Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Stuart.
Hi Jason, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I grew up in the Palo Alto, California area and enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 18. Early in my service, I was selected for an officer program and sent to college, where I earned my commission as a Supply Corps Officer—the business managers of the Navy. Looking back, that was truly the beginning of my professional journey.
During my five years as a Supply Corps Officer, I learned the fundamentals of leadership, logistics, and financial management—skills that continue to shape the way I run my business today. The Navy, in many ways, is one of the best management training programs in the world.
After my military service, I transitioned into civilian finance and management roles, working my way up through positions that challenged and strengthened me. In 2004, I completed my MBA in Finance and accepted my first Controller position for a Pepsi franchise in northern Massachusetts. It remains one of the hardest and most rewarding roles I’ve ever had. Over the years, I moved through various organizations as companies evolved or changed ownership, or when I realized their direction no longer aligned with my personal values and ethics.
I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have mentors along the way—franchise owners, senior officers, and genuine, down-to-earth people who took the time to offer honest guidance. Their influence helped shape both my professional path and my personal outlook.
In April 2022, I relocated to South Carolina. At the time, I was working part-time for Intuit while also helping manage a restaurant and brewery. Over time, I realized that the company’s values no longer aligned with mine. Quality and integrity were taking a back seat to outsourcing and cost-cutting, and I found myself dreading the work. When I reached the point where I felt I was no longer serving clients truthfully, I knew it was time for a change.
Around that time, I had been helping a few small business owners on the side—cleaning up their books, explaining reports, and helping them understand their financial health. One of them, a member of BNI, looked at me one day and said, “You just need to quit and open your own firm.” After some hesitation, I did exactly that.
That decision became JS Full Service Bookkeeping, a firm built around one simple belief: small businesses deserve the same quality of financial insight and support as large corporations—but at a price they can actually afford.
We design plans that scale with each client’s growth, starting with our $75 monthly bookkeeping package for businesses with fewer than 50 transactions. As clients grow, our pricing adjusts fairly—not proportionally—to reflect the additional work while keeping services accessible.
Today, my team and I are hands-on in every client’s books every week—sometimes daily—because attention and consistency matter. We don’t just categorize transactions; we look for irregularities, identify potential fraud, and ask questions to ensure accuracy and trust. In an age where financial fraud and automation are on the rise, that level of personal oversight is one of the greatest protections we can offer.
After more than 25 years in finance and management across a dozen industries, my mission is clear: help small businesses grow with clarity, confidence, and integrity.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Over the past 25 years, I’ve had my fair share of successes—and plenty of lessons learned the hard way. Like many business owners, I went into every new opportunity thinking I had my ducks in a row. And for the most part, I did. But experience has a way of showing you just how much more there is to learn once the doors actually open.
Looking back on my early roles, I can clearly see times when I bit off more than I could chew. I poured myself into the work, often at the expense of balance or personal time, because I truly identified with what I did. It wasn’t just a job—it was part of who I was. That level of dedication drove results, but it also taught me the importance of setting boundaries, valuing time, and building systems that support—not drain—your energy. Those lessons have been some of the most valuable of my career.
When I decided to fully commit to launching JS Full Service Bookkeeping, I approached it differently than any venture before. I took the time to reflect on everything I’d experienced—the wins, the stumbles, the long nights, the rewarding turnarounds, and the times when I knew I needed to walk away because the fit wasn’t right. I built this business with all of that in mind.
We’ve had our share of hiccups, of course. Every growing business does. But the foundation has proven solid—the plan, the pricing structure, the processes, and most importantly, the people. I’ve learned that growth doesn’t come from getting everything perfect on the first try; it comes from testing, refining, and staying committed to improvement.
Today, I look back on those 25 years not just as a history of work, but as a progression of lessons that directly shape how I serve my clients. The struggles taught me resilience. The wins taught me gratitude. And together, they’ve given me the perspective to help other small business owners navigate their own paths with more clarity, confidence, and support than I ever had starting out.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
What We Do
At JS Full Service Bookkeeping, we help business owners truly understand what their financial activity means for their business. Every deposit, expense, and credit card transaction tells part of a story—and our job is to make that story clear, accurate, and actionable.
We don’t just enter transactions into accounting software and call it a day. We take the time to validate, ask questions, and understand the “why” behind each number. Our focus is on translating your financial activity into information you can use to make smarter business decisions.
Our Approach
I take the time to get to know each client—their business model, goals, and challenges. Then I apply more than 25 years of experience across roles ranging from office manager to CFO (and one short-lived foray into HR I don’t plan to repeat!) to help make sense of the financial picture.
We go beyond bookkeeping to help clients interpret what their reports mean:
What does the Profit & Loss really say about performance?
How does the Balance Sheet reflect financial health?
What insights can we pull from the Statement of Cash Flows?
How can the business prepare for loans or plan for expansion?
The ultimate goal is to become more than just your bookkeeper—we aim to be your trusted financial partner and small-business consultant.
