A staggering eighty percent of businesses fail within the first 18 months. One of the main reasons is poor financial management and planning. Too many fledgling businesses leave it too late to get their cash flow in hand. Many of them would have had more chance of surviving if they had had the foresight to hire an accountant.
A good accountant should pay for themselves in the tax and regulatory savings they make for you and your business. But they do a lot more than simple tax filing. Your accountant needs a comprehensive overview of your business and future plans. They will complete a thorough assessment and create a forecast for the coming year. This won’t just give you access to vital information but it will help keep your business healthy and most importantly profitable.
Here are just a few reasons why you should get an accountant for your business.
1. Ensure You Get All Deductions
Ensuring you maximise all allowable expenses is paramount, especially right now when funds are thin on the ground. “Regardless of the state of the economy, ensuring that you deduct a fair and reasonable proportion of expenses is important and that’s exactly where an accountant can help you,” according to Durham Professional Accountancy services.
A professional accountant can support you by advising on the potential deductions you can make throughout the year, while also helping you to make more strategic plans to ensure maximum year-end deductions. With the help of an experienced accountant, you can escape the last-minute scramble to find deductions and other out-of-pocket expenses which will inevitably see you leaving money on the table.
2. Help You Avoid An Audit
HMRC audit a proportion of businesses each year. Many of those are randomly selected, but some are flagged due to discrepancies in their forms or returns. Your accountant will ensure that your records are in tip-top order and so help you to avoid being audited due to discrepancies. With a professional accountant offering you the right guidance and help, you can reduce your chance of having to endure an audit. Say goodbye to too many mistakes on your tax forms, being ‘too charitable’ and excessive write-offs that could see you being highlighted and instead see your accountant as your partner who keeps you on the right track throughout the year.
3. Save A Lot Of Time & Hassle
A lot of people make the assumption that hiring an accountant will cost too much money. That needs to be balanced against the amount of time you’ll spend trying to do your own taxes that you could be spending actually earning money. On top of that are the savings a good accountant should deliver by ensuring you get all of your necessary deductibles included and more. And don’t forget the cost of stress, worry and procrastination.
4. Make Better Decisions
Without the experience and knowledge, it can be increasingly difficult to make accurate forecasts, and calculate potential consequences and the implications of bigger business-related purchases. It can also be much harder to see the financial gain, if any, of hiring certain employees. Having an accountant as a financial advisor will assist with budgeting, monitoring cash flow and even allow you to navigate unforeseen hurdles that may arise.
5. Make Better Plans
Not only will an accountant help you make better real-time decisions but they’ll help you make better decisions for your future too, thanks to more accurate forecasts for the year ahead. You’ll be able to monitor your business better taking a collaborative approach. Pull reports from the past and make more accurate seasonal reports, examine the peaks and troughs of an average year and better prepare yourself for the forthcoming years.
Thanks to Salient Accounting & Finance for preparing this article. For professional accountancy services, call them on 01268 833 828.