When Should a Startup Hire an Accountant?
Establishing a startup is an exciting venture. Some of the world’s best innovations have originated from small grassroots teams with a clear vision and dedication. For all of the drive and ambition your startup might have, though, you need to ensure that your bookkeeping is in order, too. Many great companies have been threatened by a failure to keep accounting in order and manage financial record keeping. As a startup, then, when should you hire a professional accountant? The answer is different for every company, but there are a few important factors to take into account when determining the right time to hire an accountant.
Handle Financial Events Appropriately
As your startup is growing out of its incubation phase and revenue continues growing, the stakes of dealing with accounting will continue getting higher. Handling your own accounting internally may be a manageable task when you’re still seeking clients and building your brand, but at a certain point, investing in a professional becomes a necessity. The following financial events are good moments to consider on-boarding an accountant for your startup:
- Filing a tax return: You will eventually have to file a tax return for your company, and it’s unwise to do so without help from a professional accountant. Even the smallest error on a return can prompt an audit from the IRS, and this is a process you certainly don’t want your new startup to undergo. Trust your company’s tax return to the expertise of an accountant.
- Establishing a business plan: Once you’ve solidified the general brand, product, and services you intend your startup to focus on, you should write a detailed business plan to give your ideas a trajectory. This is a task that an accountant should be involved in, too, so that you are budgeting funds and projecting profits as effectively as possible.
- General advising: Keeping an accountant
on retainer is often helpful for startups and entrepreneurs venturing into the
marketplace for the first time. An accountant can provide general advising and
guidance to help you stay on track fiscally.
Enlist Help From a Professional
Accountant
As a startup, your success is dependent on the ability to sustain your ideas
with solid business practices. Solid business practices demand professional guidance
when dealing with fiscal issues, bookkeeping, and any other concern of
accounting. Equip your startup to be successful by enlisting help from a
professional accounting firm that will help your business grow. Behind every
successful startup is a effective team, and every effective business team needs
an accountant.