Picking your first Accountant

Hi John...just so you know, January 15 is the due date for the LAST estimated tax payment for 2007 (not the first for 2008, which is due April 15, along with your payment that is due with your tax return, if any).

I would love the opportunity to work with you.

Brett

Hey, John -

This is a great question - and relevant for all of us!

I found my accountant by asking people I trust for referrals. Wait - that's not true - first I checked the yellow pages and the woman I met with charged me full rates to yak about her dogs.

THEN I asked around - and found a gem of a guy who really knows his stuff and specializes in small business.

My advice? Pick someone you trust - on a gut level. Pick someone who genuinely cares about your business and your long-term goals. Pick someone who you feel confident would be able to back you up if you get audited (the worst-case scenario).

All that said, also get a bookkeeper. They can streamline an accountant's tax prep work and save you a lot of money in the long run.

I personally recommend Jessica Saltzman in Boston, who works virtually with small businesses across the country. She's at (http://www.behindthescenesLLC.com) - if you want to check her out.

Thanks for the thread! :)

John... I know the feeling. I had a great CPA for about 20 years (went through 3 biz IRS audits and got money back each time plus numerous state audits). I'd still be with him if he hadn't died of a health problem.

I would be happy to introduce my current CPA to you. He's a great guy. I met him through business networking. I searched for about 3 months evaluating and feel I made a good choice. He's in Redmond, close by to you. I will send you an introduction. ...Howard

I agree with the ask around suggestion. I think that referrals are a good way to find an accountant.

I also agree that a bookkeeper, even a part time one, can save lots of time, which, as a small business owner, is always in short supply.

I really don't like this time of year for taxes. Two estimated tax payments, plus annual taxes, all in the same time period. Figuring out how much to put away, how much more to spend, etc. It all makes the head hurt...

Debbie Leonard, I think they call themseleves Thill & Leonard. That may be more direct and concrete than you were looking for.

Don't forget to check references, especially if you only know one person in connection with this CPA. Most people are afraid to call references, but I tell you most of the time it pays off. It's your money!

__

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My apologies for the shameless plug, but I do have two extremely talented bookkeepers on my team should you decide you need additional assistance in that regard.

I agree with Jennifer, go with your gut on this one. Perhaps try to set up a time (complimentary of course) where you could sit down and take 5-10 minutes of their time to determine if they are a good fit. You're trusting your company's financials to this individual (or company) so it's really not a decision to take lightly. If they can't spare a few minutes of their time then I would search elsewhere.

"Obviously they should be someone that you can stand to be around for small amounts of time as you will be talking and meeting with your accountant quite a bit."

I liked this line the best, ha, ha!

Hopefully, you don't spend much (or any) time, with your CPA or EA (Enrolled agent) if they are just doing your taxes. It's your bookkeeper or accountant you spend time with.

Don't feel bad trying people out and dropping them quickly. Think of it as hacking away at your problem. Every time you hire someone for a few hours, you'll be a little father along in the process of solving your problems and figuring out exactly who and what you need.

One thing I included in my book was the idea of managing your financial advisor's and giving you the skills to do that.

Also, www.quickbooks.com is another resource beyond Biznik, assuming you'rer using QuickBooks.

I have had one bad accountant and now have a fantastic accountant. To me the biggest difference between the two is that my accountant now offers a ton of additional great advice and information. He is basically my go-to person for any business issue and he gives me great advice. A regular accountant will just churn the numbers and spit our your tax return. A great accountant will tell you how much you need to spend to reduce your taxes by this much, ideas about how to better structure your business for a lower tax burden, etc.

John, I just joined Biznik. I see your original post was before the end of tax season. Did you find a CPA? Even the national chains of "tax professionals" can complete your return if it's not too complicated and it will probably be okay. More important is the advice you get on saving taxes in the future. Start with their website and see what ideas they have. Talk to them on the phone and in person and see if the fit is right. If you have a business, make sure you pick a tax accountant experienced in business. Do they prepare corporation and partnership returns also? Even if you are not incorporated, you want an accountant that is familiar with all your options. Do you have other needs past quickbooks training, payroll, or quickbooks training or consulting look for a CPAs. You may want proximity. Because my firm has a couple meeting locations, I serve the areas of Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Kirkland, Renton, Lynnwood, Bothell, Redmond, Kent, Auburn, Federal Way & Everett. Call me if I can help.

