Bookkeeping, tax planning, and CFO-level strategy for Las Vegas business owners —
diagnosed, blueprinted, and executed by the founder herself.
Stefanie Cote spent 20+ years in corporate finance for major Las Vegas Strip casino
operations. Now that experience runs your books, your taxes, and your growth plan —
one-on-one, with nobody handing you off.
Free consultation. You deal with Stefanie herself — the founder, not a sales team. A diagnosis before anyone talks fees, and no judgment about the state of your books.
Don’t take our word for it — run the process yourself
Nine moves. Three phases. One right order.
Every engagement here runs the same way: Diagnosis → Blueprint → Execution. Below are nine real moves from our services, shuffled into a tray. Drag each card into the phase where it belongs — on a phone, tap a card, then tap its phase. Place one wrong and the board will tell you why. Finish, and it assembles your First Moves plan.
SAMPLE EXERCISE
0 of 9 moves placed
THE TRAY — YOUR NINE MOVES, UNSORTED
QuickBooks cleanup & setup
The shoebox of receipts — reconciled, rebuilt, tax-ready
Tax assessment: where you stand
Your current-year tax liability, measured — not guessed
Entity & deduction strategy
The right structure, and every deduction it unlocks
File personal & business returns
Federal and state returns, prepared and e-filed
Cash-flow & risk diagnosis
Cash flow, budgeting, risk, and growth — read first
Quarterly estimates plan
Four planned payments a year — no April ambush
Payroll & expense tracking
Payroll on rails, expenses tracked as they happen
Deep dive: your last two tax returns
Two years of filings, re-read for what they missed
Budget & growth blueprint
A customized plan for where the business goes next
01DiagnosisSee it clearly
02BlueprintPlan it on paper
03ExecutionGet it done
Pick a card — drag it into a phase, or tap it and then tap the phase it belongs in. The board checks every move.
YOUR FIRST MOVES — ASSEMBLED BY THE BOARD
This is exactly how we’d run it.
01 Diagnosis
02 Blueprint
03 Execution
Nine moves, in the order that makes them work. The real version starts with the first phase — a diagnosis of your actual numbers, by Stefanie herself.
Four services. One person accountable for all of them.
Most firms sell you a department. Here, the advisor who diagnoses your finances is the same person who keeps your books and files your returns — so nothing gets lost between them.
FLAGSHIP — FRACTIONAL CFO ADVISORY
Fractional CFO Advisory
CFO-level thinking without a CFO hire. It starts with an in-depth financial diagnosis — cash flow, budgeting, risk, and growth — becomes a customized strategy blueprint with integrated tax strategies, and ends the way advice usually doesn’t: with execution, and continuous optimization after it.
The operating rule of this firm — and the difference between a strategy deck and a business that actually changes.
Plan it before it’s due
Tax Planning
A tax assessment of where you stand this year, a proactive strategy built from it — including a deep dive into your last two tax returns — then done-for-you execution and ongoing optimization. For business owners and W-2 earners alike.
Current-year liability review
Last two returns, deep-dived
Strategy, executed for you
Filed right, year-round backup
Tax Preparation
Personal and business returns, federal and state — with documentation review and every deduction and credit you’re entitled to, prepared from books that are already clean. And support that doesn’t vanish on April 16th.
Personal & business returns
Deduction & credit maximization
Year-round support
Tax-ready, every month
Bookkeeping
QuickBooks Online or Desktop — set up, migrated, cleaned up, and kept current: transactions recorded and reconciled, reporting you can actually read, payroll and expenses tracked as they happen. Even if you’re not in QuickBooks yet, we can get you there.
Diagnosis. Blueprint. Execution. In that order — on purpose.
You just sorted these phases on the board above. This is the same sequence as a working engagement — the process this firm publishes for its advisory work, applied to everything it touches.
01 · DIAGNOSIS
See it clearly
An in-depth financial diagnosis — cash flow, budgeting, risk, growth — plus a tax assessment: your current-year liability reviewed, and a deep dive into your last two tax returns. You find out exactly where you stand, possibly for the first time.
02 · BLUEPRINT
Plan it on paper
A customized strategy blueprint: integrated tax strategies, your entity and deduction decisions, a quarterly rhythm for estimates, and a budget pointed at growth. Decided while the year can still change — not discovered in April.
03 · EXECUTION
Get it done
Done-for-you execution: books cleaned and kept, payroll running, returns prepared and e-filed — then continuous optimization, because a plan you execute once is a plan that expires.
OUR TAX-ASSESSMENT GUARANTEE
If we don’t find at least $10,000 in tax reductions, you get your money back.
Here is the guarantee on our tax assessment, stated exactly: the assessment reviews your current-year liability and deep-dives your last two returns — and if it doesn’t find at least $10,000 in tax reductions, the assessment fee comes back. We’ve already saved our clients millions. We’d rather show you your plan than make you a promise — but the guarantee stands either way.
