There are many myths surrounding the outsourcing of such vital business services as bookkeeping, and here are just a few of the ones that are simply not true:
Most small businesses benefit from the services of a bookkeeper, and its widely acknowledged that most company owners prefer not to spend valuable time keeping their own books, and for a variety of reasons. However, finding, hiring and keeping the right bookkeeper for you and your business is not always easy, even though it’s almost always worth it in the long run.
Even if you employ the services of a bookkeeper or accountant, as a small business owner, you should at least have a basic understanding of the different types of accounts that are used to help organize your company’s finances.
At Heyer & Associates, we proactively assist our individual and small business clients in meeting their goals. Our key area of focus is ensuring that our clients remain compliant with federal and state tax laws by providing them with high quality accounting and tax service Coral Gables. If you are looking for individual tax preparation in Miami, Heyer & Associates would be a right option.
If you’re the owner of a start-up or recently incorporated business, it can be helpful to know the basics of bookkeeping, whether you will be using the services of a paid professional, or not. Here are 4 main steps of the bookkeeping process that it can be helpful to understand:
For those who may be new to the world of business and have just started their own small company, it can be hard to know whether you need the services of a bookkeeper, an accountant, or both. As they offer similar services, and the terms ‘bookkeeper’ and ‘accountant’ are relatively interchangeable, the choice can be puzzling at first.
Bookkeeping is something that many business owners take on themselves, particularly when their business is new and trying to find its feet. Business may be slow in those initial stages, affording them ample time to learn the necessary aspects of basic accounting and bookkeeping; skills that are always useful to any business owner.
There are often several reasons why small businesses don’t employ the services of a bookkeeper, but as most business consultants will tell company owners that hiring a bookkeeper could really benefit their business, knowing when to hire one is quite simple!
An effective, motivated and skilled bookkeeper should do more than simply organize your books, and listed below are a few things to look out for when assessing your bookkeepers value:
Running a business of any size can be difficult without a little professional intervention and guidance, such as what you might expect to receive from an accountant or bookkeeper, and they often play an extremely significant role. If you’re uncertain as to whether your business would benefit from professional help, and are unclear as to whether you need an accountant or a bookkeeper, the following guidance should be of help to you:
The relationship that you have with your bookkeeper is worth working on, if only to ensure that your business can continue to function smoothly. However, there are many more reasons why it pays to try and eliminate any problems that you might be facing with your bookkeeper, and why you should do your best to communicate with them effectively. This isn’t always easy though, and misunderstandings can easily occur.
Most small businesses trying to manage without a bookkeeper will struggle, irrespective of how much they may enjoy that aspect of running a business, or even how proficient they believe themselves to be at it. The simple fact of the matter is that good bookkeeping requires time, patience and more time! Some busy business owners may be prepared to dedicate a good portion of their day to tackling bookkeeping matters, but most would be better off spending that valuable time on other important aspects of their business, such as dealing with employees and clients. There are multiple ways in which a bookkeeper can assist small business owners and enable them to spend more time running other aspects of their business, here are just a few of the ways in which they can help:
All small businesses will go through a series of ups and downs, and solving some of the problems that can arise, takes time and patience. Most owners of small businesses complain of not having enough time to do everything that is required of them, but finding time to update the books so that their bookkeeper can do their job efficiently, is one thing business owners must do if they’re to see their company thrive.
If you’re in the fortunate (and frankly, exciting) position of owning a small or mid-sized business that is expanding, then you might be noticing that not only is there a lot more accounting work to be taken care of, but that you have less time available to complete it all. Even if you already employ a part time bookkeeper and accountant, they may be struggling to keep up with the workload, and if this continues, your business will ultimately suffer.
One of a bookkeeper’s many roles is to help organize a business’s finances, and they do this by managing and recording financial statements, tax receipts, payroll and cash flow. If you’re a business owner, seasoned or new, and you don’t already have a bookkeeper, you’re probably struggling to know exactly where your finances stand, or where the funds are going. With no background in finance, most business owners without a bookkeeper, have no option but to try and manage their money themselves, which can have disastrous and costly consequences.
