If you want to start a business, you might be tempted at first to do all the accounting on your own. This could be to save money or to have more control over your business finances.
While it’s a good idea to start out doing your own accounting, you will eventually need to hire an accountant. It may seem costly to hire someone, especially if as a small business you are already struggling with cash flow issues.
But accountants bring lots of benefits to your business, which cannot be discounted and should not be negated, especially if you wish to be one of those small businesses that survive past the dreaded five-year mark.
Below we discuss six reasons you need to hire an accountant for your business.
1. Help Keep Your Cash Flow Gears Churning
Cash flow is king when it comes to business in general and small businesses in particular. It is the paramount fuel that will ensure your business keeps running, despite all other troubles.
And lack of cash flow is also the reason why a lot of small businesses fail before they even had a chance to give it a proper go. That’s why you need to hire the best accountant out there so you can understand how to manage your cash flow better and thus, keep your business afloat longer.
It doesn’t matter how much money you are making as a business. If you don’t have proper cash flow, you will have a hard time preventing a collapse.
2. Free You up to Focus on Sales and Marketing
You, as a small business owner, have very little time on your hands. You barely have enough time to eat and sleep, so you really don’t have the luxury to take on more tasks, especially those related to something so crucial such as accounting.
That’s why it’s better for you and your business to outsource this task to someone who is an expert at it, and who won’t tear their hair out trying to make sense of the numbers.
Small business finances aren’t that complicated, but when you have so many other things you are learning at the same time, there’s no point in taking on the accounting role as well. It’s easy to hire someone who will do a better job of it for you.
3. Act as a Business Mentor
Business accountants work with several dozen businesses at once. They are in the know about what business is all about and will be able to give you valuable advice and feedback on your business if you are open to it.
This means you get a two-in-one deal when you hire an accountant – not only do you get someone who is going to take care of all income and account statements, but also someone who can act as a second pair of eyes and ears on your business.
4. Make Sure You Don’t Miss Any Regulations or Other Obligations
Your accountant is also quite aware of a lot of the trends and emerging technologies in the market since they probably work with businesses from many different fields and industries at once. That’s another thing they can help you with – a sort of side benefit of hiring them.
You can learn about these new trends and technologies from them, and perhaps they can even let you in on a trend earlier than your competitors, which could give you that edge over them.
Additionally, they will also be aware of any new rules or regulations regarding small business taxes. Some accountants help you not only with income or profit statements but also with tax planning.
5. Help You Improve Your Cost Efficiency
This is the primary reason most people think about hiring a small business accountant. An expert accountant can help you figure out what your financial map should be, and that can help you decide which costs to cut and which to keep.
It will also show you how your business can become more efficient and which contracts are too expensive. An accountant can also help you with further cost reductions when doing taxes.
6. Assist You in Processing Payroll
Maybe you are still a one-man shop right now, but eventually, you will hire employees, and then payroll processing will come into play. There are many payroll regulations you need to follow so you don’t get fined by the government. An accountant can help you properly process payroll, so you don’t end up making mistakes.
They will also help you submit RTI, generate payroll records for your employees, and submit them to HRMC. If all this is going above your head, it’s obvious that you need an accountant to simplify your small business finances for you. There’s no need to scrimp on that and end up losing your business because of this oversight.
Hire an Accountant Sooner Rather Than Later
It’s so easy to say to yourself that you will hire an accountant later, once your business starts making money. But what if hiring an accountant is the way your business truly starts becoming successful?
Don’t delay this decision any further. Hire an accountant today and start growing your business now.
Also, check out the various related articles on our website, so you can keep growing and learning about how to improve your small business finances.