How to find the right accountant for your small business

Don’t hire the wrong person to manage your company’s finances.

If all small business owners were required to have an accounting degree, it would be a fair bet that a lot fewer people would start their own business. Luckily, anyone can start a business, and according to the Commerce Institute, 5 million new businesses were launched in 2022 alone. That creates a lot of work for accountants and accountants, and if your business was among the 5 million that started last year, you might be looking for one yourself.

An accountant should be your first hire if you are a business owner as a good one can contribute to your success by making managing your finances much, much easier. Here are the steps you need to take to ensure you end up finding the right accountant for your business.

Find out your needs

If you’re in the early planning stages of starting a business, it’s probably too early to officially hire an accountant, but you should at least think about the income potential and structure of your business. These factors affect your accounting needs. After all, it’s a lot easier and less complicated for an accountant to treat you as a client if you’re a sole proprietorship and mainly need help planning quarterly taxes and filing an annual return.

Take the time to create your business plan and identify the financial issues you need help with. This could include maintaining cash flow, handling payroll and identifying areas for business growth.

Ask people you know for a recommendation

Thanks to the wonder of the internet, you are no longer limited by proximity when hiring an accountant. If you have an excellent accounting firm in your area, be sure to seek advice to see if they can take on new clients and meet your needs. But don’t be afraid to look further afield for recommendations.

For example, when I started freelancing last year, I knew I needed an accountant to help me with my taxes. I asked an accountant I used to work with for a referral, and although she and my accountant live in a different part of my state, it’s easy to get in touch via email and phone, and I can get tax documents if needed send via email. If you know a network of other business owners, ask them for some names and details of their experience of accountants working with companies like yours.

Get the right information from your candidates

If you have a few names in mind to ask about accounting services, it’s important to get the right information in those initial conversations. After all, you don’t want to waste her or her time. Focus on the following:

• what is your background They want to know how much experience they have working with similar companies.
• How do you communicate? There’s nothing worse than having a list of urgent money questions and not being able to answer them. Find out if you can hold regular phone calls or meetings with your accountant and how best to share the required documents with them.
• How much does it cost? You definitely need to know how much their services will cost you since the payment will come from your company’s profits.

Working with the right accountant is critical to the success of your business, so it makes sense to take a measured approach to hiring one. Know your needs, get recommendations from people you trust, and when contacting us, ask the right questions to see if they’re a good fit.