With skills extending in numerous directions and years of experience, it makes sense for you to make the most of your small business accountant.
Plenty of small business owners do their own accounting. For others, an accountant is merely someone to turn to during the annual tax return season.
While accountants can work wonders with expenses and self-assessments, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Take the following steps to make the most of your small business accountant.
Pick the right accountant
If you live in or near a large town or city there should be plenty of accountants that you can call upon – but don’t just opt for the first listing on your results page.
Take the time to get into the details. Does this accountant specialise in small businesses? Does this accountant have experience within your industry?
These are the questions you should be asking throughout the process. It’s not about finding the most prestigious firm or the lowest rates – it’s about finding the option that fits around your business.
Start early
Another way to make the most of your small business accountant is to seek their help right from the beginning.
It’s tempting to delay hiring an accountant until you feel you’re up and running, but they can be invaluable during the formation stage.
One of the benefits of finding an accountant relevant to your business is being able to seek advice concerning anything – from business structure to financial analysis.
An experienced accountant can also prove critical if you’re applying for a bank loan or other funding source.
Half of UK businesses fail within the first five yours. Give yours the best chance by starting as you mean to go on: professionally.
Connect online
Small businesses work well with small businesses. If you’re a small start-up e-commerce site, for example, you might do better hiring a freelance web designer than going with a larger company.
Your small business accountant will, naturally enough, have contacts with many other smaller ventures.
You don’t want to come right out and ask for recommendations, but connecting through online networking sites can put you in touch with a wide network of other small business owners.
Use the right technology
The last ten years has brought sweeping changes to the way businesses can interact with accountants.
Instead of having to perform tasks as arcane as faxing or photocopying your records, make sure you get on the cloud.
Straightforward software lets you track expenses, log payments, and take care of bookkeeping online, and your accountant will be able to access the information at will.
It’s so much easier than meeting with paper copies since your accountant can concentrate on helping your business rather than data entry.
Make the most of your small business accountant by seeking advice
To put it bluntly, small business accountants will have been around the block a few times. They’ll probably have seen businesses similar to yours before, witnessing both glaring mistakes and inspired moves.
They can be founts of valuable information, but they won’t be able to read your mind. If you have any doubts, make the most of your small business accountant by requesting advice.
Simply asking ‘what would you do if you were me?’ can prompt great insights drawn from years of experience with businesses just like yours.
Do you need to follow their advice? Not necessarily – but advice is always worth having.
To find out how we can help your small business, get in touch with us today.
