Four Ways You Can Work Together With Your Accountant

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Collaborating with Your Accountant

Believe it or not, being an accountant is not an easy task. In fact, it can easily be one of the most stressful jobs in the professional world. Many times the job of an accountant is stressful simply because no one else in the office can seem to understand what they do on a daily basis. Whether you understand the role of your accountant or not, here are four ways you can work with your accountant to enhance the overall experience in your office:

Have an Open Door Policy

Because being an accountant can be very stressful, so make sure you always have an open door policy. Having an open door policy will give you the opportunity to not only share your goals on a consistent basis with your accountant, but will give your accountant the opportunity to express his or her concerns.

Avoid Last Minute Deadlines

Accountants typically have a large number of deadlines to work with, and adding more deadlines to their plate is not only unhealthy for their work life balance, it’s unhealthy for your business because you don’t want to have an overwhelmed employee.

Be Transparent

Is your business suffering? Will you soon be forced to downsize? Be transparent with your CPA about all financial concerns, the more transparent you are the more they are better fit to assist you with your needs.

Be Grateful

Every employee desires to be appreciated, and if anything, your accountant needs to always know just how grateful you are for their services. Accountants literally go above and beyond to ensure the success of your business and gratitude can really go along way.

What ways have you found that help you better work with your accountant as your business grows? Leave your comments below.

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How to Know When It’s Time to Hire a New CPA

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When to Hire a New CPA

When hiring new employees, you must first recognize that not all CPAs are meant to work with you and your team. While letting go of one employee in order to hire another can be a strenuous task, there are several signs you can look for to get a sense of when it’s time to hire a new CPA.

Here are three of these signs:

Communication Slows or Stops

One of the clear warning signs that it’s time to hire a new CPA is when your communication begins to fade or vanishes completely. As a business owner, it’s important that you and your CPA have a constant line of communication, and if the communication be unclear, there is no way that the two of you will be able to achieve your professional goals.

Funds Become Misplaced

While this may seem like a no brainer, even when you have a CPA it’s important for you to continue to keep your eyes on your funds. If you begin to notice that your funds are being misplaced, it may not necessarily be a sign that your accountant is stealing, but it may be an indication that he or she is no longer paying attention to details.

Financial Growth Plateaus

A good CPA knows what it takes in order to become financially responsible, and if your CPA is not helping your business grow, what purpose are they serving your business?

Letting go of an employee is never fun, but recognizing these warning signs early can save you from making terrible decisions later on as these signs relate to your CPA’s services to your business.

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Four Questions to Ask When Hiring a Tax Preparer

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Questions for Your Prospective CPA

Many people contact CPA firms with the hope that the CPA firm can automatically know exactly how to help them. While most CPAs are well equipped to handle tax preparation, it should not be assumed that all CPAs will know exactly how to service your specific needs right away. In fact, the more questions you ask, the more you can learn about how a prospective CPA will be able to handle your particular situation.

Here are just a few questions you should ask before hiring a tax preparer.

Do you have preparer tax ID number?

This should literally be the first question you ask. Anyone who prepares tax returns for money must have a valid PTIN. If they don’t have their PTIN, run away as fast as you can, because you may be dealing with a fraud.

What is your tax background?

For some people, this question would appear to be a tad intrusive, but asking for a company’s tax background is important. Just because one is a CPA doesn’t always mean they are qualified to handle you and your business needs.

Have you ever prepared a tax return for another business?

Just because a CPA has prepared a tax return before doesn’t mean they’ve prepared one for a business. Make sure you ask, and if possible ask for information so you can substantiate whatever response they give. You should also try to obtain references for whichever CPA you’d like to work with.

Do you know the state requirements which pertain to me?

This is another important question to ask because you want to make sure that the CPA knows the tax laws in your city/state. Not knowing your state laws could be a costly mistake that you never knew you signed up for.

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Why Your Small Business Needs a CPA

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Benefits of Hiring a CPA

If you’re reading this, chances are high you’ve toiled a bit with the idea of hiring a CPA for your business. You’ve contemplated the advantages of being able to just call a CPA to see how much money your company has taken in over the last quarter. You’ve thought about the convenience of being able to phone your accountant to determine if you can afford to make that big purchase you’ve been considering for so long. While we all have goals (some bigger than others) we all must have a plan in order to reach our goals. Small business owners should be sure to ask themselves this important question: will hiring a CPA help me achieve my professional goals? Here are a couple of reasons to support the idea that the answer to this question is probably a yes.

Going Solo is Often Extremely Difficult

Going solo is not an easy task. Many business owners make the mistake early on of assuming that they can use tax or accounting software in lieu of actually hiring a CPA. While there is nothing wrong with using these products, ultimately business owners find it difficult for such products to fully compensate for the services of a capable CPA. Accountants can be as cheap or as expensive as you want them to be; however, it is often said that you get what you pay for.

