Set Your Business Goals
Before scheduling a meeting with any CPA, you will need to define clear objectives that you want your business to reach in a given timeframe. To find an accountant that will best meet your needs, you should have an idea of the scope of services you need. If you want to improve your expense tracking or eliminate excess overhead, then bookkeeping would give you the insights you need. Giving your CPA an idea of what is expected helps him know what he can do to best serve you and your business.
Define Your Budget
With a CPA, you want to be able to find someone who can provide you with the services that you need at a cost that fits your budget. As you find an accountant that is within your budget, be sure to ask for referrals and speak with others about your accounting needs. As a business owner, you may want to save money on next year’s taxes. The best accountant for you may not necessarily be the cheapest, but you will give up tax deductions if the accountant you hire does not understand or have expertise in accounting in your industry. By hiring a more experienced CPA, you will be able to take advantage of industry-specific tax credits and deductions.
Understanding Basic Terms
Your experience meeting with a CPA will be greatly beneficial for your small business. That being said, when you find an accountant for your small business, you should prepare yourself to understand what the CPA can offer. Here are top seven supporting terms in accounting related to your small business:
- Fixed expenses
- Assets
- Liabilities
- Profit & Loss
- Return on Investment (ROI)
- LLC
- Subchapter S corporation (S-Corp)
Maintain the Competitive Advantage
So now you’re ready to grow and take over the market share in your business. When you find an accountant, you will be able to receive expert advice based on your past financial statements. The CPA will help you make a data-driven decision you can be confident will help you achieve the success you have envisioned. Staying ahead of the curve is only possible by choosing to avoid common pitfalls of small business owners who are making the effort to grow. No, you don’t have to open seven or seventy stores next week. You should, however, look at what growth opportunities would best suit your current situation.
Are You Earning Enough?
If you are constantly working but feeling underpaid, chances are you should be charging higher rates. As you find an accountant who supports your small business growth, you will gain business insights about income. Staying as the loss leader in your target market will gain your business more easily, but you may be less likely to enjoy the work. At the end of the day, you are driven by a profit motive. You want to make money with your company and take care of your employees. Partnering with the right CPA will give you the confidence to charge the rates you want and run your business, your way.
Choosing Accounting Software
Taking advantage of the latest offerings in cloud computing will boost your business and boost efficiency with accounting processes. Choosing to find an accountant with the right software solutions will give you unprecedented access to business insights while helping your new accountant better understand where your business is headed. The growth factor is an important detail to consider when choosing software accounting-based solutions. If you plan to grow quickly, make sure that your accountant and software solutions are scalable.
Accounting At Scale
Owning your own business, you may have wondered if you would make it the next year. Now you’re not sure if you can keep up with the demand. When you are running out of time for making spreadsheets and tracking expenses, you will want to find an accountant. Offloading these tasks to experts with experience in accounting processes and procedures will help you focus on business optimization. Partnering with the right accountant will help you achieve peak performance output to match the demand.
On the other hand, let’s say your industry has started to shift. If you’re downsizing parts of your operations, a small business accountant can help you determine what steps would give you the best profit margins. In addition, your accountant would be able to advise against making changes that could significantly increase your tax liability. For example, if you began selling off business assets such as machinery and equipment, you would need to be careful about valuation and depreciation. Your accountant is well-versed in calculating asset values and depreciation, giving you an accurate picture of your assets and what needs to be sold.
Common Small Business Accounting Mistakes
While you own your small business, you may have spent significant amounts of time preparing your own taxes to save a few dollars on overhead. Without the knowledge and experience when you find an accountant to help, you may be more prone to making mistakes with your taxes. For example, some business owners have submitted their tax returns with the wrong names and received penalties from the IRS. Others have done calculations by hand, only to find out months later that their return was rejected.
Save on Overhead Expenses
Running your growing business means managing growing costs at scale. When you find an accountant, be sure that they understand what your overhead costs are. They can suggest strategies to help you cut costs and throw off excess baggage dragging down your business. Together with an accountant and their expertise, you will be able to increase your rate of growth in expanding markets by reducing time-wasting expenses.
Wrap Up
Using your business goals, you will be able to find an accountant that will suit your business needs. From saving your company money, and protecting you from mistakes to building your business with sustainable growth, your accountant will be your trusted advisor in making important business decisions. You will see your business take off with new leads, customers, and increased output.