Starting a business means no longer having a fixed salary or a 9-to-5 work routine; you now have to pay yourself your salary and work more than 9–10 hours. Managing marketing, sales, clients, transactions, operative work, deliveries, and finances all on your own can be overwhelming. It can be advantageous if you’re multi-skilled and know your craft. However, a report by the Harvard Business Review reveals that no one can effectively multitask indefinitely; doing so often results in decreased efficiency and productivity. If you stick with the “one-man army” motto in the business, then you are doomed. However, if you manage your time constructively by incorporating time management into your system and delegating work to top-skilled professionals, that is when you climb the success ladder. Even if you are handling 70% of your business operations, you can’t possibly manage finances and client accounts, file taxes, and analyze monetary numbers all at the same time with accuracy.
Managing your books or bookkeeping requires extensive knowledge, industry experience, and awareness of every minute detail relevant to federal or state tax regulations, ensuring compliance with the authorities. That’s the essence of accounting, which can be handled effectively only by a seasoned accountant or a Tulsa small business bookkeeping firm.
Why Do You Need to Hire an Accountant as a Small Business Owner?
- Not Able to Focus on Your Business: The most important aspects of business are sales and backend work; these are the lifeblood of any organization that keeps it running and thriving. Focusing your time on recording every transaction will consume your daily hours, which should be prioritized for crucial tasks. It will stagnate your growth, confuse you, and entangle you in complex numbers, preventing you from steering your business effectively. In today’s competitive world, even in your industry market, your competitors are waiting for you to falter, and you could be sidelined in seconds. Managing everything on your own is challenging. That’s where an accountant comes in; by delegating your financial work to them, you can ensure that you focus on the core aspects of your company.
- You Are Not Able to Meet Deadlines: Filing taxes, credit returns, employee payroll, annual financial reporting, bank statements, and cash flow statements—if you are delaying or unable to manage these tasks accurately, it’s a clear sign you need an accountant. Without an account that can overlook your crucial numbers, it will be hard to determine your financial worth. Debts may be neglected, and negative budget-to-actual ratios might arise, leaving you unsure how to address them.
- Internal Revenue Service Can Audit You Anytime: The IRS can audit your organization, and you may not be prepared for such an event, which could negatively impact your business. An accountant will maintain timely records of accounts, transactions, ledgers, cash flow statements, and other financial aspects of your business in an orderly manner. Accountants have imperative software that keeps hold of necessary documents while encouraging clients to maintain hard copies.
- You Are Struggling Financially: If you have started your business but don’t understand the break-even point (the stage where your income grows enough to cover your expenses), managing accounts, cash flow, and transaction records, and how effectively it creates a safety net for your organization. It can make things go downhill. An accountant does more than just handle accounts, taxes, and returns—they assess your equity, assets, and liabilities. They help you better understand your financial worth by providing a clear picture of your finances. By having an accountant on your side, you can pinpoint the source of the leak and stop losses. It will ultimately help in growing your business.