Hiring a CPA Will Save You Money

Yes, you read correctly. Hiring a CPA will actually help you save money. While the initial decision to hire a CPA will cost you some amount of money, this investment will actually save you money in the long run. Why, you ask? It’s quite simple. Hiring a CPA will help you see where you are spending money and also help you identify and take advantage of the various credits and deductions for which you qualify.

What ways could you benefit from hiring a CPA?

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Four Ways to Get Your Money’s Worth When Hiring a CPA

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Getting Your Money’s Worth

One of the most common reasons many businesses do not hire a CPA is that they believe they cannot afford to hire a CPA. And while in some cases this belief may be accurate, in the long-run hiring a CPA will usually result in an improved financial situation for most businesses. However, in order to receive the greatest benefit from a CPA, there are certain ways along which you have to conduct yourself.

Here are four things which can help you get your money’s worth when you decide to hire a CPA:

Build a Relationship

Once you find a CPA that you like and have built a great relationship with, stick to it. Building relationships is vital to success in any situation involving frequent client to customer interaction. It is especially important once you find a great CPA simply because it’s not always easy to match up with the perfect accountant.

Be Organized

CPAs usually charge by the hour, and so it’s important that you make sure you’re always organized and thoroughly prepared. Being organized and prepared will ensure that you utilize your CPA’s time in the most efficient manner possible.

Be Honest

If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember what you said.  Don’t ever attempt to undercut your CPA by low balling your financial earnings or even by overestimating them. Be completely honest with how much money you are making and how much you are spending. Being totally honest with your CPA will enable them to help you the most.

Consult Your CPA about All Financial Matters

Don’t ever be afraid to consult with your CPA about your financial matters. Some people often wonder if the questions they have for their CPA are “dumb” questions, but there is no such thing as a dumb question. If you’re worried about your finances, tell your CPA. If you are fearful that you are overspending, tell your CPA. Any situation that involves money should be shared with your CPA up front and candidly.

What ways have you identified that help you get your money’s worth when hiring a CPA? Leave your comments below.

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Three Accounting Mistakes Your Accountant Can Help You Eliminate

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Accounting Mistakes

We have all made accounting mistakes in the course of running our business. In most cases, businesses don’t even hire an accountant until they’ve made so many mistakes that they need to take on an accountant out of sheer necessity. If you hire an accountant, your business can avoid the negative repercussions which follow when accounting mistakes are made.

Here are three common accounting mistakes an accountant can help you overcome:

Not Keeping Expense Receipts

When you are managing your own books, you don’t really have any accountability when it comes to making sure you hold on to your expense receipts. Once you hire an accountant, your accountant will ask you to keep track of your expense receipts and any good business owner knows that if you don’t listen to your accountant, your business is doomed.

Not Keeping Up with Receivables

Every business owner loves getting paid, but for whatever reason, no one likes to keep track of the money they receive. While this may seem like no big deal throughout the year, it could really become a nightmare during tax season because you will suddenly be left trying to figure out how much money you’ve made, and if in fact all the invoices you sent out were actually paid in full.

Not Recording Cash Transactions

As a business owner, it can be easy to forget about the cash transactions you make or the cash payments you receive because keeping track of every single cash transaction is not an easy task. If you don’t have time to record every cash transaction, your accountant will have time. Tracking cash transactions will not only help you see how much money you are making, it will also show how you recklessly spend cash (if you do).

What was your experience like hiring an accountant? In what ways have they helped eliminate your money issues? Comment below!

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Four Skills to Look For When Hiring Your Next Accountant

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Accountant Skills

Hiring an accountant can be one of the most difficult decisions your company can ever make. Hiring a good accountant can send the financial future of your business headed in a brighter direction; hiring a bad accountant can cause you to have nightmares.

Here are four skills you should look for when hiring your next accountant. Making sure that your accountant has these skills will help ensure the best possible future for your business.

Punctuality

Ever heard the quote that “time is money, and money is time?” That’s actually a fact. Time is money, and if your next accountant doesn’t value time and often shows up to meetings late, then they will not value your money. Punctuality is undoubtedly a skill you want your next accountant to possess.

Visionary

Believe it or not, a good accountant must be a visionary. Yes, a visionary. In order to take you and your business finances to the next level, your accountant must be able to see at the next level. A good accountant can literally look at where you are today and envision where you can be tomorrow with a bit of guidance.

Good Listener

Every good accountant listens before speaking. In order for an accountant to know what your financial goals are, how you wish to accomplish those goals, where you’ve been in the past and where you want to go in the future, he or she must first stop and listen. If an accountant always cuts you off or always speaks and never lets you talk, those are clear signs that your accountant doesn’t value you as a client.

