Every business has their developing business strategies in selling their services and ensuring revenue streams. It is a good deal that you are starting to make money, and your business is starting to grow fast. However, it might sometimes be exhausting doing the daily operations alone and handling all the financial aspects of your business. Maybe it is time to hire someone who can take your business’s detailed and essential math tasks – a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), perhaps. But how can you find the right CPA for your business? Here are some of the reasons you need them and how to find the right one who can take care of your business well.
Source: Stocksnap.Io
What is a CPA?
Let us first dive into the word accountant. An accountant is an expert in taking care of the math tasks that go with the business you are running. They can perform things like preparing financial documents, financial planning, and bookkeeping. A Certified Public Accountant, on the contrary, is someone who has additional education experience and meets the requirements of the state they live in and passes the CPA exam. Thus, all CPAs are accountants, but not all accountants can be considered CPAs. Your CPA can give you sound business advice and help you make the right decision, but they cannot make the business decisions. All final decisions must be left done for the business owner. In addition to what your small business CPA can do, here are their additional tasks:
- Helps in planning and Giving Tax Advice: Small business CPAs can assist your business in saving your taxes and planning future tax.
- Helps in Auditing and Finding Tax Problems: Your CPA can help you find any problems in your tax returns before the Internal Revenue Service could see them.
- Helps In Business Management and Consulting: Business CPAs can stand as a Chief Financial or CFO. They can aid in budgeting, preparing shareholders’ financial statements, and assist in risk management.
- Perform Payroll Administration: A small business CPA ensures that everybody is getting their salaries right and their payroll withholdings are correctly handled.
- Prevent Embezzlement: Your small business CPA can perform forensic accounting and dive deeper into the books, and help you prevent and discover any fraud or theft.
- Aids in Bookkeeping: Business CPA helps handle invoices and any accounts receivable, ensuring bills payments like rent and utilities are getting paid on time.
How to Find The Right Small Business CPA
Source:Stocksnap.Io
A CPA does not only perform bookkeeping and tax filing. Once you plan on hiring one, you must know what services you need from them. Here is how to find the right business that can help you in your business ventures.
Perform a Research First
Searching for a small business CPA is now easier since you can already search online. Browsing through the internet can be a good start when you are looking for the right CPA. You might be able to get a list of the CPAs within your local area. The results might be arranged via zip code. If you are residing in a small town, you might need some adjustments within your search radius to see more results of the possible CPA you may hire.
When you do the research, make sure that you find a true Certified Public Accountant. You don’t like getting your business at stake, do you? Check their credentials if they passed the necessary tests and licensure examination given by the state. CPAs have continuous education to keep their licenses active. They stay up to date with all of the federal, local, and state tax laws. Thus, if you are preparing for your taxes, you must also ensure that they have PTIN or a Preparer Tax Identification Number.
Meet and Transact Only With a Trusted Professional
If you want to maintain your business and be successful, you need to find a reliable person who can give you financial advice. It is not that bad to start a search first. Meeting them face to face is also a good idea since they will be the ones handling your money. Make sure that you can trust your CPA, too, because if anything goes wrong, you will be the one paying for everything.
If possible, you can call for a meeting with someone who can judge well and someone who you can trust. For instance, you may ask your closest friend or perhaps a mentor so you may get just and unbiased opinions.
Why Do You Need A CPA?
They Work on Your Business Financial Issues
Since a CPA has the license given by the state to ensure their competency, you can assure that they are up-to-date on the financial issues and state/federal rules and regulations along with the highest ethical standards.
They Can Organize and Easily Access Your Financial Information
You need an expert in the accounting system to set up and organize your business information and transactions. Small business CPAs know and are skillful enough to apply the latest technological innovations specifically meant for accounting purposes. They are keen on using software that can do quick statements, filing processes, and easy access to your business information.
They Can Give You In-Depth Financial Business Advices
CPAs can provide you in-depth advice on how to maintain your monetary resources and even improve them. Since they are familiar and are capable of monitoring your business assets, ledger balances, credits, debits, profits, and even losses, you might gain financial insights from them and boost your business.
They Can Prepare Your Financial Statements
CPAs underwent professional training. With that said, they can prepare a complete financial statement and ensure that these reports comply with the GAAP or the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These accepted accounting standards include revenue recognition, materiality, and balance sheet classification.
They Can Review Your Tax Information and Ensure Your Taxes are Properly Filed
Certified Public Accountants need to maintain their professional license. To attain this, they must have the up-to-date status of the tax law knowledge on whatever business they serve. Since they can verify IRS (Internal Revenue Service) and other compliance, they can ward off any taxation problems. CPAs are also knowledgeable on tax planning opportunities. Thus, they can aid in keeping your business with only minimal tax liabilities.
They Can Represent You In Cases Involving Audits and Other Issues
Small business CPAs have professional credentials in representing their business clients if ever they have cases that include audits, collection and payment issues, and appeals. They can help their clients avoid these situations by guiding them and ensuring that all necessary paperwork and information is appropriately filed on time.
The Manage and Ensure Your Payroll Taxes Paid Correctly
CPAs have keen knowledge about payroll accounting systems. It is part of their profession, and they are experts in ensuring that their tax obligations are appropriately met and that they guide their clients throughout the process.
The Stand as Your Business Advisor
Small business CPAs can assist in evaluating the feasibility of future projects, including the possible gain, loss, and good forecasts. Their expertise can pave the way in preparing proposals and plans that will help develop the company. Often, CPAs have experience in business organizations similar to yours, which can be worthwhile in providing business advice for your business.
They Can Help You Plan for Your Business Growth
CPAs gain respect from the business community that they serve. Often, they can offer a network of contacts that may help you to boost your business efficiently. If they have similar clients that can stand as relevant contacts, they can refer you to other clients. Thus, you will gain more clients and even have an additional professional network of contacts.
Wrapping It Up
Source: Stocksnap.Io
Probably you are aware that running a business was never an easy task. You need to make it alive every single day to keep your business operations running smoothly. Small business owners might spend 120 hours every year keeping track of their bookkeeping alone. Thus, you might miss the chance to get in touch with your customers. By getting a small business CPA, you can spend more time with your clients, know more about what they want or demand, and even grow your business more!
If you are in a complicated accounting situation, you probably will not choose someone who will just handle your business transactions recklessly. Small business CPAs are also enrolled agents, so if you ever get into trouble with the IRS, they can stand as your representative, attend hearings, and speak on your behalf. With the reasons mentioned above why you need a small business CPA, it is crucial that you, too, must know well and understand how your business works. This way, you may know your needs and how you can benefit from hiring someone who can guide you in your business ventures.
