Every small business owner needs a good advisor and many need help to stay on top of record keeping, which is where a good accountant can lend a hand.
Starting a new business can be so exciting you might forget about the many processes and procedures that need to be followed. With the amount of incorrect information floating around you could end up being misled, so make sure you talk to a professional right from the get-go.
When a business kicks off, funds can be tight and many of us try to stick to a shoe string budget. This could be your first mistake. I’ve always maintained a business owner should get their SMB structure correct from the start. It might seem expensive, but I assure you that trying to change the structure of an established business is much more expensive, and oftem includes added payments as a result of stamp duty and capital gains tax.
Finding the right advice in the thick cloud of misinformation can be overwhelming. Think about it this way – you wouldn’t ask your electrician next door neighbour how to fix a leaking tap, would you? No, you’d accept you need to spend the money and contact a professional. If you need business or financial advice, you seek it from an accountant. That way you’re not just getting advice on the structure of your business, but also on cashflow, marketing, KPI and record keeping.
Small business owners need to understand that getting into good habits of record keeping can help guide you through a financial fog. You need up-to-date records showing your financial position to allow you to know exactly where you are at any point in time. To help with your record-keeping, there’s a large selection of accounting software to choose from and you can always ask for help from a professional, like your accountant.
Some accountants offer bookkeeping services that are price-matched to suit bookkeeping businesses, which means that for the same price or slightly higher you can have your accountant as your bookkeeper. Instead of fumbling through your accounts and making a mistake only to have to pay your accountant to fix it, isn’t it better to have your accountant do the bookkeeping or pay your accountant to show you how to use the specific software?
The days of shoeboxes and shopping bags are long gone, these only cost you more money in the end!