Small business owners overlook the importance of accountants until they find themselves crunching numbers at the end of a long day. There comes a time when you can't keep up and need professional help.
Even if you work with an accountant for taxes, did you know there's another accounting solution that's much more affordable than hiring in-house help? Monthly accounting is bookkeeping, monthly financial statements, taxes, and year-round advice all in one, a better investment than just annual taxes.
At CSI Accounting & Payroll, we've worked with thousands of small businesses over the past 50+ years. We've heard a lot of comments along the lines of, “I didn’t realize what accounting could include beyond tax preparation. I wish I knew about monthly accounting sooner.” Great monthly accountants provide year-round advice on a variety of topics, such as:
- Money management
- Employment laws
- Profitability
- Financing
Elevated Advice From Monthly Accounting
So, how do monthly accountants provide better advice than annual tax preparers?
- They're in your books year-round. That means they can offer timely advice, including proper tax strategy that actually includes year-round tax planning and projections. That's a better shot at minimizing taxes and anticipating what you'll owe months in advance.
- Many only work with small businesses. No getting bogged down by individual taxes, and no huge corporate accounts that take priority over your business.
- They work in a variety of industries. They can use their experience with your industry to your advantage. They know your unique accounting challenges and opportunities.
- They use the monthly financial statements they make for you. Each month, they can use these statements to offer advice based on your data in real-time.
Now, let's talk about those advice topics beyond taxes.
Money Management
Beyond tax strategy, your accountant should be able to advise you on financial planning and management. Individuals use financial advisors for their personal finances, and the equivalent for businesses is using monthly accountants for their business finances.
Use your monthly accountant as a sounding board when you are considering an investment for your business. Your accountant should be the first person you call before taking action if you have an issue with any of the following:
- Cash flow.
- Credit.
- Collecting money.
Profitability
Accountants crunch numbers for breakfast. It’s what we do. We use our year-round touch, industry experience, and monthly reports to help small business owners optimize business performance and growth while monitoring any potential red flags.
Plus, if you have any one-off questions for your accountant, you can contact them at any time for help! If you need help on a larger project, you can also add-on consulting as a service.
Business Financing
If you’re seeking capital for your small business, a good accountant is invaluable. There are many different routes you can take, and the process can be complicated. Maybe taking out a loan isn't even your best option - but an accountant can help you find out.
Your accountant should be able to help you evaluate various options for securing business financing. Additionally, your accountant should be available to address any questions you may have about the process and gather any supporting documents for the application process.
Employment Laws
Chances are, you don’t have a full-fledged human resources department for your small business, but you're required to adhere to a ton of rules and regulations if you have employees. An accountant helps a lot, but they can help you even more if they work under the same roof as payroll specialists! This is a common thing to find in monthly accounting services.
Together, they can help you navigate through the following, especially as your business grows:
Switch to Monthly Accounting for Better Advice
A monthly accountant is the small business's financial advisor. Once you stop getting enough value out of your accounting, it's time to up the investment to monthly accounting.
Monthly accountants can offer better, more timely advice than annual tax accountants. Although they cover a wide range of topics, some main ones are money management, profitability, business financing, and employment laws.
If you're considering switching to monthly accounting, why not check out CSI Accounting & Payroll? With over 50 years of experience under our belts, we make a pretty great candidate! To see if we can be a good fit for your business, click the button below for your free consultation:
Not ready to talk? That's okay! First, learn more about how you can do your own business accounting - but you probably shouldn't.
Brian Paulson
Brian is the owner of CSI Accounting & Payroll. After earning a double major in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of North Dakota, he joined CSI in 1996 and purchased it in 2002. With decades of experience, Brian now focuses on education: contributing to professional associations and business books, actively participating in continued learning for his team, and, of course, sharing transparent insights on CSI’s website.