Because my previous post is missing lines of text, it’s repeated here:

John, I just joined Biznik. I see your original post was before the end of tax season. Did you find a CPA ? Even the national chains of tax professionals can complete your return if it's not too complicated and it will probably be okay. More important is the advice you get on saving taxes in the future. Start with their website and see what ideas they have. Talk to them on the phone and in person and see if the fit is right. If you have a business, make sure you pick a tax accountant or CPA experienced in business. Do they prepare corporation and partnership returns also? Even if you are not incorporated, you want an accountant or CPA that is familiar with all your options. Do you have other needs past tax preparation and accounting like quickbooks training , bookkeeping , payroll or small business valuation. If you need quickbooks training or consulting , look for a quickbooks proadvisor . Look for a firm that employs competent CPA s. You may want proximity. Because my firm has a few meeting locations, I serve the areas of Seattle, Bellevue, Tacoma, Kirkland, Renton, Lynnwood, Bothell, Redmond, Kent, Auburn, Federal Way & Everett . Call me if I can help.

In terms of finding a good accountant, I would recommend getting a copy of Madeline's Bailey's book if you don't know or understand bookkeeping fundamentals. How can you can hire someone if you don't understand the business concepts or the language that they will be using?

It is what I recommend to my clients who are weak in that area. You can use what you learn in the book to evaluate potential accountants, tax preparers, bookkeepers, or QuickBooks consultants. And while you are at it, have you looked at last year's tax returns? Do you understand them? Why or why not?

I agree with Hilary's suggestion to sit down and chat with them to see if they might be a good fit (if you meet for coffee, please offer to pay.) I would add to try to do this over the phone and see if they listen to your concerns or answer a few basic questions that you know the answers to. Jennifer is right about trusting your gut.

I concur with Bridget about asking for references, particular from others in your industry. But I would keep in mind that service based businesses are frequently based on personality. Perhaps the questions you ask their clients should be more along the lines of why does this person work for you.

Laura's advice about what makes a great accountant vs. one who simply spits out the numbers was on target as well. You really want someone who is going to get into the nitty gritty of your business and be a business advisor as well.

If you think about it, that is what you would want your attorney, SEO expert, marketing maven, graphics designer, outsourced HR person, employees, partners, vendors, customers etc. to do. You want them to feel that they have an investment in you.

Another thing (and I suspect that this will generate some discussion) is to look for an accounting firm that doesn't try to be everything to everyone. Many advisors on Biznik encourage us to focus on one or two things that we do well. That is why as a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, I only do QuickBooks set up, check-up, and training.

You don't see many Biznik members who are trying to be everything. So should you when it comes to picking third parties to do jobs you can't do for yourself.

I know that there are many accounting firms that offer accounting, bookkeeping, tax preparation, payroll, QuickBooks training, etc. Some do it to serve their clients. Others do it because they want to keep all their business in house. I think that some are related such as accounting and tax preparation which allows them to charge higher fees.

I would draw the line at bookkeeping (there are several available on Biznik) and payroll (particularly when you can do it yourself for very little through QuickBooks or hire ADP, PayChex, or CompuPay.)

Unfortunately, in my opinion, when you start adding in unrelated tasks or try to offer everything to your clients, you are more likely to make mistakes and be less informed of all the secondary issues that face them and I don't think you can serve your clients effectively.

I'm basing this on a client that relied on their accountant for some QuickBooks advice only to find out that the accountant wasn't familiar with the latest version of the program (they are not listed in the ProAdvisor directory) and made a few mistakes in my opinion.

The most glaring one was not numbering the chart of accounts and not showing them how to use the enter and pay bills function to keep track of their bills that they incur on behalf of their very big clients.

John, finally I would recommend a firm that can handle your operational issues above and beyond the bookkeeping and the tax work.

Firms like mine www.cfoseattle.com do everything from bookkeeping all the way up through more sophisticated exercises like cash flow projections, budgeting and forecasting, financial statement development, preparation and analysys. We also work with your internal stakeholders to develop performance tracking scorecards that hone in on other metrics and KPI's that directly effect the financial performance of your organization.

Firms like ours don't replace your CPA - we work in concert with them offering them deliverables that work and are easy for them to interpret.

Happy to chat with you about the merits of this type of service anytime.

I'm brand new to all of this business ownership. I have traditionally worked for others and frankly have never thought about tax implications with regard to being an independent contractor. With so many people offering so many services, how does a new person jump in and find the right person for their needs?

Martin, If you are looking on this site, take a look at their post and see if there is any insight. Look at their website for the same reason. See if they have testimonials on their profile and their website. Have a tax question or two in mind and give them a call. If they can teach you something, that might be the person.

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Here is a good one: www.stephenlnelson.com

He wrote QuickBooks for Dummies as well.

I totally agree with Laura. My company offers bookkeeping services for small businesses, and I always recommend CPA's who offer more than just doing tax returns, but who provide guidance, advice and tax strategy to support you in being successful in your business.

While my bookkeepers are perfectly capable of completing tax returns, and in fact DO tax returns, during tax season, I always refer our business bookkeeping clients to the CPA's I know.

You should have a full time tax and business financial adviser, and if you find one that partners well with a bookeeper or company like mine or Hilary's, you will have a winning combination!