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There are many advantages to hiring an accountant, especially for anyone running a small business.
When running a small business, it can be all too easy—perhaps the only part that’s easy—to leave financial management under-tended or neglected outright, what with all conceivable energy and focus being required for day-to-day operations: customer service, team morale, sales… -The business end of business, one might say. Again, this is both altogether common and altogether understandable, but can nonetheless lead to major problems.
To avoid any financial snags and maintain solid long-term financial standing, hiring an accountant for your small business is absolutely essential. A good accountant will, for example, keep your books pristine, oversee all company financial statements, and ensure that you always have every available fiduciary means at your disposal to keep cash flow consistently positive.
Read along below as we discuss the ranging benefits your company stands to gain by partnering with a professional accountant.
Why Hire an Accountant for Your Small Business?
Quick/cursory overview: An accountant is a formally-educated specialist who oversees the comprehensive financial health of your business, keeping tabs on the money owed to suppliers (accounts payable), the money owed to you by customers and clients (accounts receivable), and—to put it broadly—tracking cash flow. This entails (e.g.) maintaining balance sheets, ensuring financial statements are accurate and detailed, helping manage payroll, and generating reliable income projections.
Advantages of Hiring an Accountant
Hiring an accountant for your small business provides a bona fide litany of major advantages.
Time savings: Running a business day-to-day can consume all of your “productive time” as an owner. An accountant can handle money-related tasks faster and more capably than you can, allowing you to focus on other, more you aspects of company operation.
Cost savings: While you will have to pay a salary to an in-house accountant (or a fee for as-needed outside accounting services), a seasoned small business accountant is certain to “offset the difference” over time by continuously spotting opportunities for savings, pointing out where expenses can be tightened up, and advising you on cost-effective ways of managing inventory and payroll.
Tax compliance: Hiring a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is especially important to ensure compliance with all tax laws, including obscure ones that business owners can easily miss. This will spare you from audits down the line and save your business from unexpected penalties and/or legal trouble. A CPA can also help you maximize tax benefits and claim all the deductions and credits your business is rightly entitled to.
Peace of mind: Having a competent accountant by your side enables you to focus on ensuring smooth business operations and providing excellent customer service. Your accountant will act in the background as a bulwark against tax liabilities, ballooning debts, and other money problems that would otherwise distract you from daily management responsibilities.
Revenue projections: A seasoned accountant will make exhaustive revenue projections that take industry developments, as well as regional and national economic conditions, into consideration. This means you’ll have greater clarity on where your business is headed—and what changes you can make to be better situated in the marketplace.
Business planning: If you’re still in the pre-launch stage, an accountant can help you put together a solid business plan. They can advise on what kinds of sales numbers you can expect to achieve and help project your revenue over the next few months—and years. They’ll also give you a full sense of necessary startup costs and investments.
Risk management: Alternately, if you’ve been at it for some time and are planning to make a “big move” soon—introducing a new product line, expanding into a untapped market, investing in or outright acquiring another business, etc.—hiring an accountant makes great sense. They can provide much-needed insight and clarity on how this is likely to affect your profit margins and scalability both short- and long-term. They’ll also warn you at the drop of a dime, so to speak, of any potential risks to your company’s value.
Trust the Professionals at the Harding Group
Unlike other accounting firms, The Harding Group, located in Annapolis, MD, will never charge you for consultations and strive for open communication with our clients.
Are you interested in business advising, tax preparation, bookkeeping and accounting, payroll services, training + support for QuickBooks, or retirement planning? We have the necessary expertise and years of proven results to help.
We gladly serve clients in Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, Baltimore, Severna Park, and Columbia. If you are ready to take the stress out of tax time, contact us online or give us a call at (410) 573-9991 for a free consultation. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn for more tax tips.