How to find the right Accountant for your business
Finding a good accountant can be hard, but once you fine one they become part of the team and their knowledge goes beyond that of taxes as they most likely have seen firsthand what makes a company successful and what makes a company fail. Having their insight to avoid pitfalls could be the difference between success and failure in your business.
If you are starting or running a business, I am sure you’ve had questions about accounting, taxes, legal structures, cashflow and profitability. Some small business owners and entrepreneurs get by with a do it yourself approach while others understand the importance of having a qualified accountant by their side to advise on these topics.
What an accountant does
Accountants have a broad range of expertise and making sure understand your accountant’s area of expertise, qualifications and service offerings is important is choosing the right one.
Bookkeepers are mainly responsible for recording the day to day transactions of a business. Whereas, an accountant or CPA will be more valuable in analyzing and interpreting your financial statements, reviewing processes, implementing improvements and educating business owners on the health of the business to facilitate strategic decision making. Refer to our article CPA vs Accountant vs Bookkeeper for more information about the differences. Also, if you are looking for a California CPA you can refer to their website on How to Select a CPA.
Some accountants and CPA’s may also be Enrolled Agents (i.e. EA’s) meaning they are certified by the IRS and can provide tax related advice and file tax returns. You do not need to be EA to file tax returns, but this is an elite status given by the IRS for individuals adhering to their standards.
When is the right time to hire an Accountant?
It is sometimes hard to understand when the right time is to bring on an accountant, but the good thing is there are many remote and local accountants offering scalable services. So you can engage them as needed, but I would recommend ensuring they can grow with you as your business grows. If you are starting or running a for profit endeavor it’s always best to consult with an accountant in the beginning. Most accountants offer a free initial consultation to learn about your business and ensure they can offer services to help your business, definitely utilize this to do your research. Here are some examples that would indicate it’s time to hire an accountant:
-You are expanding your business
-Investors are asking for financial statements
-Considering investment in capital intensive equipment
-Your business is experiencing rapid growth
-Before it’s time to file your taxes
-You are being audited
-You are experiencing cashflow challenges
-Revenue is increasing but profit isn’t growing
-You are trying to get a loan from the bank
A qualified accountant or CPA can help you through these events and perhaps help provide guidance to improve your business moving forward.
Finding an accountant
Finding the right accountant can be challenging, as we mentioned an accountant’s expertise and services can be broad. My advice is do your research, ask people in your industry for referrals, look through their website, for online support look through reviews and feedback from people who have used them. Once you have narrowed your search take advantage of the free initial consultation many accountants offer. For online accountants schedule a phone consultation and for a local accountant go meet them in person.
Online Accountant
Nowadays, with everything moving to the cloud there are many remote or online accountants that you can engage to answer your questions quickly and pricing seems to be more favorable. If you are a QuickBooks Online business, you can nominate a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor accountant access to your books and they can open your books and have real time access to all financial records. This has been a huge time saver and efficiency driver for many small businesses as they can call/email their accountant and get feedback right away. No need to backup, save, send files to your accountant, they have access right at their fingertips.
Local Accountant
Often times it is great to have a local accountant, because sometimes the accountant will have a vast network in the community and can be a great referral of your business. In an ideal world, your accountant will likely be remotely supporting you and have occasional meetings in person for more complex matters.
What’s most important when deciding what accountant to use is ensuring your accountant understands your goals and strategies for future growth and they can help achieve it.
How much does an accountant cost?
Many accountants charge by hour, some offer monthly packages and others work on a monthly retainer. Prices vary vastly by level of expertise and services offered. During your initial consultation with an accountant be sure to get an estimate of costs for the services you require. If services are reoccurring, consider a monthly package or retainer with the accountant. Ad-hoc services best to utilize hourly rates.
Accountants may seem expensive, but it’s important to remember the benefit they are providing by saving you money, ensuring compliance, avoiding fees and penalties, setting up your business for success, improving profitability – you will SAVE and it’s an INVESTMENT for the long-run.
