Small Business Accounting

Great accounting is at the heart of every thriving small business. Overlooking the importance of
accounting will limit your growth potential — or worse, create cash flow problems that spell the
end of your business. Small business accounting can get complicated, especially when you start
hiring employees or opening new locations. Now is the time to seriously consider outsourcing
your bookkeeping needs to a professional accounting firm like Centure Financial. An accountant will handle all of those nitty-gritty financial details so you can focus on the big picture!

Handling Payroll

Managing payroll is a common headache for small business owners. Besides ensuring that your employees get paid on time, you also have to calculate taxes and other payroll deductions, stay up to date with regulatory changes, and maintain accurate records of employee earnings. This can be very time-consuming. Not only that, but a simple mistake can hurt employee morale or lead to penalties for non-compliance with tax or labor laws.

An accountant can oversee the entire payroll process so you don’t have to worry about these issues. Most likely they will encourage using an online payroll solution to make everything easier and to avoid the time-consuming problems associated with issuing paper checks. For example, Quickbooks offers same-day paycheck direct deposit so you can process payroll when it works for you — and your employees will always receive their money on time!

Budgeting and Financial Planning

Budgeting is crucial to the success of your small business. Without a budget, you risk running short on cash when your bills come due. Cash flow problems like these are the number one cause of small business failure. Poor budgeting can also make it difficult to price your products and services effectively, potentially hurting your profit margins. Thankfully, a professional accountant can help you organize your business finances and create a realistic budget so you will always have cash on hand when you need it.

Financial Decision-Making

A professional accountant is an invaluable source of financial advice when you have to make a tough business decision. Should you hire another employee? Open a new business location? Take out a loan? Where should you direct your marketing dollars for the greatest ROI? Your accountant can guide you through all of these difficult questions and more.

Navigating Complicated Tax Situations

When you launch a small business, your taxes get a lot more complicated. Additional tax obligations open up the door for costly errors, and the last thing you want is to face penalties for making a mistake on your taxes. Big Ideas for Small Business explains that small businesses run into tax problems for two main reasons: confusion about tax rules and lack of organization. While hiring an accountant won’t relieve you of the need to understand your basic tax requirements or pay attention to changing tax rules, it will make tax time significantly easier.

Facing an Audit

Being audited is every business owner’s worst nightmare. Even if you’ve been keeping good records and doing your taxes correctly, an audit can take a lot of your time away from your business — not to mention the stress that it will bring to your life! Having an accountant on your side will save you so much time and stress if you are audited in the future. Plus, hiring an accountant to do your taxes correctly will reduce your risk of being audited in the first place.

Running a small business is an incredibly demanding task. Between business planning, staffing, running customer service, managing marketing, and overseeing your daily operations, you’re running on all cylinders all the time. You just don’t have the time to give your business financials the attention they need. For the benefit of your business — and your own sanity — it pays to hire a financial professional.

Centure Financial can help you with everything from financial planning and budgeting to payroll and bookkeeping. Send a message to discuss your needs!