A bookkeeper worth his money will have the utmost respect for client information and confidentiality, and will have the ability, knowledge and experience to help support a small business with their day-to-day administrative duties, while remaining compliant with tax laws.
All businesses - no matter what their size - need to keep good records of all their financial transactions, and those who have no experience with bookkeeping or accounting, usually hire a bookkeeper to manage their books for them. This simply makes good business sense. So, listed below are some tips to help you find the right bookkeeper for you and your business:
Specialised industries or individuals, such as attorneys, dentists, physicians and medical practice owners, restaurants and rental and real estate owners and realtors - to name but a few - typically require a unique set of services and specific knowledge to help them with their accounting needs.
Managing a business can be a time consuming and challenging affair, particularly if you take care of all aspects of it yourself, such as payroll and bookkeeping. Depending on how your business is operating, finances may be stretched, and you may think there are insufficient funds for outsourcing any elements of the company, or you may simply prefer to run them yourself. However, for your business to be a success, it’s important that you get a handle on such things as payroll and bookkeeping before they begin to get too much for you, and as your business grows, your duties will grow with it.
Business owners the world over, spend countless hours each day, week, and month tracking their accounts, and recording their expenses. Even small business owners find this to be time consuming and often frustrating, particularly as there are other areas of their business that they would prefer to be working on.
Every industry is different, with varying financial needs and tax systems, and hiring a bookkeeper without specialist knowledge in your field of work, can end in costly errors for you and your business.
There are a lot of important decisions to be made regarding the financial side of any business, and when you’re running your own company, this can often seem overwhelming. For any business to progress and become truly successful, there must be clarity surrounding its finances.
Day to day bookkeeping is of course essential, but many small and medium sized businesses find themselves getting bogged down in it, leaving them with precious little time to focus on other aspects of their business.
Most industrialized nations had some form of bookkeeping in place which would have resembled at least in part, what we now refer to as payroll. As merchants and their products expanded over the years, bookkeeping and payroll had to improve to enable them to better keep track of their sales and outgoings.
If you’re the owner of a busy law firm, you’ll know only too well how many daily, weekly and monthly bookkeeping and accounting tasks need to be completed, and in a timely, accurate and professional manner. Perhaps, to accomplish this, you’ve employed a full-time bookkeeper, and are paying them upwards of $50k a year? Or maybe, like many other busy CPA’s, attorneys and owners of multi-lawyer practices, you’ve discovered the convenience and efficiency of outsourcing, and are paying them around a fifth of the cost?
There are multiple advantages to cloud accounting, and if you’re an accountant or bookkeeper keen to give your clients the best service you can while increasing your own efficiency, you might be well versed in all of them. However, for those who are not, or for those who wish to explain cloud accounting in more detail to their clients, check out the answers to some commonly asked questions below:
If you’re the owner of a start-up, you might think it more sensible to try and reduce your costs as much as possible, by managing your bookkeeping, taxes and accounting tasks yourself. However, while this might work on a temporary basis – and only then if you have some expert knowledge in this area – as your start-up finds its feet and begins to grow, this solution is rarely workable.
Business ownership comes with a long list of responsibilities, and over time, it can be hard to manage them all without professional help. When it comes to the financial and accounting responsibilities of your business, it never pays to cut corners, and it certainly never pays to neglect them, and that’s why so many successful businesses have sought help by outsourcing their bookkeeping and accounting requirements. However, this is generally only truly effective when help is sought from a business, agency or individual who has experience in your industry, and here’s why:
The role of an Enrolled Agent can be confusing to many, and as a result, some small business owners may not fully understand how an EA can help with their taxes and hence are unsure as to whether they would benefit from their services.
There are naturally going to be pro’s and cons associated with outsourcing any of your company’s bookkeeping and accounting, or both, and it’s important to weight them up rationally before making any decisions. Here are a few suggestions of what to look out for and avoid, when outsourcing:
If you’ve recently set up a small business, you’ll need to start preparing for your taxes right away. It’s imperative that you have a well organised bookkeeping system right from the get go, so that you can begin keeping accurate records and receipts for all deductions.
