The task of managing your accounts is difficult enough if you are doing it for yourself – what more if you have to do it for your business? And managing business accounts is not a joke, as anyone will confirm, especially since you also have to make sure that you are raking in a profit at the same time. Even small business owners who are just starting need to stay on top of their accounts and financial records, and they need all the help they can get. Fortunately, this is where you have the option of hiring an accountant. But how can you really know if your small business needs an accountant? Here’s how you can find out.
- Assess your business and your role in it
The first step in determining whether or not an accountant can really help you with your small business is to assess your business – and this also comes with assessing what your role is in it. For example, are you self-employed? Then your bookkeeping and accounting needs may be relatively simple. If you are operating as a sole trader, your bookkeeping and accounting needs may not be that difficult, either, since you basically just have to keep a record of your incoming and outgoing expenses. But you also have to inform HMRC that you are a sole trader, and this comes with paying your taxes and NI (National Insurance) and making sure you pay them on time. You also have to do a self-assessment on your taxes every year.
But if you are a limited company, you have to file your accounts at the tax office and Companies House, and your accounts should include both a loss and profit account as well as a balance sheet. If you aren’t sure how to come up with these, then an accountant is worth considering as well.
And even if you decide that you can do your accounts on your own, have you considered the time you would be wasting if you had to do it all yourself? It takes a lot of time and effort, which you could very well spend doing other things to grow your business. If you have to prepare your accounts and take note of everything as well as make sure your deadlines are met, you won’t be as efficient, so it is worth thinking about having an accountant do all these things for you.
- Determine your peace of mind
Aside from thinking of the above, you also have to think about your peace of mind, as the expert accountants from www.gsmaccountants.co.uk attest. What is it worth? Even while you think you can take care of your accounting and bookkeeping tasks yourself, do you believe that you could avoid making mistakes and be sure that everything is done properly and correctly? Bear in mind that incorrectly filled forms can cost you in fines and penalties, and if you are late, you will be faced with even more fines and penalties too.
Also, an accountant is not just there to take care of your financial records – they can also help you by giving you advice on what you can do to expand when you’re considering taking out a business loan, when you are audited, and more. Your accountant can even help you save on your expenses and outgoings by coming up with ways through which you can leverage your tax allowances.
At the end of the day, accountants can do a lot for you and your business; they can guide you and give you highly-useful advice, and they can also be your best partner as your business grows.
