Growth occurs throughout our life in many ways. There is the physical aspect of growing when you are a child. The emotional growth of maturity, which some never reach. The growth of your career as you begin working and for some, the growth of their business. All of these are moments in life that require input and care from both us and those around us. Having the right support goes a long way to ensuring that our growth in each of these is successful, especially when you own a business.
Business owners have many tasks to complete each day. The typical functions of a bookkeeper are even sometimes completed by the owner. The generating and sending of invoices, monitoring the accounts receivable to ensure payments are coming in, and basic reporting are the functions required to keep your business going. If these functions fall behind, the business becomes at risk of failure. Even when they are running smoothly, the business could be missing out on other opportunities to maximize the financial future. These are a few reasons why having a CPA available could benefit the growth of your business.
Growing Pains Are Real
Just like children growing into adults, your business will go through many phases. The infant stage is where all of the fundamentals are built. This will create the building blocks for your business. A bookkeeper will get you started with the tasks needing to perform the basic functions, but engaging a CPA at this point will ensure your foundation is strong enough to grow. As you transition into the toddler and child stages, your accountant will work closely with you and the bookkeeper to ensure everything is on track. They will also help you to plan for entering the teenage phase! This is when many businesses find challenges. It is a time of possible change (or not). Not all business owners have a desire to grow their businesses. Some may want to keep things small or stay within their niche. Others may want to expand their business. Your CPA will work for you and your unique business goals as you become an adult.
Knowledge is Power
People begin learning from the moment of birth. That builds your foundation for knowledge throughout life. If you do not learn about something, you don’t have that knowledge moving forward. You can’t know what you don’t know. That is a super powerful statement for a business owner, especially since they are responsible for all aspects of the organization. There are so many moving pieces that you must work through every day. Including areas that are way outside of your expertise. Having an expert who can guide you may get you to the point that you will know enough to know what you don’t know. When you are armed with knowledge, your business has a better chance of success. CPAs play a very valuable role in filling in these gaps of knowledge. They can help you with things like:
- Local, State, and Federal Tax Rules
- Payroll Requirements
- Financial Decisions – Minor and Major
- Budget Planning
- Retirement Planning
- Investment Options
Planning for Growth Limits Risks
When we are young, our parents do a lot of life planning for us. As we develop knowledge and maturity, that planning becomes our responsibility. Each plan we make determines our next steps and likely the outcome of our life. The same is true with your business.
Developing plans for your business starts from the beginning. Engaging with a CPA before you even start the business is a great way to begin your plan. Many people think only of taxes or audits when they hear the acronym CPA. Their accountant is the person that does their taxes every year. Sure, that is one part of the work they do, but there is so much more. Business owners can leverage the expertise of a CPA to help them develop financial plans for their businesses and to dive deep into their “books.” These financial plans could be incorporated into business plans that later allow them to leverage additional capital or even grant monies. Here are a few tools that CPAs could give you to help you grow your business either financially, physically, or for your personal financial future.
- Legal Business Structure (LLC, Partnership, Sole Proprietor)
- Loan Options for Your Business
- Analysis of Financial Statements
- Balance Sheets
- Income Statements
- Cash Flow
- Tax Planning
- Retirement Planning for Owners and Employees
Everyone Stops Growing at Some Point
At some point in your business, the time will come for a transition. You will either be ready to pass your life’s work onto another person, another company, or simply close up shop. Even in this late phase of your business, growth will continue to happen for you. You will want to maximize your sale price, finalize any tax issues, and gear up for your retirement income. Your CPA will guide you through this and can even follow you into your personal retirement. Their knowledge of your financial situation will allow you to enjoy your time knowing that you have a secure financial future.
Engaging with a CPA from the start of your business with give you a strong baseline to start with. From start to finish, the relationship you build will allow you to have an expert resource available for all financial aspects of your business. The expert team at Hayes Accounting is ready to build that relationship so your business will thrive as it grows.
Contact us to begin growing today.
