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Why Your Startup Needs an Accountant from Day One

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Michael Deane
Why Your Startup Needs an Accountant from Day One

If you are just starting out as an entrepreneur, you most likely have a lot of questions about everything. Among other things, you may be wondering whether you should do your own finances for the time being and hire an accountant later.

You would be surprised how many startups have failed because the owner didn’t know how to handle their finances properly and they didn’t ask for help.

Your company will fall by the wayside if you’re not making effective financial decisions. And you won’t become great at crunching numbers overnight. Because of this, you need a competent financial advisor by your side from day one.

What Does an Early-Stage Accountant Do?

From the early stages, until your company reaches full maturity, an accountant can help you out with a wide variety of services.

Starting up:

  • Financial planning
  • Expense tracking
  • Policies and procedures
  • System implementations
  • Incorporation filings
  • Business licenses

Up and running:

  • Fixed assets tracking
  • Financial reports
  • Tax preparation
  • Accounts payable/accounts receivable
  • Payroll
  • Contracts administration
  • GAAP financial statements
  • Revenue accounting
  • Month-end accounting

Growing your business:

  • Budget creation
  • Financial forecasting
  • Audit support and preparation
  • Cash flow analysis
  • Pricing

Getting the Business Off the Ground

From the moment you decide to launch a startup, an accountant can be of great help. For instance, they can help you determine the best business structure for your startup, such as corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or LLC (limited liability company).

An accountant can help you figure out how to fill out your Articles of Organization or Articles of Incorporation. This is something you’ll do only once, so spending a lot of time learning how to do it by yourself doesn’t seem sensible.

You may think that hiring an accountant or outsourcing your accounting is overkill because you’ll be the sole employee of your startup, or because you’ll just be working with a small remote team.

But even moving a business online and setting up a home office are some steps an accountant can greatly help you with. They know what tax breaks you can get and what you need to pay attention to so that you will avoid unnecessary audits.

In the early stages of your startup, an accountant can help you determine your startup budget and how much working capital you need. An experienced accountant is someone who has seen companies fail and succeed. They should know what typically works and what doesn’t.

Your accountant will also help you establish collection and billing procedures. Alternatively, you can Google it and hope that you will get it right the first time.

Focus on Your Business

New startups are all about momentum. So that your startup will move forward at this critical stage, you need to focus on the things you do best. You shouldn’t let things like filling out paperwork zap you out of your momentum.

You can focus on your core businesses when you have a reliable expert who can take care of the day-to-day finances, legislative responsibilities, burden of compliance, and budget management.

With an experienced accountant on your team, you will be able to devote much more time to sales and marketing, building your products or services, developing relationships, and creating partnerships.

Prepare Accounting Information

An accountant can help you raise equity funds or obtain business credit in addition to managing your business accounts. They can help persuade investors by preparing detailed information and high-quality financial reports.

You will have a hard time securing the necessary funds for growth if you can’t prove to prospective investors that your startup works on paper. It’s the accountant’s job to ensure the quality of the financial information.

So that you will be able to make informed decisions, your accountant will make sure that you have a solid understanding of your financial position.

Easing the Burden of Tax Season

Tax preparation is a whole different animal compared to business account management. On top of preparing state and federal income tax returns, your accountant will help you handle taxes that are specific to your industry.

For instance, if you are running an e-commerce store, or if you are in the construction business, taxes can be very complicated. You will need a professional financial advisor from day 1 if you want to avoid tax problems.

Your accountant will make quarterly estimated tax payments against income from interest, dividends, self-employment, as well as business revenue. You won’t have to be the one making all of these mind-boggling calculations.

Helping Your Business Grow

Determining when’s the best time to expand can easily turn into a guessing game. You can go with your gut, but the risk will be higher. Will you be able to stretch your finances without harming your startup? If you want to make a wise choice, tap into the experience and business acumen of a tried and tested accountant.

Takeaway

Poor financial planning is one of the main reasons why startups fail. Whether you opt for an in-house accountant or you decide to outsource your accounting, it’s an expense, for sure. But you will gain an invaluable ally for your startup—an ally that will not only ensure its survival, but that will help it grow.

When it comes to finances, a good accountant will bring you peace of mind and allow you to focus on what’s most important—doing what you love the most.

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Michael Deane
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