Whether you’re a small business owner or a CFO of a large corporate company, somewhere along the line you would have had to come face to face with managing money.
Not everyone is an expert in managing their finances, and if you’re an entrepreneur it can be tricky to understand the many financial buzzwords that get thrown around.
Understandably, small owners often choose to manage their finances themselves in a bid to save on their limited budgets, however, there are many benefits to hiring a chartered professional which can help make a positive change to your business.
Read on to find out how a hiring a chartered accountant can benefit your business:
How can a chartered accountant help your business?
Firstly, accountants are great with numbers. This means that they are able to help guide you through any financial queries you might have. So whether it’s tax, bookkeeping, paying for overheads, changes in the law or outstanding invoices you’re stuck on – your chartered accountant can help. They will have gone through all of the necessary training to provide you with accurate information on how best to proceed financially.
Time-saving
Running a business can be stressful and it can, therefore, be difficult to find the time to sit down to work out the numbers. With a chartered accountant, the weight is taken off your shoulders, so you can focus on the managing side of things, saving you hours you might have spent number crunching.
Investing in the help of an experienced chartered accountant also means that you have peace of mind that all of the finances are being calculated accurately. Without experience in dealing with finances, it can be risky to assume that all of your numbers have been calculated accurately- which could be costly if you make a mistake.
Chartered Certified Accountants are highly qualified to accurately deal with business finances and keep them right on track.
Financial advice
For small businesses, financial advice can be crucial to improving cash flow. If your business is making unnecessary expenditures, a chartered accountant is able to review your finances and expertly decide on how best your business money can be spent and saved.
Likewise, if you’re having trouble figuring out why you’re making money but not seeing a rise in profits, you can seek expert advice on the reason this might be.
Tactics such as monitoring the latest trends, trying out different marketing techniques and saving on overheads are suggestions that accountants might make which may help improve your financial status in the long term.
Bookkeeping Services
Bookkeeping is a lengthy process involving a review of all of your business transactions. They can help you keep track of your business finances and to spot any issues in your cash flow. This means you can make better decisions based on figures from the year to get your business back on track. A chartered accountant is able to help you with this process in an organised and efficient manner.
Business Growth
If you’re thinking about expanding your business, Chartered Certified Accountants can make sure that your business is compliant with the tax, sales and income requirements. This is especially useful if you’re expanding to another country, or are a small business looking to take on bigger markets. Whether your business growth means expanding to different countries or simply increasing your workforce, accountants have a breadth of knowledge and can help guide you through a situation, as well as balancing the books.
Payroll Services
If your business has grown quickly and you’ve taken on more staff recently, it’s important to stay on top of payroll processes to ensure that your team get paid on time, using the correct tax codes and national insurance contributions.
Again, this is a timely process if you’re doing it yourself- but with the help of a chartered accountant, you can rest assured that salaries are calculated correctly, allowing you to pay your staff in an efficient and timely manner.
Chartered Tax Advice
Dealing with tax outgoings is inevitable for any business. A tax accountant can guide you through the best way to calculate your business’ tax bills and provide you with a highly professional tax return service to help you stay on top of your contributions.
Chartered tax advisors are also there to figure out if there are any ways you can legally save on your tax bills. From staying up to date with the latest developments to monitoring tax incentives, your tax advisor can keep you in the loop to ensure your business is saving where it can to create maximum profits.
Raising Capital
If you’re seeking an investor, applying for a loan or selling shares in your business, your financial forecasting can be crucial in your application. Avoid missing any important aspects of your proposal by hiring a chartered accountant to accurately assess your financial history and what you’ll need to borrow.
Likewise, if you already have an investor, you might need to produce regular financial reports to share with participating individuals.
How to choose a chartered accountant
For small businesses, hiring an accountant can be an important decision. If you’re an entrepreneur and business is picking up quickly, having spare time to figure out finances becomes a luxury. Employing a highly qualified, professional accountant is key to save you time and work out the best way to grow your business. Here are a few things to consider when choosing a chartered accountant for your business:
What experience do they have?
Chartered Certified Accountants go through a significant amount of education and exams to get fully qualified to ensure they meet the standards required for them to work with businesses.
An accountant with a stand out background and knowledge in your business’ field is advantageous, but certainly beneficial if you can find it.
The bottom line is that you’ll probably want an accountant that can walk you through your business finances, organise payroll and taxes and help you decide on your next best financial move.
What can they do for your business?
It’s a good idea to make sure that the accountant you hire is suitable for your specific business. If you have a clear strategy of where you see your business going, such as plans to expand or grow, voice this to your potential accountant. This way, you’ll both be on the same page from day one. If they have worked with similar clients in your field of business, they’ll have experience in how to best work with your kind of business, so it’s worth asking what they can do for you and how they have worked with similar businesses in the past.
Do they offer the services you’re looking for?
Say you’re a sole trader, looking to expand your company and take on some employees. Does the accountant offer financial advice for your small business? Some accountancy firms will be more specialised in larger, corporate companies. It’s always best to check if they’re able to accommodate your needs; guiding you through the process and offering personalised advice.
Barron & Co Ltd: Chartered Certified Accountants and registered auditors in Birmingham
Take the headache out of your business accounting by hiring an experienced chartered accountant from Barron & Co in Birmingham. We offer a number of services from bookkeeping and payroll to taxation services for anything from sole traders to small and large businesses. No matter what your size of business, we can help you to effectively run your financial resources. Get in touch with our friendly and professional team in Birmingham today to see what we can do for your business.