You’ve got a meeting on the books with your accountant. While you’d normally drive to their office and meet with them in person, you’re wondering if this time you should just book a time to meet via Zoom or Google Teams. After all, you’re doing more and more meetings that way, so this could save you some time and gas. However, you also worry something may be lost if you sacrifice that one-on-one face time.
If you’re wondering whether you should meet with your account in person or virtually, here are some points to consider.
Why Virtual Is a Good Option
There are plenty of instances when meeting virtually works just fine—or even better—than an in-person meeting. They include:
- Your accountant is not close by. Maybe you’ve recently moved or you live in a small town that doesn’t have many options. No matter the reason, if meeting in person with your accountant means a road trip, you may be better off conducting the meeting virtually.
- The meeting isn’t that important. While ALL meetings with your accountant are important for some reason, some certainly are more crucial than others. If you’re just having a quick check-in or only have a few questions, a virtual meeting might be the perfect way to get it done quickly and easily.
- You don’t have a lot of time. Okay, sometimes you need to MAKE time to meet with your accountant—especially if it’s regarding something crucial like an audit or getting your taxes completed in time. However, if it’s not something that will have a huge impact on you or your business and you’re running short on time in your schedule, you may be able to get by with a virtual meeting.
- You’ve worked with your accountant forever. If you’ve worked with your accountant for many years and they know and your business inside and out, it’s likely you can forego a few in-person meetings.
Why In-Person Can Be Best
Of course, nothing beats an in-person meeting and sometimes they are just needed. Here are some reasons and circumstances when you should make the effort to meet with your accountant in person.
- Your accountant is new or you haven’t met with them in a while. Still building a relationship with your accountant? If you’re just starting out or if you haven’t seen them in a long time, an in-person meeting is the best way to connect and get to know each other better.
- The meeting is crucial. Need to make major changes to the way you do your business books? Facing an audit? Owe a lot in taxes and need a new strategy? These and other important meetings are usually best conducted in person.
- You and technology just don’t get along. While some people can accomplish just as much or more in a virtual meeting than they can in person, others simply can’t. Maybe you don’t have good internet where you live or work or distractions keep getting in your way or you always seem to appear fuzzy or sound like your underwater. For whatever reason, if you’re not good with technology, you probably won’t find a lot of value in a virtual meeting and should make the effort to meet in person.
Virtual or In-Person, Develop a Relationship with an Accountant
When it comes down to it, meeting virtually vs in-person is a personal decision that should be made between you and your accountant. Once you develop a strong relationship with a pro like those at Hayes & Associates, you can create a plan together that benefits you both and improves your bottom line.
