Monthly Archives: December 2013

The Benefits of Professional Tax Preparation

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Tax preparation with goodaccountants.com is easy and can help you avoid an audit When it comes to many different jobs, you can usually save money by handling it yourself, but with taxes it’s often a different story. For both business owners and individuals, hiring a professional will often save you more money in taxes than the cost of the tax preparation services not to mention the cost of the time, and stress, involved in preparing your own.

Saving money

Using the services of a professional is one of your best bets for saving money when it comes to taxes. Tax rules are complicated and if aren’t in the business of preparing tax returns on a frequent basis it’s hard to be aware of all of the deductions or credits you might qualify for. Using the advice from professional tax preparation services will help you minimize your tax burden and pinpoint every possible deduction you’re eligible for.

Lower risk for error

Tax law has had major changes nearly every year for the past half century, with 3,500 tax law changes just since 2000. If you aren’t constantly keeping up to date with all of these regulations, it’s easy to make an error- and that can be costly.

If you make an error that results in a tax liability, the interest and fines will continue to accrue from the date that you’ve filed your taxes. While hiring a tax professional does not give you a 100 percent guarantee of perfection, the chances of simple mistakes are immensely reduced.

With complicated tax returns requiring numerous forms, the risk for error continues to increase with each. Hiring a professional for tax preparation will ease the stress and pressure that comes from attempting your own taxes.

Help with an audit and its potential consequences

If a professional prepares your taxes, your chances for audit will be reduced, and if for some reason you do find yourself face with an audit, the tax preparer will usually be able to help. Professional tax preparation definitely adds a safeguard to potential liability, although you will be ultimately responsible should there be any issues – therefore, the importance of hiring someone who can be trusted is imperative.

By using the free services of GoodAccountants.com, you can be assured that you’ll be connected with the top tax professionals in your area who are the most competent at tax preparation, so that you’ll have more time to handle the most important responsibilities for your business, or your life.

Dummies Guide to Accountants for Small Businesses

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For most people an accountant is someone who solves problems you didn’t know you had in a way you don’t understand. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. But as with most humor and fun, there is an aspect of truth to it.

Many small business owners start off by wearing the accountant tag themselves but as operations expand, money starts to come in or even when it starts to go out, the services of a professional accountant are required. Are your financial statements incomplete or imprecise? Do you sit in front of QuickBooks wondering where to start off? These are indicators that it is time to start looking for an accountant.

A Firm Or An Inside Accountant?

Many small businesses don’t really need a full or part time employee. Why? Their volumes of transactions aren’t high enough to hire a paid in-house professional. But if you can afford to keep an accountant from the start then there’s no harm in it. It is better than handing over your invoices and ledgers to a tax preparer at the year end.

On the other hand, hiring a professional accounting services firm could cost you substantially less than hiring a salary based professional. These firms mostly provide a fee-for-service model, which means you only need to pay for the specific services you need.

Accounting Firms

Out-house financial firms usually provide the following services:

  • Preparing financial statements (balance sheets, income, and cash statements)
  • Tax return preparation
  • Supervising the accounting and financial department
  • Budgeting
  • Handling investments

Every company is different; meaning a business owner can expand or contract the scope of services he might be looking for. An accountant firm may offer an hourly rate or a pay-per-service schedule.

Inside Accountant

As the business gradually expands, so do their financial transactions and operations. This might be the time to go for a full-time in-house accountant. The setback with financial firms is that their cost increases with the growth of business, when operations grow big, it might be financially better for you to hire an accountant employee.

Normally, in-house accountant’s responsibilities include:

  • Cash and treasury management including bank reconciliation
  • Preparation of financial statements
  • Fixed asset accounting
  • Payroll accounting
  • General account maintenance

When bringing expertise on board, which you don’t currently have, choosing to discuss the compensations last is the best option. The employee will be a part of your company, so make sure you hire the best.

Standard Qualifications

When choosing an outhouse financial firm or an in-house accountant, look for qualifications such as:

  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Certified Management Accountant (CMA)
  • Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA)
  • Chartered Accountant (CA)
  • Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV)
  • Personal Financial Analyst (PFA)
  • Look for majors in finance as well

Choosing an accountant firm or an employee is an indication that the business is serious about its operations and its ultimate aim is company growth.

