If you’re like most small company owners, you may not see your CPA very frequently or at all outside of tax season. But this dependable counsel can help you in a lot of ways over the whole year. Utilizing your CPA’s expertise to its fullest will assist you in achieving your company objectives more swiftly and avoiding expensive errors.
Your CPA can assist you more if you provide additional details about your company. You should consider meeting with your accountant at least twice a year if your annual revenue has reached $100,000, quarterly.
Naturally, accountants charge for their time, so you’ll want to make the most of your sessions. Create an agenda for each meeting to make the most of it. For instance, you may provide your CPA an update on the state of your firm and your industry before reviewing the most important financial issues facing your organization.
A CPA who deals with other companies in your field is probably aware of options you haven’t thought about.
Adjusts your record-keeping.
Finance writer and owner of Compare Banks states the following: “For small company owners, maintaining accurate records is essential, whether they need to submit financing applications or just want tax season to go smoothly.
Ask your CPA for a tutorial if you haven’t completely grasped your accounting software, or, if you’re always running behind, hire the bookkeeper your CPA suggests if you’re having trouble using it.
Keeping accurate records may be cost-effective. The IRS may typically audit your company’s tax returns three years after filing, but in certain cases, they may be allowed to do so six years after filing.
There is no time restriction on how long the IRS may audit if you don’t submit taxes. Make sure you preserve records of your workers’ names, addresses, and phone numbers as well as their timesheets and pay stubs, insurance policies, contracts (such as for loans and mortgages), bank statements, and IRS forms.
If you don’t have the right paperwork, an audit may reveal that you owe extra taxes, interest, and a penalty (often equivalent to 20% of the underpaid tax), among other things.
Make sure to ask your CPA how long you must keep documents in accordance with the laws of your state and municipality. Tax officials in your state and locality may potentially audit your returns.”
Help with staying ahead of economic trends
Yanis Mellata, owner of virtual office software Kosy believes; “The demand for many small companies’ goods and services is difficult to forecast for the next quarters.
While some are attempting to locate new consumers, others are having difficulty keeping up with the strong demand due to supply chain and labor market disruptions.
Using the most up-to-date forecasting techniques, a CPA can assist you in making more accurate predictions about the future of your company.
In order to have more money to spend on marketing and other instruments for development, you may also be able to work together to find possible cost cuts in your budget.
In a perfect world, you would be able to take care of these things for yourself, but the regular obligations of operating a company often get in the way.”
Examining your cost structure
“You may analyze your company’s cost structure with the aid of a CPA using sales estimates as a guide,” says Jack Sobel, founder of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities. “Examining your company’s fixed and indirect expenditures, such as marketing and administrative costs, is highly advisable at this time.
When business was booming, these expenses could have been justified. But if you’re having trouble, the moment has come to consider if they’re really necessary. By reducing such costs, you may strategically position your company for a future comeback.
Additionally, you should check the manufacturing expenses to make sure they are reasonable. While certain expenses, like labor, may be relatively flexible, others, like the cost of procuring raw materials, will be dependent on the company’s level of sales.”
Cash flow projections
Although a lot of small companies concentrate just on profitability, they should remember that cash is what keeps a firm running. A lack of capital will kill a firm, not necessarily a lack of profitability.
You can better comprehend how money enters and leaves your company with the aid of an accountant (known as the cash flow cycle). Understanding the cash cycle is essential to forecasting your company’s cash flow and determining how much cash is required to keep it afloat.
An accountant can assist you to understand what might delay your cash flow cycle and avoid your company from being unable to pay its liabilities by helping you create a cash flow forecast.
This should enable you to identify possible issues before they become serious and take action.
Controlling spending
Andy Golpys, founder of branding agency MadeByShape shares; “You may be able to get some advice on how to manage your spending from a seasoned accountant.
If they’re creating accurate management accounts for your company each month, they need to be spotlighting your spending and querying you about the justifications for it.
Good management accounts provide you with enough context and depth to fully comprehend what is happening and guide your decision-making. The only thing that will provide you with an accurate view of your company is management accounts.
For instance, you may wish to analyze your recent expenditure in this area and perhaps implement stronger limitations if you discover that your costs are excessive.
In an ideal world, you want to promote a culture in which every employee pays careful attention to their spending.”
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