Helping others 'hit the books'

From her home on the shores of Stump Lake just north of Tolna, Tracie Hill has built up a thriving independent business.

It All Adds Up provides full and partial payroll services to fit small (and sometimes larger) businesses' needs, through Hill's expertise with Intuit's QuickBooks accounting software program.

She and her business partner and significant other, Joe Johnson, operate the business from Joe's house on Tolna Bay.

"Joe and I do all the bookkeeping and payroll for our 50-plus clients across the country," she says.

She came to North Dakota after spending 25 years living in Nevada, and holds a bachelor's degree in Business Management and Organization from American Military University. She also attended the University of Montana in Missoula, Mont.

Hill says she met Johnson through mutual friends, while she was living in Hatton at the time.

Hill and Johnson have created a strong partnership, and since they live on Stump Lake, they are trying to get Joe's son, Zack, enrolled in the Dakota Prairie school system. He currently attends school in Grand Forks.

The business began in 2010, and the California-born Hill started it when she kept getting requests from other business owners to help with their accounting questions.

"It started as a friend helping other friends, and turned into a full-scale bookkeeping and payroll business," Hill said.

Before coming here, Hill owned and operated a construction company in southern Nevada, but the demands of her growing new business caused her to focus her attention solely on It All Adds Up.

For payroll purposes, Hill says that her services are designed to work either with her clients, or for them.

"Many people are comfortable with running payroll, but sometimes have problems with the taxes and forms," she noted. "That's where I come in."

She is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, and is also a certified TSheets Pro. TSheets is a web-based timesheet and employee scheduling app that was acquired by Intuit in 2018, and is fully integrated within the QuickBooks framework.

Hill also offers access to business checks through the site checksforless.com on her website, itall-addsup.biz. Checksforless.com also provides deposit slips, tax forms, self-ink stamps and additional accessories.

Those who wish to contact Hill and Johnson for their services as a new client are advised that she will only take them on if they currently use, or are willing to use, QuickBooks Online or to access the program remotely.

To contact It All Adds Up, call (701) 404-7955, e-mail [email protected], or you can mail requests for service to It All Adds Up, PO Box 233, Tolna, ND 58380.