Accountants, Accounting, Accounting Services
‘It’s 28th today, shit man still a week to go before my salary gets credited!!’
Every working professional has been in this spot. And unarguably, the reason remains the same-’Poor Accounting’. Well, if you are wondering what has accounting to do with this then you are still in your learning stages. However, you may have witnessed either your mom or dad noting down all the monthly expenses and preparing a budget accordingly. Yes, this is also an accounting practice.
Accounting isn’t just a profession, it is a trait that every individual needs to inherit. Without proper accounting of your financials, you will always keep wondering, ‘Where exactly does all my money go?’
The same goes for businesses as well. Every business, irrespective of its size, needs efficient accounting practices to make sure they aren’t lagging behind their competitors and always wondering about managing their finances. This is where the need of certified Accountants and Accounting firms arises since, “An Accountant is someone who knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” However, hiring an Accountant isn’t as easy as it sounds. You have to take various factors into account.
So, if you are searching for an Accountant, here are a few tips that can be of help to you.
Identify your Accounting Needs
The first and most vital step when hiring an accountant is to make a note of your accounting needs. Accounting isn’t just one task, it is a collection of various processes and each process needs experience and expertise. Here are a few Accounting tasks to take into consideration before you hire an Accountant:
- Business advisory services
- Accounting and Bookkeeping
- Tax advice
- Auditing
- Financial analyst
It would be wise if you know what Accounting services are you exactly looking for instead of jumping straight in.
Post a job with the relevant keywords
In today’s digital world, keywords play a vital role both for the searcher as well as the publisher. Therefore, once you know exactly what you want, then comes the task of posting the job that includes the right keywords so that it can be found easily by the searcher. Use terms like Accounting, Bookkeeping, Bookkeeper, Accountant, Auditor, etc to increase its reach.
When posting an Accountant requirement job, make sure you mention your requirements and budget correctly since it all comes down to these 2 factors.
Leverage the power of Social Media
While you can advertise the job vacancy on various job portals, it is not necessary that you will get a response. In such cases, leveraging the potential of social media can come in handy. LinkedIN which is a social network is considered to be the largest platform where professionals from all around the world connect and share their experiences. It is also one of the best places to market your business as well as look for potential Accountants, when hiring.
It can help you build a professional network and/or find relevant referrals from other industry experts.
Conduct proper research
Accounting is a very crucial business process and you simply cannot handle all your financial data to someone just based on their online portfolio. Vetting candidates/ accounting firms before you make a decision is very important especially when in this digital era it isn’t hard enough to build a fake online reputation. Verify their work experience and qualifications that showcases their accounting skills.
Look for qualifications like CPA certification, their work experience with various accounting software, etc. Aso, go through online reviews and look for their genuinity before you move forward.
Shortlist according to your budget and requirements
Once you are through with the above processes, it comes down to shortlisting the best candidates according to your budget and accounting needs. While you may be looking for bookkeeping roles, an auditor may not be the perfect fit for the role. Therefore, before you invest time and money into hiring an accountant, make sure that they fall in the right category and fulfill your accounting needs.
Also Read – Common Accounting Challenges Faced by Accountants and How to Overcome?
Conduct an interview
Now since you have your best candidate shortlisted on paper, it’s time to conduct an interview and see if everything is for real. Try to focus on the overall personality of the accountant like his analytical and mathematical skills, attention to detail, working style, business acumen. After all, she is going to be handling your finances that will eventually reflect as your business growth.
Onboarding
The final onboarding stage concludes the hiring process. Make sure the new Accountant(firm) is welcomed and has all that they need to get started. Ensure that they are well-aware of your requirements, goals and objectives and are on the same page at the end of the day.
Conclusion:
Hiring the right Accountant is very important after all you are going to hand over all your finances to the man. Follow the above steps and make sure you have employed the best man.
Accountants, Accounting, Accounting Services, Tax
Preparing and filing taxes can be a real hustle to deal with. Not everyone enjoys preparing their taxes. But one can’t run away from the responsibilities of filing taxes. Every year the tax season arrives and with it comes the complexities of keeping up with the compliance’s along with the workload of handling lots and lots of paperwork.
However, even after knowing that tax preparation isn’t an easy task, many small business owners and self-employed individuals prefer doing it all on their own. And why exactly? Only to save a few bucks. But what they don’t realise is that the value of their time is no less than the value of their money. They spent their valuable time preparing for tax filing. And the sooner they realise this the better. Instead of doing all the hustle and bustle by self, hiring an accountant can be a wise choice. After all, is it always wise to hand over the task to a professional or to make it more relevant, hire someone who does this for a living?
But is there a right time to hire an Accountant to do your taxes?
A question that usually comes up is “When Should You Hire an Accountant to Do Your Taxes?”
Well, let’s find out.
Hiring an Accountant to Do Your Taxes
Paying taxes on-time is every citizen’s responsibility. However, getting tax ready isn’t an easy nut to crack especially if you run a business or are earning more than $500,000 per year. In such cases, it is always wise to hire an accountant who does tax preparation for living. This way you can avoid the penalty of the IRS as well as save your precious hours to invest in your domain.
