Your Accounting Firm Knows How To Launch It Right
The time has finally come!
You’re finally going to be your own boss.
After months (or even years) of dreaming and planning, you’re going to start your own business.
Congratulations!
You’ll have a million things to take care of as your vision starts to take shape, and your dreams begin to become realities.
But right from the start… and, ideally, before you write your first business check or take your first customer payment… now is the time to establish a solid relationship with an accountant you can trust.
Not to pour cold water on the flame of your passion, but it is rather sobering to note that most small businesses fail. Some studies suggest only a handful (15%) make it to their fifth year!
Many “serial entrepreneurs” (folks who’ve started more than one business) will tell you the difference between success and failure of a new small business is pulling together the right team of advisors to help you dot every “I” and cross every “T.”
And they might say the seeds of their failures have been planted right at the outset – when they failed to get professional help with things like bookkeeping, tax planning, and proper business entity “paperwork.”
So before you get too far down the road, make sure you’re on the road to success.
Find a great accounting firm!
Your accountant can help you do a lot of good things for your business before you open its doors for the first time.
- Determining the right “business entity.” Talk over with your accountant the different options available for establishing a business entity in your state. Will your business be a corporation? There are different types (“C” and “S,” for instance). Does a partnership, or an LLC (Limited Liability Company) make more sense? Your accountant can help you sort it out.
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- Once you’ve decided on the right form for your business, your accountant can help get the proper paperwork filed with the state. And in some cases, you may even want to incorporate in a different state or jurisdiction and your accountant can give you great advice on that, too.
- Setting up the right bookkeeping systems. Your accountant may or may not also provide bookkeeping services (though it’s great if you can find a good one who does). But, either way, they can give you a great idea of what kind of bookkeeping systems would be best for your business.
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- What kind of reporting will you want and how often? Get your initial bookkeeping set-up right, and you’ll have the ability to get just the right information each week or month to help you make adjustments to maximize profits. And no one will give you better advice on which metrics you should monitor than your qualified accountant.
- Tax planning. You’ll want to begin your business with a view toward minimizing your firm’s tax liability (and thereby optimizing your bottom line). Tax planning is an every-day thing not just something you should think about when the next tax deadline is looming.
- Financial and investment planning. Who better than your qualified accountant to give you wise counsel on how to take advantage of the financial markets as a way of giving your business an extra advantage?
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- And your accountant knows business. He or she is the perfect person to bounce ideas off: new products, new market segments, new sales techniques you might be surprised at how much useful information you can get just by asking your accountant.
You’ll find your relationships with key customers won’t be the only important ones when it comes to giving your business its best shot at success. Your accountant is a crucial part of your team! But while finding a competent CPA is relatively easy, finding a smart account who also cares about you and your business, who puts clients first, that’s a relationship that’s worth its weight in gold to your new venture.