Small businesses often get stuck in a rut. “Do I really need an accountant? I guess QuickBooks will work for now…” All of these questions often are left unanswered and your business is left to deal with the aftermath of unorganized books and numbers.
Accounting is an important aspect of any business, regardless of the size. Keeping your accounting in proper order should be a top priority, but if you are like most business owners, you probably have trouble maintaining the accounts and tax paperwork yourself. If this is the case, then you need an accountant to handle the accounting aspects of your business.
An Almost Endless List of Why You Need an Accountant
By hiring an accountant you can free up your time to perform other tasks to help your business run efficiently. Last-minute problems, especially during tax season, can be stressful and frustrating. You may find at tax time that some of your account balances are incorrect, as this happens a lot with small businesses that have a lot on their plates. A professional that specializes in small business accounting can correct these mistakes and prevent them in the future.
The main reason for hiring an accountant is that it is the easiest way to have your financial records put in order and your tax returns completed. Instead of spending hours sorting through your company finances, pick up your phone and schedule an appointment with a local accounting firm. Remember, time is money, and you may find that the hours you save by hiring an accountant is well worth the cost.
Small Business Life Without an Accountant
Most new entrepreneurs are unaware of how important accounting is to their business, and they end up with major errors due to poor record-keeping or incorrect accounting methods. Many business owners, like yourself, are simply too busy to keep things organized, making it impossible to accurately track your business finances. Some just do not have the time to keep track of financial records. The solution to these problems is to hire an accounting firm that specializes in small business accounting services.
What Kind of Accountant Do You Need?
Some businesses hire accountants on a long-term basis to keep the company financials in order year-round. In many cases, it is more efficient and affordable to hire a bookkeeper to handle day-to-day financial operations.
Other businesses only use accountants yearly to prepare tax returns. Bookkeepers cannot legally prepare tax returns for the business so keep this in mind before you think you can have all of your accounting services in one basket.
You may want to prepare your taxes yourself, but hiring an accountant to file tax returns is a wise choice. Tax professionals know how to maximize the number of tax deductions for clients, like you, and also have the know-how to organize financial documents, such as receipts.
How to Choose the Best Accountant for You
When choosing a firm, examine its credentials and explore its services to help you decide if the firm is right for your business. What is suitable for one business may not be suitable for another. Consult with your accountant of choice about your specific needs.
Once you’ve hired a firm, you can hand over your accounting and no longer worry about crunching numbers. However, keep track of the work that is being done, and check from
time to time to make sure your business accounts are being properly maintained. You should share all your questions and concerns with your accountant to make sure that you both stay in the loop when it comes to your money and business.
Accounting Services You Should Use
There a number of services your local CPA can use to help maintain your business finances, but tax planning, bookkeeping, and consulting are the most common services used by small businesses.
1. Tax Planning
As they say, there are only two things that are certain in life – death and taxes. For the average person, figuring out when, how, and how much to pay in taxes can be quite an ordeal. Tax regulations are not usually written with the average person in mind, which makes adhering to them difficult for the average business owner who might find it hard to locate a calculator at their office.
Luckily, you can hire an accountant who is an expert at preparing for tax season to assist you. Tax planning is much more than just preparing taxes. An accountant who is experienced in this field can set up your business’s tax repayments and obligations in ways that can reduce your total liability, AKA save you some serious cash. Some people get scared when talking about finding ways to reduce your tax, but it’s possible to reduce your tax burden and still be on the right side of the law!
2. Consulting and Bookkeeping Review
If you’ve been the only person keeping track of your finances, it’s possible that you have managed to lose track of some of the most important aspects of your financials. One person can only do so much, and inevitably some things go unnoticed until they become a problem later on.
3. Forensic Accounting
Forensic accounting is a great service for your business if you’re looking to maximize your resources and create more efficient processes. Forensic accounting allows your accountant to dig deeper into your finances and business processes to help you eliminate the extra baggage that’s weighing you down.
Forensic accountants are also great for lawsuits. Whether it’s personal or business related, you can call on an forensic accountant to locate money you have lost whether it’s due to fraud or family separation.
4. Business Valuation & Advisory
Knowing the value of your business is important. Even if you’re not selling your business any time soon, you can learn a lot about what you can do to make your business more profitable by determining its worth now.
Your accountant will be able to advise you on best practices after doing a business valuation to ensure you are growing the right way and at a sustainable rate. Business valuation and advisory is helpful to you and your business so that when the time comes to sell, you will have the processes in place that make your business more attractive to potential buyers.
Find a CPA That Cares About Your Business
The failure rate for small businesses is unfortunately quite high and much of this can be attributed to poor administration and unorganized finances. To ensure that your business can stay afloat, it’s best to at least call an accountant for consultation to make sure that your things are in order. Running a small business is hard. We know it ourselves, as Chad Garland CPA is self employed, but our mission is to help lighten your burden and allow your business to succeed. If your business seems to be in disarray and there’s no light at the end of the tunnel, give our office a call and we can help you dig your way out of your receipts.