Featured Accountant Nancy J. Williamson | Austin Texas Accountant

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nancy j williamson austin texas

nancy j williamson austin texas

For our next segment of Good Accountants, featured accountant post; we would like to extend our congratulations to Nancy J. Williamson. Nancy is a Certified Public Accountant in the Austin, Texas area, where she does amazing work for her clients. Her public accounting skills provide her clients with expert work that truly helps them these businesses grow. Her standout strategic planning, makes her a great local Austin Texas Accountant.

Featured Accountant Nancy Williamson, CPA – Austin Texas Accountant

Some of the areas where Nancy Williamson specializes in are; bank reconciliations, business tax returns, business plans, amended returns, business consulting, and many other services. If you are in Austin, or a surrounding area in Texas, you should reach out to Nancy for accountancy help. We received so much positive feedback from our last two featured accountant posts, so we hope that you enjoy this continued segment on our blog. It’s always great for us, to be able to feature those in our industry that do such great work. Nancy Williamson has been an Austin Texas accountant, for many years, and she plans on continuing to deliver great work for years to come!

For more information on Nancy J Williamson CPA, her company, and to find an Austin Texas accountant; check out her Good Accountants profile.

 

6 Ways A CFO Service Can Increase Productivity

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Chief Financial Officer Service and Your Business

CFO Services

CFO services for small business

Many businesses are beginning to realize the benefits of hiring a professional CFO Service provider. However, businesses often fail to perform the right research to ensure that their choice is going to be profitable. If you are willing to dedicate your money and time to hire a CFO Service, perform infallible research before you take a step ahead.

Small or large businesses which often lack a high degree of sophistication can greatly improve financial administration with the help of a CFO firm. There are innumerable potential benefits which can help increase productivity like increased profitability and shareholder value and a strategic, result-oriented perspective of an outside expert.

Finding the Right CFO Service

Locating and hiring the most appropriate CFO Service can be a difficult task. You need to know a few things. Ask yourself why do you need a CFO Service? What are you looking for in a CFO Service? What CFO services could prove beneficial for your business? Once you have answered these questions, there are a number of ways your CFO Service provider can help increase productivity for your business:

Number # 1: Strong Financial Expertise

A CFO Service normally has quite strong financial expertise due to their qualifications. They can effectively handle:

  • Profitability and Performance strategies
  • Divestitures and Acquisitions
  • Business and banking relationships
  • Risk and tax management
  • Executive management reporting
  • Internal controls
  • Cash flow Assumptions
  • Debt management
  • Cash flow assumptions

Number # 2: The Ability To Create Your Connections With Professionals

A reputed and well known CFO firm can help you connect and build a network of business oriented professionals like:

  • Investors
  • Equity firms
  • Attorneys
  • Bankers
  • Insurance Experts

By making these connections you can self analyze the boost you get to professionalism and productivity for your business.

Number # 3: Business and Operational Experience

Carefully choosing the CFO firm that is well versed for its vast experience will bring a holistic approach to your business. Not only will it refine financial, but also the non-accounting aspects of your business. These areas may include all other departments in your organization such as Human Resource or IT departments.

Number # 4: An Outside Viewpoint

An experienced and well-chosen CFO Service brings an unbiased and independent perspective challenges your business might be facing or to boost productivity. As a result, you get highly professional and impartial advice which is always in your business’s best interest.

Number #5: The Skill To Assess Your Staff

Staff assessment, supervision and counseling are vital offerings of CFO services. They are programmed to look for problems which might be inhibiting growth and productivity for your business. If under-trained or un-skilled staff is your problem, they’ll willingly fix it.

Number #6: Review Of Procedures In Currently In Practice

In addition to the array of services, CFO Services also perform a review of all procedures currently practiced in your organization. If changes are required to optimize efficiency, they do it as a part of their job. Some aspects they cover are:

  • Improvement of financial reporting methods
  • Evaluation of financial records
  • Examination of accounting procedures and controls
  • Development of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
  • Setting up financial and accounting policies and procedures

With advancements in all aspects of businesses, CFO Service’s job is more complex than ever. Choosing the right service can give a whole new way and face to your business, ultimately increasing productivity and boosting revenues.