What the free consultation includes
A short form: your services, your filing history, the state of your books
A personal review by Stefanie — every request, herself
A first diagnosis: where you stand, and the first move she’d make
No fee conversation until there’s a plan worth pricing
Five clients. One recurring theme: she actually does the work.
Every word below is a client’s own — named, exactly as they wrote it.
“Stefanie has been managing the accounting for all of our locations for quite some time now. When she took over, there was a significant amount of cleanup needed, which she handled swiftly and efficiently. She also ensures that login credentials and passwords are set up in a way that keeps us in control, while still being shared with her, so we always maintain control over our books. This company is top-notch!”
Tricia A. · Multi-location business owner
Self-employed
“Being self-employed and worrying about taxes and bookkeeping is so intimidating. Thanks to Action First Accounting I don’t have to stress anymore . Stefanie has helped me tremendously and I couldn’t be any happier with her services!”
— Athena K.
New business owner
“As someone new in the business world I was nervous about a lot of things but I think accounting and business finances were the things I am most worried about. Stefanie was not only quick to respond but she answered all my questions and addressed my concerns and helped me set up a plan that worked for me. She is professional but relatable and talks to you like a real person. I’m so glad to have found this service and cannot recommend Stefanie enough!”
— Susan J.
Business owner & client
“I really appreciate Stefanie for helping our business with our accounting needs. She has proven to be very easy to work with as well as extremely professional. I am learning a lot as one of her clients. She truly makes the process of keeping up with our financials for our business very easy. I highly recommend Action First Accounting. It is definitely worth the investment.”
— Leigh B.
Bookkeeping client
“Great to work with and very professional. Stefanie offers many services to get your books looking professional and clean. She is very willing to answer questions and provide helpful tips.”
— Kathleen N.
Also rated 4.0 on Yelp, from 8 reviews — see them on our Yelp profile.
Stefanie Cote — Founder & Lead CFO Advisor, Action First Accounting.
Meet the founder
The Strip taught her finance. Your business gets the benefit.
Stefanie Cote earned her degree in accounting, then went where the numbers are biggest and the scrutiny is relentless: more than 20 years in corporate finance for major Las Vegas Strip casino operations. A Las Vegas local for over 15 years by way of Seattle, she has also worked with major bookkeeping firms and CPAs — she knows exactly how the big-firm machine treats a business your size, because she has been inside it.
Action First Accounting is the alternative she built: CFO-level judgment, tax strategy, and bookkeeping discipline, delivered one-on-one. No account manager, no ticket queue, no handoffs.
“When you book with Action First Accounting, you get me and only me.”— Stefanie Cote
You fill out a short form — which services you need, your filing history, and the state of your books — and Stefanie reviews it personally. You hear back with a first read on where you stand and what she would do first. The consultation is free, and there is no fee conversation until there is a plan worth pricing.
Are you a CPA firm?
No — and we will tell you exactly what we are instead. Action First Accounting LLC is an IRS Electronic Return Originator, authorized to e-file returns, and Stefanie Cote holds a degree in accounting with more than 20 years in corporate finance for major Las Vegas Strip casino operations. She is also a QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor — Online, Payroll, and Desktop. No titles we have not earned; a track record we can show you.
How does the $10,000 guarantee work?
Exactly as we state it: if we don’t find at least $10,000 in tax reductions, you get your money back. The guarantee covers our tax assessment — the review of your current-year liability and the deep dive into your last two tax returns. If that assessment does not find at least $10,000 in tax reductions, the assessment fee comes back to you.
My books are a shoebox full of receipts. Can you fix them?
That is a named service here, not an embarrassment. Cleanup means your disorganized books get recorded, reconciled, and made tax-ready — and then kept that way, so the shoebox never refills. Stefanie has done this for businesses across multiple locations; a single shoebox is a normal Tuesday.
I’m not on QuickBooks. Can you still help?
Yes. In our own words: even if you are not already in QuickBooks, we can get you there. We set up or migrate QuickBooks Online or Desktop, clean up what came before, and keep the books current from there — reporting and insights included, so you always know where the business stands.
Who will actually do my work?
Stefanie Cote — the founder, and the person whose name is on every service. In her own words: "When you book with Action First Accounting, you get me and only me." Your books, your tax plan, and your returns are handled one-on-one by the person who diagnosed them, not handed down a chain.
Where are you based — and can we work together remotely?
We are based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the work is deliberately one-on-one: meetings, QuickBooks, and documents all run person-to-person, so clients across the Las Vegas valley and clients working with us remotely get the same direct service. Start with the consultation form and tell us where you are.
Book Your Free ConsultationYour question not here? It goes on the consultation form — Stefanie reads every one.
Las Vegas, NV · One-on-one, in person and remote
Your first move is free. Make it.
A diagnosis of your books and taxes, a blueprint for the year, and execution by the founder herself — it starts with a two-minute form and a free consultation.
