How To Find The Accountant That Is Right For Your Small Business!
Small Business Accountant Des Moines, IA
Finding the right employee for any professional position can be challenging. The more critical the role, the more critical the search and the importance of finding the right person with the right fit. Here are a few things to consider that might help you narrow your search and feel more secure in your ultimate selection.
When Is It Time To Look for The Right Accountant?
If you haven’t worked with an accountant so far in your small business, when do you know you need one? You have to consider your workload and the number of financial transactions that you are processing – and how much time YOU spend managing these areas relative to other areas of your business. If you find yourself losing time, drowning in accounting tasks, and perhaps losing money because you miss things, it is time for an accountant.
If you value your hourly time, as the business owner, at $100 per hour and it takes you 10 hours to do a single task each week that comes to $1,000.00. When you consider how many such tasks an accountant could take over, allowing you to concentrate on other areas, you quickly see that it is considerably less expensive to hire an accountant! You may even save money as the accountant uses their expertise to refine your processes, analyze your finances and operations, and eliminates expenses you may not need.
Full-Time or Part-time?
If you hire a full-time accountant, you will need enough work and revenue to make it worthwhile. If you don’t think you need or can afford a full-time accountant, hiring a part-time contract accountant – either as an individual or from a firm may be a good idea. This will let you control what you spend while analyzing the benefits to your business before making a decision. This is also a good way to evaluate an individual you may want to employ full-time, giving you time to get to know them and evaluate your working relationship.
Things To Consider
One of the first things to consider is whether you need a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or a non-certified accountant. Generally, a non-certified accountant is perfectly fine to handle your bookkeeping, financial statements and general analysis of operations. But when it comes to taxes and preparing returns, a CPA is usually a good bet. You can use a mix of services, too, with an internal accountant and an external CPA as needed. This can be done with either model of internal or external accounting as the firm supplying your contract accountant externally, such as CustomOne CFO & Controllers, can also provide a CPA or a choice of different accounting services as needed.
A key ingredient, beyond certification, is experience in your particular industry. Each business, from car dealers to consultants, has different dynamics, metrics, and requirements. It is important that the accountant you choose have experience in your business area, or a closely aligned market, so they understand your business model and strategy. Again, if you use an external accounting firm to supply an accountant on contract, this can be simplified as they have a number of accountants with varied experience to choose from.
Finally, you need to trust your accountant’s judgement. You need to know them and be able to work with them. Referrals from your professional network are valuable in locating the size and type of firm you want to work with or the individual that will best match your style and business character.
Where To Go To Find Accountant
Hiring an accountant for your small business, whether a full-time accountant or a contract CPA firm such as CustomOne CFO & Controllers, is something you can’t ignore. Getting your company finances done correctly and avoiding penalties, while saving all YOUR time as the business owner for other tasks, is well worth the money.