Inquisitive

An accountant could easily look at your bank account and assume they know how to get you out of debt and into prosperity but a good accountant never assumes without evidence. Instead, a good accountant always remains inquisitive, asking questions that will help them do their job better and to get a better understanding of why your finances are as good, bad or mediocre as they are.

What skills do you look for in an accountant? Leave your comments below.

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Four Things to Know Before You Hire a CPA

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Hiring a New CPA

Hiring a new employee for your team can be a very exciting endeavor for any business. Hiring a new employee for either a part time or full time position is a great sign that your company is growing and prospering. But while it can be exciting, it can also be nerve-wracking because nobody wants to waste money by hiring the wrong person for the job.

Here are 4 things you need to know before hiring a CPA:

Know Why You are Hiring a CPA

Before you hire a CPA, you want to make sure you know exactly why you’re hiring him or her. Some people hire a CPA because of the anticipated income they expect will come their way; others hire CPAs to help pull them out of their financial holes. Whatever your particular situation, make sure you know why you’re hiring a CPA.

Know What Your CPA Will Do

One of the first things you’ll need to explain to your CPA is what you’re going to expect them to do. This is not something you can simply wing on an interview. You should know beforehand precisely what you expect them to do.

Know Your Financial Situation

Be open and honest with your accountant. This means that you must let them know if your accounting is in good or bad condition. Let them determine if they want to take you on as a client or if they don’t have the capacity to handle the damage you have done.

Know Where You Want to Go Financially

There’s a famous quote that says if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will lead you there. This is very true. Before you meet your accountant, you need to have a clear idea of where you want to go financially.

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The Difference between a CPA vs. Bookkeeper

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Bookkeepers & CPAs

If you stop and talk to business professionals across various industries, you will probably hear the words CPAs and bookkeepers used interchangeably. Upon first reflection, both job descriptions appear very similar; however, you would be surprised to know that CPAs and bookkeepers do have a number of important differences.

A bookkeeper, by definition, is an administrative professional whose primary job is to follow a set of procedures or tasks related to the financial management of a business. They generally do not need to have a particular certification in order to perform their tasks.

An accountant, on the other hand, is more specialized, and often handles higher level financial structuring and analysis. Becoming a CPA requires a four year college degree and a passing grade on the CPA exam. So while most companies do use the two titles interchangeably, it’s important to remember there are several key things which distinguish them.

If you really want to see your business grow to another level, it is recommended that you consider hiring both a CPA and a bookkeeper as opposed to trying to roll both of these jobs into one position. Be sure to allow each of these employees to actually operate based on their preexisting skill set. Hiring both a CPA and a bookkeeper will not only save you money in the long term, it will also help take your business to the next level. Many people may try to talk you out of hiring both on your team, but ultimately, at the end of the day, you cannot have a bookkeeper on your team without a CPA to guide your bookkeeper along the way.

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Four Ways You Can Help Support Your CPA

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Assisting Your CPA

Hiring a CPA can be an exciting experience. Once you get a CPA on your team you will be able to see that hiring a CPA is one of the best decisions you can ever make as a business owner. However, you need to know how you can best support your CPA once you hire them.

Here are three ways you can assist your CPA:

Be a Good Listener

Being a CPA can be a stressful job, especially if your businesses finances are not in a good place. Your CPA may not ever express to you how stressful their job is; however, being a good listener is imperative if you’re going to be an effective boss. Instead of focusing on what they’re saying, focus on what they’re not saying so that you can better know how to support them.

Take Their Advice

If your CPA tells you something about your finances, take their advice. They will never tell you something that they don’t believe is in the best interests of the company. Do not discredit or undervalue their advice; be aware that whatever they tell you is probably going to eventually help your business grow financially.

Encourage Time Off

Good employees will work hard for you, but you also have to make sure they know they are appreciated. A great way to not only support your employees but keep them uplifted is by encouraging time off or even breaks throughout the day. Not only will giving time off help support your CPA, it will also help them perform at a higher level.

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  • Huddleston Tax CPAs / Huddleston Tax CPAs – Bothell
    Certified Public Accountants Focused on Small Business
    19125 N Creek Parkway #120 / Bothell, WA 98011
    425-242-3836

    Huddleston Tax CPAs & accountants provide tax preparation, tax planning, business coaching,
    QuickBooks consulting, bookkeeping, payroll, offer in compromise debt relief, and business valuation services for small business.

    We serve: Tukwila, SeaTac, Renton. We have a few meeting locations. Call to meet John C. Huddleston, J.D., LL.M., CPA, Lance Hulbert, CPA, Grace Lee-Choi, CPA, Jennifer Zhou, CPA, or Jessica Chisholm, CPA. Member WSCPA.