How To Find the Right Tax Accountant

As a small business owner, you have unique accounting needs. You will want to work with an accountant who understands your specific requirements. Narrow your search down to a few accountants and interview each. It’s crucial to meet your accountant face-to-face before hiring.

It goes without saying that an accountant with more experience will, other things being equal, be better than someone with less. While they will likely have a team behind them, they are much more involved in managing your accounts and can provide you with more in-depth and nuanced support and guidance. Here you get a specific individual that knows your business inside and out and is someone that you build a relationship with over the course of months and years. However, he or she is likely handling communication with hundreds of accounts and has a team behind him/her doing the accounting, so there are some limitations.

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His fee includes tax preparation and the ability to contact him any time with questions. There are several professional organizations in the accounting industry that provide directories of qualified accountants. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has a directory of CPAs you can search by speciality and other criteria.

how to find an accountant for small business & Company Advisors, LLC and its subsidiary entities, which are not licensed CPA firms, provide tax, advisory, and other nonattest services to its clients. The entities falling under the Opsahl Dawson brand are independently owned and are not liable for the services provided by any other entity providing the services under the Opsahl Dawson Brand. Online review websites should not be your primary source of information, but they can contribute to your search for a good accountant. Keep in mind that online reviews can be posted by anyone, so it’s possible that some of the information you see is inaccurate. However, many reviews are written by honest clients sharing their experience. Check out Angie’s List or Yelp to discover accountants in your local area.

Questions to Ask a CPA

Keeping in mind the priorities you set at the start, use the information you’ve collected to create a shortlist of three to four options. Ideally your dedicated point of contact will be your actual accountant as opposed to just a liaison, but this is generally only the case at smaller firms. If you have time-critical requirements, you should look for a firm with extended availability, which is generally one of the larger firms. The last factor is much more likely to happen if you’re buying a fixed-fee package.

With information this sensitive and essential, you want to be confident in your decision. Ask around for recommendations for accountants who work with companies in your area. This is a chance to use your connections from community organizations like Rotary clubs or the Chamber of Commerce. You may even be able to find a worthwhile referral for a new accountant through your bank, realtor, or loan officer. Small business accounting mirrors this definition, but usually pays special attention to even the smallest details, since for most small businesses, every dollar counts and needs to be noted. Tracking the money that flows in and out of your small business is an essential piece to ensuring that you not only stay afloat, but also continue to grow successfully.

How does the legal structure of my business affect me at tax time?

Does your accountant use particular accounting software that you can both access in some way? Ask if they have a client portal that can be linked to your financial records, making it simple for your accountant to give and receive information. If you run a small business, have a tricky tax year, are a new investor or just want to talk with a person face to face, working with a tax preparer or another tax professional may be worth it. Many people don’t, even though tax advisors have access to information about your most personal details, including your bank accounts, your marriage, your kids — and your Social Security number. You should hire an accountant when the tracking, analysis and reporting of all the financial information related to your business are too complicated or overwhelming for you.

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Locate that site and look for a link that either leads you to find qualified candidates or the Contact Us page to ask for recommendations. Similar assistance is required in countries outside of the U.S., so be sure to choose the correct tax person, the one recognized and qualified according to your country’s laws. Thankfully, I asked someone and uncovered an expert who fixed the tax problem and took accounting woes out of my hands. Looking back, even though the IRS was a bother, the situation ended my search for a great accountant. There never is one perfect person to become your Startup CPA. That said, it is essential to follow a criteria checklist to find a CPA that matches you and your business goals.

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I believe Canadians that form an LLC in the U.S. face a form of “double taxation” in that you have to file with the CRA and the Internal Revenue Service . Do a Google search for “business accountant + CITY, STATE” and browse websites very quickly (1-2 minutes each) and then enter the contact information of 7 accountants in your document. The reason we say fast here is because you want to be using your gut/intuition on your initial decisions. You’ll be able to make a better judge of character over the phone. After you make a choice, spell out the terms of the agreement in an engagement letter. The document should detail the returns and statements to be prepared and the fees to be charged.