You’ve recently received an inheritance
There may be cases when you might get your hands on an inheritance. But it can add to your tax filing complexities. Owning an inheritance means you can owe estate tax, inheritance tax or capital gains tax. While you are dealing with the tax complexities of your new inheritance, considering to hire a professional accountant can ease your task. It would be a wise option to let the professional do his/her job.
Also Read About – What is Accounts Payable?
The IRS has contacted you recently:
Be it an individual taxpayer or a business owner filing taxes on behalf of his company, the IRS has the right to contact you in case they find any discrepancies or any other fraudulent activities in your filing. And with little or zero knowledge of the subject matter, such situations can put you in a tough spot. This is another situation where hiring an Accountant can be your best option. An accountant is well aware of the government policies and how they can help you to minimize the penalty in case of under- or over payment.
Planning for your retirement
Hiring personal Accountants can be a great idea to invest in if you are planning for your retirement. These professionals can be any of the following:
- Enrolled Agents (EAs),
- Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) and
- Attorneys
- Registered Tax Return Preparers (RTRPs)
Figure out what your needs are and you want to invest and decide for yourself what’s best for your business. Each of the above highly-skilled professionals can offer you a wide variety of services and solve your various planning and tax return issues..
Consult for Accounting Services for Small Business
Business Advisory:
Over time, the job of an Accountant has always been important to businesses and has evolved into various branches. One such branch is where skilled Accountants can take over business advisory roles for you and help manage your finances with expertise. They can also offer valuable insights on your current financial position and help plan for the future accordingly.
Conclusion:
Accountants affect our everyday lives each day. Millions of jobs depend on an Accountant’s honesty, integrity and professionalism. Therefore, hiring one in times of need is a wise choice and can save you hours of trouble as well as help you deal with the complexities that arise when filing a tax return.
Accountants, Accounting, Accounting Services, Bookkeeping, Bookkeeping Services, Real Estate Accounting, Small Business
The ‘Bottom Line’, ‘Numbers’, ‘Sales’ are some entities that are self-explanatory in any business. Especially when it comes to real estate, the number of properties sold successfully and an impressive sales record are enough to reflect the business. But, all of this is true if their is uncompromising accuracy, vigilance and standardisation in the numbers presented and their credibility. Which is where experienced accounting comes in the picture. Showing a promising real estate practice on the basis of inaccurate books can be a bane for your business and can tarnish your image in the industry as well as with your clients.
In this blog, we will talk about the common real estate accounting mistakes that your business needs to avoid in order to get through the tax season seamlessly. If you are cautious to dodge these commonly encountered errors, then not only will your books be accurate, they will also be dependable and actionable.
Mistake No 1: Realigning Funds Before the Transaction is Complete
This is a very common business error, if we may say with property and real estate accounting. The entrepreneurs are seen to be disbursing the funds before the deal is closed. This not only is a malpractice, but at the time of doing the books, is an additional wastage of time for your bookkeeper, as they need to go back and check the completion and the authentication of each transaction that you have made. In accounting terms, a transaction is considered revenue and can thus be acted upon only when the chain is complete, in real estate terms, it is when the keys are finally exchanged.
It is important for real estate entrepreneurs to keep this in mind at all times while confirming a transaction to be a revenue or before its disbursement. So that, your Accounts Payable are accurately aligned with your Accounts Receivable.
Other Blog – IRS Tax Relaxation Deadlines for Covid-19 (With State Regulations)
Mistake No. 2: Tracking Commissions Additionally From an Accounting Software
When your brokerage is tracking commission additionally and alternatively from the main accounting software that you are using, then you are backing up on age-old data entry to pay those commissions. Honestly speaking, this redundant data entry puts you at a greater risk, with your books being rampaged with human error and threats.
Ideally, using accounting software or any accounting technology is a matter to make things simpler and more convenient. Therefore, you need to have a commission management system in place that can seamlessly integrate with your accounting system and help make things more convenient for you.
Mistake No. 3: Insufficient Training of the Accounting Software
If you have an in-house or a local accountant, who you are presuming will be on track with the technological developments and has a proficiency in the accounting software of your choice, then you might be going far-fetched. The idea is that you need to have someone who is an expert and a thorough professional when it comes with dealing with your accounting tools so that bookkeeping is an easier and more convenient feat. If you take it into consideration, having someone who is not-well versed and trained in these tools, will not be able to optimize the efficiency of the same and might make errors. Therefore, it is essential to have someone who is trained and has a smooth knowledge of state-of-the-art accounting tools and technology, especially the ones preferred for use by your business.
Mistake No. 4: Not Taking Backups
This is a mistake that cannot be stressed-on enough. If you are an entrepreneur, then you need to know gone are the days, when people had stacks of paperwork in physical form, that they could go back to and tally whenever needed. This was not only time consuming, but took a lot of space and was adept with errors on all levels. With the coming in of the right accounting technology, you need to save time, effort and error. Taking backups of your data is ever-important so that you have securely kept all your essential financials readily available whenever needed. Real estate businesses are generally seen to lack in this imperative feat.
Real Estate is an exhaustive and a challenging field. You need to constantly be at your alert-best and on your toes. But the accounting part of it, need not be that dreadful if done the right way. Being on the right road of accuracy, having a dependable team that backs your efforts and avoiding these common accounting mistakes can help you keep up with your books and also get through the year-end stress-free. We hope this blog will help you highlight some common errors, and avoid them in your future accounting journey.
