tax Tips for Traders newsletter and publishing informational guides on Trader Taxation.
3. We started speaking regularly at national events to teach traders and CPAs about Trader Taxation.
4. We started offering day traders accounting software and literature to help clients manage their taxes more efficiently. In conjunction with our consulting, analysis and other day trading services, our new business model started showing great success - for us and our clients.

Today Traders Accounting is an 18 person organization. Our staff includes full charge bookkeepers, CPA and EA, accountants, pension plan and business consulting experts. The company's President and original founder, Jim Crimmins, specializes in developing and presenting educational courses and videos for traders. The company is strong and continues to expand in order to keep up with the increase in active traders and provide them with specialized services that meet their needs and expectations.