If you’re the owner of a small business, trying to get prepped for your taxes can be a baffling time and while it’s often advisable to hire the services of tax professionals to help you sort them out, it’s also a good idea to have at least a basic knowledge of your own. Knowing how to save money through tax deductions can be extremely helpful, and below are a few pointers to set you going in the right direction:
When compared to bigger companies, small businesses face a whole host of unique challenges, many of which they may not have the funds or resources to handle effectively in the same manner as a large business might.
Choosing how often to pay your employees isn’t as simple as picking a schedule randomly; the payroll schedule you opt for can actually have a significant impact on your business and its cash flow, and careful consideration should be made before deciding.
When you’re an attorney with your own firm, you must advocate for your clients while managing your own team and taking care of your finances; it can be a huge burden and often, that burden can be difficult to shoulder.
Running a small business can provide great financial comfort in times of economic hardship - even more so if it’s a success - but it also requires a lot of dedication, hard work, time, and maintenance. Even small businesses have employees to pay, accounts to balance and financial decisions to make that can impact its very success, and every overhead cost has to be counted and justified.
Heyer & Associates EA PA (www.heyerinc.com) corresponds to a firm that specializes in curtailing the taxes of all sorts of businesses in the industry through strategic planning. The organization was founded in the year 2005 and is an inspiration of Ralf F. Heyer.
Outsourcing has become increasingly popular in recent years, and in the light of the ongoing pandemic and its ensuing lockdowns and restrictions on movements, such forms of remote working have in many ways, become the norm.
Outsourcing is never something to be ashamed of, no matter what the size of your business, instead it is something to be proud of, and shows customers and other business owners that you have taken steps to successfully fulfil as many elements of your company as you can, and that you are not cutting corners when it comes to your employees.
Time theft is a very real problem for many businesses, large and small alike, and is said to be an act frequently committed by up to 80% of the current workforce. Over time, such theft can have a real impact on a company’s bottom line and it brings to light how simple it can be for employees to be dishonest about their time spent doing the job they are paid to do.
Tax season is the one time of year that small business owners dread the most, but pushing thoughts of filing requirements and deadlines to one side, will only make matters worse. Tax planning, if kept up to date throughout the year rather than just during tax season, can help you sail through your returns instead of wading through them, and here are six top tips to help you plan your taxes:
Tax season is the one time of year that small business owners dread the most, but pushing thoughts of filing requirements and deadlines to one side, will only make matters worse. Tax planning, if kept up to date throughout the year rather than just during tax season, can help you sail through your returns instead of wading through them, and here are six top tips to help you plan your taxes
You’ve worked hard to create your own business, and you don’t want to see it fail. One way of ensuring that your business remains – or becomes – a success, is by ensuring that you have the tax side of things, under control. Tax time can easily creep up on you, and many small business owners put off their filing until the last minute, meaning that in their haste to meet deadlines, they may end up making costly errors.
April 16th may feel like a joyous occasion for small business owners and an excuse to throw down the tax towel and shake off the tax blues for another year, but this kind of approach can be dangerous, to say the least!
Outsourcing your accounting needs is one surefire way of gaining access to a whole team of qualified and experienced accounting professionals, but what other qualities should a good accountant possess?
Throughout the United States, outsourcing has been a hugely popular and effective way of managing work for many, many years, with companies quickly discovering its cost-effective advantages and productivity gains. When it comes to veterinary practices, however, outsourcing’s many opportunities for increased revenue and efficiency are frequently overlooked, and the practice of outsourcing continues to be a rarity. But if you’re running a busy veterinary practice and are struggling to maintain your accountancy commitments, outsourcing could help you relieve the burden considerably, just as it does in many other industries.
Okay, so small business taxes might not be a subject we want to linger on, but for those of us out there who know that this same subject is going to keep coming around, year in year out, we may as well learn what we can in order to try and simplify the process and ensure that when it is tax time, we have to spend as little time preparing for it, as possible.