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5 Ways Accountants Make Your Small Business Better

Most entrepreneurs start their small business with a workforce of one. Over time, they add salespeople, marketers, administrative assistants, and perhaps an officer or two.

However, one of the most important employees you can add to your team is an accountant.

Small business owners are loath to hire accounting help. That’s in part because there’s a much clearer path to high return on investment (RoI) with employees such as salespeople and marketers. That’s also in part because many people only really think about their accounting needs when tax season comes along.

However, accountants can provide a multitude of benefits — many of which you might be unaware of. Here are some of the ways accountants can make your small business better.

5 Small Business Accountant Benefits

1. They Reduce Risk

Novice small business owners often consider preparing their own taxes. Big mistake. Erring on your tax returns risks serious consequences, including IRS audits, additional interest and penalties. However, hiring an accountant can diminish this risk. The type of accountant matters, too — a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), for instance, is particularly qualified to ensure you’re compliant with all tax laws and regulations.

Accountants can also help reduce financial risk. Let’s say you’re expanding your services or considering a merger. An accountant can provide insights into the potential financial repercussions of these and other business decisions.

2. They Save You Time

Small business owners aren’t exactly flush with time. Part of the reason, especially early on, that entrepreneurs are short on time is because they’re performing tasks outside of their proficiencies. And when they do, some tasks take a lot more time than it would take an expert to do. Accounting typically falls into that bucket — something that most small business owners can’t do quickly, turning it into a time suck.

An accountant can free up your time to do other things that are more within your skill set, which in turn means you’ll get better returns out of your time.

3. They Help Shape Your Plans

Accountants can provide necessary financial insight when you decide to start a business or when you’re making projections as an established company. Whether you need an initial sales forecast as you’re pitching your startup, or you’re looking to better understand the macroeconomic conditions you’re navigating your business through, accountants can give you an edge.

4. They Protect Your Sensitive Financial Data

Accountants often are trained not just on how to calculate and analyze your numbers, but also how to protect them. Accountants have long been trained on how to maintain professional confidentiality and integrity, but many now are capable of implementing data protection and cybersecurity systems as well.

5. They Save You Money

As mentioned above, many small business owners have a hard time seeing the RoI that accountants can deliver — after all, they don’t run a register, manufacture products or call customers to make sales.

However, accountants can analyze your income and outflow and help determine where you might be able to achieve cost efficiencies, both in the short and long term. Better still, many accountants can help you navigate the U.S. tax code to identify tax credits, deductions and other breaks — again, saving you money.

If you don’t have enough accounting needs to justify a full-time hire, you can always consider an outsourced chief financial officer (CFO). For instance, McManamon & Co.’s outsourced CFO services allow you to get the payroll services, bill pay, financial reporting, and more that you need while only spending on the hours needed to complete the tasks. And when it comes time, we can even help you train your own accounting team.

If you want to know more about what we can do for you, call us at 440.892.8900 or contact us online.

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