Starting a Business? Here is what a Local CPA can do for You!
What a Local CPA Des Moines, IA Can Do For Your Business
There are many decisions that need to be made when you start a business that should be informed decisions. Deciding on your company structure as an S-corp, C-corp, or LLC has implications for financial management, regulatory reporting, and taxes. People who start businesses have a varying set of skills and experience. Some may have been in business before and have a handle on many of the intricacies of starting and running a business. Even they know and will tell you, there are areas where they aren’t sure or have no idea of what they should do or how they should do it. They know what they don’t know and those are the areas where they seek help. By engaging a local Certified Public Accountant (CPA) for even a few hours to assist you in starting your business, you can avoid potential problems and put yourself on the path to success!
Starting Your Business
When you start your business you have to decide on what structure your business will take. If you don’t know the differences between an S-corp, an LLC, and a C-corp, it is wise to get a local CPA to help you decide. If you are a sole practitioner as a consultant or contractor, for instance, an S-corp might be the way to go. If you have partners and you intend to provide services or buy and sell property, an LLC might be the way to go. For more complex businesses with employees, suppliers, and potential liabilities, a C-corp might be your best bet. But there are pros and cons to each structure in terms of costs, management, and reporting. Why wouldn’t you get an expert to help you make the right decision at the start?
Administrative and Accounting Systems
After you get your business started, most business people realize that keeping accurate books is a necessity for operations and success. Working with a CPA to set up proper accounting, financial reporting, and management systems will give your business a much better chance of surviving. Most business owners don’t realize that 80% of businesses fail in the first 18 months and that these failures are almost always due to poor financial management.
Tax Reporting
The most cited reason to engage a CPA is to get your tax reporting correct. Reporting your sales tax, employee taxes, or your own business taxes is necessary and will benefit from an accountant doing your taxes. Unfortunately, significant savings are missed because the CPA wasn’t involved earlier in setting up your business structure and systems. If you didn’t record an expense correctly or made a decision on how to take an expense, there is nothing a CPA can do when it is time to file. The time the CPA could have made a difference is when you made the decisions. Engaging a CPA to advise you on business decisions is a great way to maximize your tax breaks!
The good news is, if you are worried about money, you don’t need to pay a full-time accountant. You can hire a contract accounting firm like Des Moines Accountants and they will provide your business with cost-effective and efficient part-time accounting services. Contact Des Moines Accountants or CustomOne CFO & Controllers and ask for information on their contract professional services. You’ll save money, you’ll save time, and you may save your business!
