Business

There are few jobs more rewarding—and more challenging—than running your own business. Seeing your idea blossom from its inception is an incredible experience. However, sometimes you encounter roadblocks along the way that stop your company from reaching its fullest potential. Oftentimes, these roadblocks come down to—or could be avoided if not for—poor financial management.

That’s why professional accounting services may be the thing your business is missing. The right professional could help you come up with a plan that takes your business to the next level. Here, Portfolio Management Group explains what professional accounting services can do for you.

Help With Payroll Management

Paying your employees is a natural expense of running a business. However, because it’s such an ingrained part of the process, many business owners don’t give it the full thought it deserves. For example, you might have defaulted to paying your employees’ physical checks when you first got started. An accountant can help you find a trustworthy system you can use to submit paychecks direct deposit-style. This minimizes the chances of getting behind on your payroll schedule or having to make last-minute adjustments on paper check mistakes.

They can also help you figure out if your salary ranges are appropriate for your company. This is an area in which it’s easy to make mistakes either way. Go too low, and you’ll have trouble finding and keeping reliable employees. Too high, and you’ll drain your budget on roles that aren’t giving you the return on investment you need to thrive. Having an expert review your salary ranges can make sure you’re hitting the right balance.

Assess Your Cash Flow

When it comes to figuring out your business’s health, there are few things more useful than your cash flow statement. However, many business owners don’t have the know-how necessary to really make sense of their cash flow statements, or get the most out of them. An accountant can help bridge that gap.

For example, a business owner might look at a cash flow statement, see profit, and look no further. An accountant would know to dig deeper to determine cash flow health. They can take a look at how much money is coming in, what sources it’s coming from (i.e., customers, investors, loans), and where it’s going (i.e., paying employees, taxes, repaying debt, saving for the future). These factors can go a long way toward helping you see whether or not your business is on track for long-term stability. If it’s in trouble, they can also help you come up with a plan to shift your cash flow away from outside sources and toward self-sustainability.

You may want to conduct audits of some of your service providers, like your credit card processor, in order to extract as much value from savings as possible. This process can be expedited by availing yourself to a banking service that offers an API to retrieve your bank account balance. This makes the auditing process go much smoother.

Simplify Tax Season

Finally, one of the most well-known and well-loved benefits of working with a professional accounting service is simplifying your life come tax season. Filing taxes is complicated enough for an individual. When you’re filing for a whole business, things can get overwhelming, fast. That’s why it’s so valuable to have a professional on hand who can help guide you through the process and figure out everything you need to do to get all the advantages available to you.

However, these benefits go well beyond tax season itself. Professional accounting services can also help you figure out how often you need to pay taxes throughout the year, keep you on track with deadlines, and keep tax information organized. They can also help you navigate tricky tax situations, such as managing traditional and contract employees simultaneously.

Dig In Yourself

Even when you’re working with an accountant, it’s important to understand the nuts and bolts of your bookkeeping, payroll and taxes to ensure you’re tuned into the financial health of your business. That’s why it’s wise to consider taking a few accounting courses to gain as much information as possible to help you make better business decisions. Online programs were created with busy professionals in mind, so learning accounting basics can be a self-paced endeavor that doesn’t infringe on your business responsibilities. Plus, you can help your accountant expedite the process when you handle certain elements.

There are few elements of business ownership that can make or break success quite like financial literacy. We hope this article helps you to see the benefits of having a professional accounting service on your side. The ability to turn to experts for advice might just make all the difference.

This article is brought to you by Portfolio Management Group, where we share our expertise and background with other companies and individuals because we enjoy seeing younger companies succeed. If we can be part of that success, then we have accomplished our mission. For more information, contact us today!