Our Services
We currently offer two tiers of service designed to fit your stage of growth:
1. Basic Bookkeeping
Our foundational plan covers the day-to-day financial operations that keep your business running smoothly. Each client’s books are updated at least weekly—more often for higher-volume businesses.
Monthly packages range from $75 for up to 50 transactions to $300 for up to 300 transactions.
Every plan includes:
Weekly categorization and review of activity
Ongoing communication with clients for transaction verification
Month-end account reconciliations
Standard financial reporting (Profit & Loss, Balance Sheet, and Vendor Transaction Report)
A 30-minute review meeting with me to discuss results, trends, and questions
We focus on accuracy, clarity, and education—helping you understand not just what the numbers are, but what they mean.
2. Fractional Controller Services
Our advanced tier provides deeper, strategic support. This includes:
Budget development and forecasting
Financial system setup and conversions (e.g., switching POS or accounting systems)
Forensic accounting and audit preparation
Operational and process improvement
Financial coaching for owners and teams
While this level of service is primarily handled by me personally, it’s where my background in management, finance, and operations really shines.
How We Build Our Team
I believe great bookkeepers aren’t born—they’re trained. Instead of hiring people with conflicting habits or inconsistent methods, I bring in team members who may be new to bookkeeping but have the right attitude and attention to detail. I train them using the systems and methods I’ve refined over the years to ensure consistency, accuracy, and trust in every file we touch.
Bookkeeping is guided by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which in plain terms means there are countless “right” ways to do things. By training from the ground up, I ensure my team follows one clear, efficient process that meets the highest standards and keeps client reviews streamlined and precise.
Success Stories & Lessons Learned
Some of our proudest moments have come from the most challenging situations.
We rebuilt an entire church’s accounting records spanning nine years, bringing all historical data into QuickBooks. It was a painstaking project—but one we finished on time and within a capped budget because nonprofits deserve support, not strain.
We’ve assisted clients in identifying and addressing internal theft, helping one business secure felony charges against an employee who had stolen from them. It’s not a service anyone hopes to need, but protecting our clients’ livelihoods is part of our duty.
These experiences—both the rewarding and the difficult—have reinforced what makes us different: we care deeply about doing the right thing for every client, even when it’s hard.
What Sets Us Apart
I don’t just sit behind a desk and reconcile numbers—I get involved. As what’s known as an operational controller, I believe that understanding a business means understanding how it works. If you run a restaurant, I’ll be in the kitchen learning your flow. If you’re a contractor, I’ll want to know how your job costing works. Numbers tell a story, but context gives it meaning.
That same philosophy drives my team. I remind them that when we touch a client’s books, we’re handling their livelihood—the result of their hard work, risk, and dreams. That’s a responsibility we take seriously. It’s not just accounting; it’s stewardship.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Like nearly every other industry, bookkeeping and accounting are being reshaped by artificial intelligence. Every major software company is racing to integrate AI into their platforms, and QuickBooks is leading the charge—whether users are ready or not. Soon, there won’t be an option to “turn it off.” AI will be part of every process, every screen, and every transaction.
At the same time, there’s a growing shortage of qualified CPAs and tax professionals. Recent changes in certification requirements were meant to make the profession more accessible, but in my view, that also risks lowering the bar for expertise in a field where precision and integrity are non-negotiable. Combined, these two forces—AI integration and a lack of certified preparers—are creating a perfect storm that makes bookkeeping more important than ever.
Many people assume that AI will eventually replace roles like mine, but I’m not concerned. AI is an incredible tool for efficiency and data processing, but it still lacks the ability to understand why something went wrong—or to trace back the human errors, system missteps, and contextual nuances that led there. It can flag an issue, but it can’t always fix it. That still takes human judgment, experience, and a deep understanding of both accounting principles and business realities.
AI will get smarter, no doubt. But even then, most business owners will continue to value a human expert—a partner they can trust to interpret, explain, and correct what a machine can only detect. The real opportunity, I believe, lies in combining AI’s speed and accuracy with the empathy, ethics, and insight that only people can provide.
So, as I see it, the two biggest forces shaping our industry in the near future are the decline in certified preparers and the rapid advancement of AI. But instead of seeing that as a threat, I see it as a call to elevate our profession—to use new tools wisely, stay grounded in human expertise, and continue providing the trust and understanding that technology alone can’t replace.
Pricing:
- Less than 50 transactions per month, $75 a month
- 51-100 transactions per month, $150 per month
- 101-200 transactions per month, $250 per month
- 201-300 transactions per month, $300 per month
- Consulting rate is $65 p/h, reduced to $50 with 5 hour purchase
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jsfsbookkeeping.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jsfsbookkeeping/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61568506535151
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsbookkeeping
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdGufrLJpm5PRltjjxVJ_SA
- Other: https://proadvisor.intuit.com/app/accountant/search?searchId=jsbookkeeping
