Getting The Most Out Of Your Accountant

Gone are the days where an accountant is there just to do the taxes and fulfil compliance. Many entrepreneurs are turning to qualified small business accountants to help scale and grow their businesses, meaning they are part of the family, not just an added expense.

By finding an accountant that can be a sounding board and advisor, a small business can gain insights and feedback in order to see what’s working or what’s not, and to be on a path of success right from the word go. Accountants can provide analysis, project forecasts and give strategic advice as much as you need them to – and it’s in their interest to see your business succeed.

The younger generation of entrepreneurs, looking at the tech-savvy Gen Y and Gen X business owners, are interacting more with their accountants than ever before and including them in big decisions and gaining substantial advice before taking steps. With the use of online software and mobile apps, accounting is a whole lot easier for all involved and includes everyone in the bigger picture of a business’s success.

Here are 5 ways to get the most out of your accountant:

Lean into your accountant

By working with your accountant, you can allow them to project what is working, how you could undercut competitors or how low / high you can go in a bid. They can have the information at their fingertips if you allow them to dig deeper and play a bigger role in your business. Have certain products that you want to push, services that you want to grow? Ask your accountant to plan out a strategy on how you can financially make that viable.

Your accountant can help you see the bottom line. Rather than you as the business owner who spends all your time in the business, an accountant is a step away and can see it from a different perspective. Lean into their expertise and industry knowledge to gain a helpful and insightful accounting journey.

Lean into the cloud

With Making Tax Digital now live, accounting should be so much easier to manage between two parties. Using cloud software enables both parties to see the bigger picture. When a transaction is processed, when the books are kept, when receipts are stored, both accountant and business owner can see what is happening. Leaning on cloud software rather than hard copy paperwork makes business life much quicker, efficient and effective.

Your accountant will understand the strength of your business and be a central part of the process, always there to help you develop and grow financially. Gone are the days where bookkeeping is managed on an hourly rate, now it can be hands on and kept up to date at any time, from anywhere.

Lean into their expertise

You’ve hired your accountant to look after your financials, now allow them to advise and trust in what they have to say. Your relationship with them is important, just as you would employ a colleague or business partner, they are fundamental to the success of your business – trust their judgement.

Everyone has a part to play in a business and your strengths will probably be completely different from your accountant’s but that is ok, the two can work together rather than against each other. Learn from their expertise, use their knowledge to build your business and ask them for financial advice when you hit a hurdle – that’s what they are there for and with a healthy business relationship, they are happy to help where they can.

Lean into the proof

As an outside pair of eyes, an accountant can see from the top line what is happening within a business. You may be too close to the business to see trends or pitfalls, even as much as we don’t like to doubt fellow colleagues, fraud can happen too. Your accountant can be the eyes of your business when it comes to laying out the proof of your financial situation. Forensic accounting can be a good practise for a business to go through if you suspect or have doubts about anything. Your accountant will have the expertise to analyse and show you unbiased proof of their findings, meaning that you can step away to allow the process to happen in order to find results to questions.

Lean into your business

At the end of the day, you want your business to be successful. You’ve put effort and hard work into building a business that you believe in and want to see grow and be profitable. When you take your own strengths and characteristics to do what you do best, you can gain the best results. While you focus on those strengths and growing your business, your accountant is there in the background keeping it running smoothly. Learn to delegate and realise that you need a team around you to be sustainable. Your accountant is on your side, there to help in anyway they can to make your journey a success.

Here at Kara Accountants, we understand the pressures on small business owners and want to help you in your business venture. We offer a range of accounting services to suit your needs and are a friendly, responsive and trustworthy team where the door is always open. Feel free to get in touch for a no obligation initial chat about your accounting requirements.