Brian Dreis doubles up with accounting business

CHENEY – For much of his adult life, Brian Dreis has held two occupations.

His first is working as a machinist for Lyn Tron, Inc., a machine shop near the Caterpillar distribution center on West Hallett Road. It's a career field he has been in for over 27 years.

Dreis has held his second career for nearly as long: providing bookkeeping and accounting services. It's a profession he's practiced for over 24 years on a contractual basis with a national tax preparation firm and something he has turned into one of Cheney's newest businesses, Dreis Accounting, LLC.

Dreis said he enjoys accounting work and particularly tax preparation. It's a field he was somewhat urged to get into by friends, who after finding out about his expertise often asked him to do their taxes as well.

The national firm Dreis worked for provided a lot of hands-on training as well as supporting classes, something he said he took advantage of as much as possible and that led him to be somewhat "self-taught." The Covid-19 pandemic changed the firm's approach to its customers, however, which inspired Dreis to make a move.

"I decided to go out on my own," he said.

Dreis Accounting, LLC opened in May, and has been providing services that include not only tax preparation and bookkeeping but also payroll. Dreis said he uses a variety of applicable software programs in these areas, and can provide services such as e-file tax preparation, direct deposit for payroll and is setting up a mechanism that would enable taxpayers to subtract the costs of preparing their taxes from their returns.

Currently, Dreis is conducting his accounting business out of his home in Golden Hills where he has lived the past 13 years with his wife Marilyn and two children. Prior to that, the family lived for 10 years on acreage off Salnave Road.

Dreis acknowledged it's a bit harder to get exposure for his business without having an actual storefront for customers. He is just as accessible working from home, however, and perhaps even more so, noting new and prospective clients can contact him via phone or text any time while also using his Google and Facebook pages to do everything from inquiries to setting up appointments.

While his accounting practice has been busy, Dreis said the upcoming tax season should be more so, especially with questions regarding how Covid-19 stimulus funding will factor into returns. Dreis is concerned people getting unemployment with the extra $600 stimulus money in their checks didn't calculate enough withholding into what they received, being more focused on getting as much money as possible to immediately cover expenses than how that might need to be accounted for down the road.

"We're probably going to see a lot of people hurting because of that," he added.

Dreis believes he has the expertise to help people with their accounting and tax needs, and without possessing a college degree or CPA certification, may also be more affordable.

"That will set me apart too," he added.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.