So you’ve gotten your killer idea, you’re putting your business plan into action, you’ve bought a domain name, you’ve ticked all the initial boxes when starting a new business, what next? Consider hiring a professional accountant to help you manage your new business. While it may seem like a needless task to start off with, if you are really keen on getting your business up and running and in good time, you need someone with management experience and knowledge of the industry. Accountants have that essential knowledge and will be able to provide professional advice based on your specific business needs.
You might think ‘It’s too early to think about hiring an accountant, I’ve only just gotten myself off the ground!’ however if you want to start rising and continue rising in the ranks of your industry, you need to hit the ground running and be proactive. While you are conducting research on your target audience and creating product lines, you can leave the finances, budget and business plan in the capable hands of your accountant. Having an extra pair of hands can be crucial in the early stages of getting a business up and running.
Read on for more information on why an accountant could be exactly what you need to kick-start your business success story.
Time Management and Reduced Stress
As a business owner and when starting a business, your priority is to continue to generate business and work for yourself alongside completing existing contracts. If most of your time is spent figuring out your finance strategy or taxes and paperwork, business will peter out and potentially stop altogether.
Where an accountant can help with finance and tax work along with other paperwork, this frees up your time so that you can spend it on getting your business more customers. This also helps to reduce stress as less time is taken up with filing reports and filling out paperwork and you can get down to what you know best – selling and providing your service.
Professional Business Advice
An experienced accountant should also be able to provide you with professional business advice and helpful insight into where your next forays into the industry should be. As a business owner, you need to be constantly looking for the next step, the next selling point of your business, but if you are fairly new to the scene, it can be hard to figure out just how to do this.
Your accountant will have specific experience in your chosen field (if you have done your research properly) and will be able to provide advice on the next phase of your business. They also have the experience and know-how to help guide you financially with these phases, ensuring the further success of your new business. Without an accountant, you may just be taking random stabs in the dark with little or no hope of actually progressing anywhere.
Covering your Assets
When your finances are covered in a concise and organised manner, you are less likely to have sudden bills or reports to file. When managing everything yourself, it can be easy to get caught up in the practical part of any business, where you can fall behind in terms of filling out certain forms and paying tax on your products for example. With the assistance of an accountant, nothing is left up to chance. Records will be saved, dates will be highlighted and bills will be paid accordingly.
If you’re creatively minded and a little absent-minded an accountant will work wonders in this aspect of your business. You can spend more time focusing on your craft and the product you supply, knowing that all the paperwork is being taken care of by your accountant.
Managing Employee Pay
When looking at the next phase of operations, if your business starts to grow beyond your own capabilities, you may need to employ some staff. An accountant will be able to manage the pay packets of those staff members, including tax applied, national insurance and any payments you may need to make in terms of pension schemes and whatnot. As a business owner, when you are considering hiring other employees in order to meet new demands, having an accountant to deal with matters such as these is imperative.
You may be thinking that you don’t have the time nor the funds with which you should seek out an accountant, but if you are looking to build a successful business that is in it for the long haul, it is definitely something to consider. Many small, family run businesses use accountants when dealing with employees, stock, taxes and much more as it means they will spend less time sorting out those individual issues and more time on getting more business. Having a professional accountant who will be able to give you financial advice and assistance in a range of matters will help immensely when it comes down to it, and reduce stress on business management on your end.
Article provided by Mike James, an independent content writer working together with UK based chartered accountants Wellden Turnbull, who were consulted over the information in this post.