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Are You Happy With Your Small Business Accountant?

Are you satisfied with your small business accountant? Well, depending on who you are, this might be a trick question.

Most small businesses that work with an accountant or accounting firm are satisfied with their experience and are unlikely to switch in the next year, according to Accounting Today’s inaugural Small Business Accounting Insights Survey. However, the survey also found that almost half of those responding hadn’t used an accountant in the past year.

Today, we’ll highlight some more of the findings from this survey, and explain what you should expect from your small business’ accountant. If you have one, that is. We’ll also give you some advice on choosing the right one if your company is looking for help balancing the book.

What Small Businesses Think of Their Accountants

For the most part, Accounting Today’s survey – spanning more than 1,000 small business owners and leaders – found that small business personnel had a rosy view of accountants. A couple highlights:

  • Seventy-two percent of respondents said they were “very satisfied” with their accountants or CPAs in 2018; another 16 percent said they were “somewhat satisfied.”
  • That satisfaction translates into a decent amount of loyalty: Two-thirds of respondents said they were “not at all likely” or “not very likely” to switch accountants in 2019.

What’s Important to Small Businesses?

The survey respondents were asked what services they received from an accountant in 2018, and no surprise: Tax services were tops at 68 percent. But the other responses provide some insight into what else you can tap your accountant for:

  • 47 percent: Bookkeeping
  • 39 percent: Tax planning
  • 26 percent: Payroll
  • 21 percent: Business planning

There’s a similar sentiment about services that small businesses expect to ask their accountants for in the new year: 65 percent say they’re most likely to use tax services, 41 percent say tax planning, 36 percent say bookkeeping, 23 percent say business planning and 22 percent say payroll.

Full-service accountants do so more than just returns. Tax planning services, for instance, can end up saving your business thousands of dollars because you can position yourself to reap various write-offs and deductions at the start of every year.

But accounts are more than the skills they bring. It’s the level of service they provide. So, what matters most to small businesses?

Here’s what respondents said were “very important” to them:

  • 78 percent: “Is a trusted advisor to me”
  • 74 percent: “Responds quickly”
  • 74 percent: “Understands my business/industry”
  • 70 percent: “Is affordable”
  • 69 percent: “Communicates clearly with non-accountants”

Are You Getting What You Need?

So now you have a taste for what accountants can do and some of the things that other small businesses look for. But there’s so much more. We’ve discussed a number of things you should look for in a small business accountant, many of which tend to fly under the radar.

McManamon & Co. fills many of these needs, and tackles far more tasks than tax services – we provide everything from accounting services to cost segregation studies to business valuations. More importantly, we provide the level of service small businesses need, by treating all our customers with the importance they deserve, and communicating in a way that ensures no one misses a beat.

If you’re searching for your first small business accountant, or you’re looking to upgrade your accounting services, call McManamon & Co. at 440.892.9088 or contact us online today!

Tags:  , , , , , | Posted in accounting, McManamon & Co., small business, taxes