Featured Accountant Susan Haase | South San Francisco Accountant

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The Good Accountants Blog Presents our Second Featured Accountant…

Susan Haase,  CPA – Good Accountant in South San Francisco

Susan Haase CPA

Southern San Francisco Public Accountant Susan Haase

Here is our second installment of our featured accountant post! We are proud to present Susan Haase with this honor. Susan prides herself on being more than just a South San Francisco accountant, she is a problem solver. Her passion for giving her clients insightful solutions to their problems is something that isn’t easily replicated. Her team of experts at Peninsula Accounting provide a large range of services for non profit groups, individuals, and businesses alike.

The great thing about working with Susan and the team at Peninsula in South San Francisco California, is that instead of working with a single accountant, Peninsula offers their full team to help better serve you. This offers their clients a wide range of expert knowledge to tackle any problem thrown at them. Coupled with their expert knowledge is many years of experience and attention to detail. This level of attention delivers a one of a kind, close and personal experience that deals with your problems. You can feel confident that at any time, there is always someone who can both help you as well as understanding your business. The alignment of your business goals and Susan Haase’s expertise, offers you a one stop shop for any accounting solution.

If you would like further information about Susan Haase CPA or are in need of a top South San Francisco Accountant, you can view her profile page on Good Accountants.

Featured Accountant Nita Roopchand | Find an accountant in Plantation, Florida

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Accountant in Plantation Florida - Nita Roopchand

Without further ado, here is the kick-off post to our newest featured accountant series: Nita Roopchand, CPA, MBA. Nita is an accountant in Plantation, Florida. She practices at a full service accounting firm, which is conveniently located in the Plantation area of Fort Lauderdale in sunny South Florida. It is vital to the success of yourself and your business that you chose the right person to work with. Taxation is a serious thing, that if left unattended or to the wrong person, could prove to have a very negative on your credit score and financial standing.

Good Accountants Presents our Featured Accountant in Plantation, Florida

Along with her great consulting work, Nita is dedicated to helping small businesses with bookkeeping, tax planning, audit services, and more! It is a great service to her community that she provides her services to local businesses and people. Good Accountants, would like to shine a light on the great work Nita has been doing with her firm, and wish her nothing but continued success. To ensure that we continue to highlight the great efforts of these accountant’s, we will continue this as an on-going series. Please be sure to check back soon, to see what new profiles we are going to feature!

For more information on Nita Roopchand CPA, or to find a great accountant in South Florida, visit her Good Accountants profile.

Online Accounting vs. Traditional Accounting

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When choosing an accountant for your business, you have more options open to you than you may initially think.  All the opportunities, advantages, and disadvantages of traditional accounting are natural at your disposal.  However, online accounting offers its own advantages, and it may fulfill your business needs much more effectively than the traditional notion of accounting.  If your business could benefit from a low cost alternative to traditional accounting and access to a huge pool of able professionals, it may be time to switch from traditional accounting to accounting online.online accounting

A traditional notion of accounting holds that someone from within the company handles the bookkeeping and other duties as they relate to managing the account.  No business can get by without excellent records of all transactions, money coming and going, or they risk losing money without knowing it.  Indeed, the only true advantage to keeping a traditional accountant is that there is someone physically present at all times who can take responsibility for a business’s finances.  All other duties are not necessarily predicated on being physically available throughout the workweek.  In fact, this puts undue strain on a business, as the money allocated to a full-time accountant could be better spent.

An online accountant may be a novel idea, but the signs of success and the facts that back it up say online accounting is the best way to keep track of finances for many businesses.  Note first that the cost of keeping a traditional accountant versus the cost of outsourcing accounting duties to a low-cost internet accountant can differ by a factor of one-half.  The word, “outsourcing” may seem impersonal and, to some extent, cheap, but by using a resource like GoodAccountants.com you can maintain tight control over whom it is you use for your financial needs.  No accountant on offer is going to be of poor quality, and with a large selection of financial professionals to choose from, your needs are certain to be met.  In fact, online accounting services tailor their suggestions to you and your needs.  Here again, the only foreseeable disadvantage is a lack of an in-house accountant with a vested interest in your business.  But GoodAccountants.com’s consistent record of success would suggest that their online accounting services and CPA’s do indeed take an interest in your business.  Your success is also their success.

A dramatic change like moving away from traditional accounting services to accounting online may bring with it certain concerns, but they are unfounded.  The advantages of outsourcing accounting duties to an internet professional allows you to reduce costs and still receive the services you require to run your business.  Be confident, and try a new way of doing things; it will pay off in the short term and for your future financial needs.