My wife and I recently got our two month old Cairn Terrier puppy, Stella, from a breeder near where she grew up in the Catskill Mountains. The purchase happened to coincidence right as this year’s tax season bonanza was starting in early February. What I didn’t know was that I was in for a crazy adventure this year! For those who don’t know, Cairn Terriers are great dogs and have many great qualities, however they are stubborn and aren’t easy to train.
I’ll tell you, trying to run a business while training Stella was a lot to handle and I probably could’ve used a skilled trainer to help me through the tough times. This leads me to the mailbag question of the week. This one isn’t from one client or reader but from years of hearing the same thing over and over again:
Question: Why should I hire an experienced accountant when I can do it myself or hire someone cheaper?
I know what you’re probably thinking – here we go again, another advertisement for someone’s business. Well, that’s not my goal here. Most business owners view accountants as a necessary evil and just want their books and taxes done at the end of the year. What a huge mistake – it’s like driving a race car blind 365 days per year.
Look, you went into business doing what you know best and for most people it isn’t accounting or taxes. Trying to do something you have no experience in causes headaches and takes precious time away from growing your business. Let’s say you already realize this and decide to hire the cheapest accountant in the market. In most cases you get what you pay for – you end up with books that are a mess. If your books aren’t correct, how do you make sound business decisions to grow your company? How can you even begin to plan out your quarterly tax estimates or plan out tax strategies for larger transactions? Where do you even begin to draw up a budget or forecast out your income? On top of all these issues, you will end up spending more money to clean up your books just to have your taxes done.
By having an experienced accountant on your side (specifically a CPA), you will have comfort that your financials are accurate and have sound strategies in place to minimize your tax liability before April arrives. Not to mention that you will now have timely financial data and analysis that will aide in decision making.
If you are still “driving blind” you should be re-think things and find an accountant, regardless if it’s The Quantify Group or another person/firm. If you would like to discuss this in more detail feel free to contact me directly.
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