This page lists bookkeeping and accounting firms that serve home-service and trades businesses such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, landscaping, and general contracting in Portland, ME. Each entry summarizes the firm based on its own website, and notes when a firm serves the area remotely rather than from a local office.
Firms listed: 2.
Albin, Randall & Bennett #
Website: https://arbcpa.com
Phone: +207.772.1981
Albin, Randall & Bennett, also referred to on its website as ARB, is a public accounting firm located in Portland, Maine. According to its website, the firm operates from 27 Pearl Street, 4th Floor, Portland, ME 04101, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 445, Portland, ME 04112-0445. The site describes the practice as a comprehensive, full-service public accounting, tax, and advisory firm serving New England businesses and families, and it states that the firm is based in downtown Portland. Listed phone numbers include +207.772.1981 and +207.772.1982.
The website describes a broad set of services. These include accounting and attest services, business advisory services, business tax services, employee benefit plans, ESOP advisory services, individual tax preparation services, mergers and acquisitions advisory services, and succession planning services. According to the site, the firm provides forward-looking advice for businesses and families that goes beyond compliance, and it positions tax work around navigating a changing tax environment for both businesses and individuals, including individual trust and estate tax planning aimed at minimizing liability at the federal, state, and local levels.
A defining feature of the firm, as presented on its website, is its industry specialization. The site states that the firm chose many years ago to focus on specific industries and to organize its practice with industry practice leaders at the principal level. The industries it lists serving include auto dealerships, closely held businesses, construction and real estate, craft beverage, credit unions, manufacturing, nonprofits, private client services, and professional services firms. The inclusion of construction and real estate is relevant to home-service and trades businesses, indicating that the firm has stated experience advising clients in those sectors as part of its industry focus.
The website explains that the firm describes five ways it helps clients, including being accessible, responsive, and proactive; offering forward-looking advice; acting as specialists in the industries it serves and remaining active in industry associations and trade groups; emphasizing integrity in client relationships; and maintaining relationships with lenders, attorneys, insurance specialists, and wealth managers so it can refer clients to other advisors when needed. The site frames these points around supporting clients’ financial decisions and growth.
According to the website, Albin, Randall & Bennett participates in peer review as a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Private Company Practice Section. The site states that this peer review process is an independent analysis of the firm’s quality control policies and procedures. The website also notes that the firm is an independently owned and operated member firm of CPA America, Inc., a membership the site connects to its description of offering national resources alongside local service.
The website includes recruiting and recognition content. The firm states on its site that it has been named one of the Best Places to Work in Maine each year from 2013 through 2026, and it references being a sponsor of Green Light Maine. These are statements made by the firm on its own website. The site also features a number of client testimonials describing the firm as responsive, trustworthy, and knowledgeable about clients’ industries. Such testimonials and recognitions are attributed to the firm and its clients rather than presented as independent directory assessments. Language such as national savvy and local sensibility and references to Maine values and Maine kindness likewise reflects the firm’s own characterizations.
The website lists recent firm news, including announcements about promotions, a new managing principal, and a new audit senior manager joining the firm, which indicates an established, multi-professional practice. The site also references resources such as a blog and newsletters and provides a file upload feature and contact options through its website.
For a directory user in the Portland area, Albin, Randall & Bennett presents itself as an established, full-service public accounting and advisory firm headquartered in downtown Portland, with an industry-focused model that includes construction and real estate among the sectors it serves. Prospective clients can reach the firm at the Pearl Street location and the phone numbers listed above. Details not stated on the website, such as fees or staff counts, are not included here.
Supporting Strategies Southern Maine #
Website: https://www.supportingstrategies.com
Supporting Strategies Southern Maine is presented in this directory as a provider serving the Portland, Maine area and the broader Southern Maine region. The website supplied for the firm is the national Supporting Strategies site, which describes the organization as a virtual provider of outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, and operations services. The source does not state a specific street address for a Portland office, so this listing describes the firm’s services and virtual model rather than a physical local storefront. Clients in the Portland area engage the firm through its outsourced service approach.
According to its website, Supporting Strategies has supported thousands of businesses since 2004 with accounting, bookkeeping, financial analysis, payroll administration, and back-office services. The site describes the company as people focused and optimization driven and states that its team is 100 percent U.S. based. The firm reports more than 20 years in business and says it has supported more than 4,000 companies. A point the website emphasizes is that clients work with a partner based in their local community rather than a provider located overseas, which is consistent with a Southern Maine practice serving the Portland region. The website also notes that the company is not a CPA firm.
The website organizes its bookkeeping and accounting offerings into several categories. Under Essentials, the firm describes keeping books up to date and accurate, reviewing financials on a monthly call, and handling higher transaction volumes or multiple accounts. Under Insights, it describes a standard financial analysis package and more complex monthly reporting, including weekly cash flash reporting, forecasting, and class, location, and budget analysis. Under Compliance, the site lists financial compliance tasks ranging from basic to complex, including 1099s, sales tax filings, financial audit assistance, and business insurance requests, and it notes that this work can help prepare a client’s CPA partner, especially at tax time.
Additional service areas described on the website include Revenue, Expenses, and People. The Revenue category covers accounts receivable management, invoicing, collections, and tracking cash-based sales and transactions through external online and point-of-sale systems. The Expenses category covers accounts payable management, expense approvals, and timely vendor payments. The People category covers payroll administration, management of benefit and PTO plans, and onboarding and offboarding support. The site also references controller services and operational support delivered as part of its offering.
The website outlines an engagement process that begins with a discovery meeting to discuss a client’s challenges and needs, followed by a proposal that sets out a solution package and budget. The firm then describes assigning financial operations professionals based on the volume of work, establishing a workflow, reporting structure, and timeline, and scaling the team as a business grows. According to the site, every solution includes a dedicated team of U.S.-based professionals, technology and software tools, a seamless onboarding process, and the ability to scale with the business. The firm states that its team remains available to answer questions and assist with new requests as needed.
The website lists service pages aimed at particular sectors, including small business operations, outsourced bookkeeping services, controller services, small business bookkeeping, and bookkeeping services for law firms, healthcare practices, and nonprofits. The source reviewed here does not single out home-service or trades industries such as HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, or construction, so no such specialization is claimed for this listing.
Some statements on the website, including descriptions of the firm as a virtual leader in outsourced services and as a best-in-class team, are the firm’s own characterizations. For a directory user in the Portland area, the practical points are that Supporting Strategies Southern Maine provides outsourced bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and back-office services to businesses, that it is not a CPA firm, and that it works through a virtual model with a community-based partner serving the region. Prospective clients are directed to find a location and to schedule a free consultation through the website. No phone number specific to the Portland area appears in the source provided.