We all know that in this digital world it’s extremely hard to know what’s real, what’s fake, who knows what they’re talking about, and etc. This allows for misinformation to run rampant in the small and medium sized business world. To combat this, we at Right Choice want to do our part in providing some solid information to help make informed decisions for your small business. When it comes to hiring your accounting team, there are multiple levels, specialties, and offerings that should be understood by small business owners. To better arm you with the right information, here’s some of the most popular accounting and tax offerings that should help you to make more of an “apples to apples” decision about your specific accounting needs:
- BOOKKEEPING COMPANIES
Bookkeeping companies focus on recording, categorizing, and reconciling financial transactions. In plain terms, these companies focus on the basic organization of financial transactions. You may be in need of a bookkeeping service if you:
✔ Are a new business owner
✔ Need to organize your financials
✔ Want a better understanding of your revenue and expenses
- TAX PREPARATION COMPANIES
It’s all in the title. Tax preparation companies will focus solely on preparing your personal and professional tax returns during the tax season. We’ve seen these companies many times – H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, etc. You may be in need of a tax only service if you:
✔ Already have all of your bookkeeping matters handled
✔ Have a simple tax situation
- HYBRID: TAX PREPARATION + BOOKKEEPING COMPANIES
Many companies now offer a hybrid service that combines both tax preparation and basic bookkeeping. It’s the best of both worlds as it relates to the lower level accounting teams. These types of companies ensure that your financials are organized throughout the year to allow a smooth tax filing process during tax season. You may be in need of a hybrid service if you:
✔ Are a new business owner
✔ Need to organize your finances
✔ Don’t want the hassle of gathering receipts and documentation for tax season to provide to a separate firm
✔ Desire to have both services complete at one firm
- TAX STRATEGY/TAX RESOLUTION COMPANIES
Tax Strategy & tax resolution companies address complex tax issues and help create tax plans for business owners. For example, if you owe the IRS a substantial amount of money, you may find the benefit of having one of these companies assist you with resolving that matter as well as creating a strategy to prevent it from happening again. This is where we begin to check for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Enrolled Agent (EA) credentials. You may be in need of a tax strategy or resolution service if you:
✔ Have a complex tax issue
✔ Are worried about a large tax bill
Pro Tip! If you have solid bookkeeping practices in place and have developed a relationship with a tax strategist, then you can typically avoid having to solve complex tax issues later down the line.
- CONTROLLER/CFO COMPANIES
Now we’re getting to my happy place. This is where the real value & R.O.I. in an accounting function is. Controller and CFO companies offer high level strategy. They assist you in really understanding the numbers. It’s all about the numbers! You may be in need of a controller of CFO service if you:
✔ Desire to scale your business
✔ Need to make strategic and data-driven decisions
✔ Need to understand projections, budgets, etc.
FULL-SERVICE/OUTSOURCED COMPANIES
I was happy to talk about controller and CFO companies but now… now we are in my domain. Who’s house is it? Right Choice house! 🤣Right Choice Accounting Solutions and other full-service/outsourced accounting companies have the training, knowledge and resources to handle the entire accounting function. From accounting and tax strategy to bookkeeping to tax return preparation. Companies like ours do it all in the accounting & tax arena.. We are truly a one-stop shop for small business accounting. You may be in need of a outsourced/full-service company if you:
✔ Are in scale/growth mode
✔ Desire to work with one team that can handle all accounting and tax needs
✔ Need all of the functions to flow smoothly together
I know that this is a lot of info to digest, but now you should be better prepared to make an informed decision about who to hire for your accounting team. This is not one of the areas to look past or ignore in business.. If you’re a fan of our YouTube channel, you already know that “Accounting is Business!” Warren Buffet famously proclaimed that “Accounting is the language of business.” To simplify, once you understand your numbers you understand your business. Once you understand your business, you can do anything!
Right Choice Accounting Solutions is proudly a black owned, CPA led outsourced accounting and tax firm. Right Choice offers a one-stop shop accounting and tax solution that covers high level strategy, accounting insights & analysis, financial statement preparation, tax planning and preparation, basic bookkeeping, and much more. Schedule your FREE intro call TODAY to learn more about what makes us the Right Choice for your accounting and tax needs.
Keywords: Accounting, Bookkeeping, Tax, Tax Strategy, Strategy, Tax Resolution, CFO, IRS, Controller, Scale, Merger, Acquisition, Black Owned
