4 Things an accountant can do to save you money

Although there will obviously be a cost of hiring your own accountant, you will discover that they can potentially save you and your business a lot of money in the long run. From tax advice to helping you control your cash flow, here we discuss 4 things an accountant can do to save you money.

Tax advice

One of the main ways an accountant can help save you money is by providing you will valuable tax advice. The tax system is notoriously difficult to get your head around, sometimes due to the fact that it changes on a regular basis. It is your accountant’s job to stay on top of all the changes in tax law so that you don’t have to. Instead, the accountant will be able to let you know how you can make the most out of each tax year and ensure you are being as tax efficient as possible. They will also help you avoid any penalties from late submissions and ensure all tax deadlines are met.

If tax is not paid correctly, there can be some hefty fines involved. Knowing you have accountants to help avoid this will not only save you money but will give you peace of mind.

Cash flow planning and forecasting

Having a thorough understanding of your financial situation at any one time is vital for success and your accountant can help with this. Not only can they carry out your basic bookkeeping on your behalf, they will be able to help manage financial forecasting to help you ensure you have enough cash in your business to continue trading but also enable you to plan for the future. Whilst some costs are easy to predict, such as key overheads like utilities and rent, others are not so predictable. Keeping on top of your finances regularly will mean you will have a better understanding of your current financial position, rather than look retrospectively which is not very useful. It also allows you to easily spot potential drains on your cash flow which will provide you focus on the costs that need to be lowered if possible.

Allows you to save time

A key role that accountants play is to free up your time. Time is precious and therefore having to not worry about completing your bookkeeping and other financial tasks can allow you to focus on your own expertise. This can help grow your business a lot quicker as you are not spending time on tasks your accountant can easily do on your behalf to an excellent standard.

No need to hire in house

Using an accounting company can save you the time and effort of having to hire someone internally. Hiring new employees can be a costly and lengthy process. However, by outsourcing, you are gaining instant access to a whole team of highly trained individuals that will have previous experience in a range of sectors and industries which could be beneficial to you. You also never have to worry about your in-house accountant taking annual leave or sick leave. Although you may have one main point of contact at your accounting firm, you know that there are others available to help if they are away from work for any reason so no work is halted unnecessarily. You also do not need to pay a full-time salary as, depending on the work you need your accountant for, you may only need to pay them on a project by project basis.

Accountants are highly trained individuals who have years, if not decades, of expertise. This puts them to be in the ideal position to help you and your business save money. Their insight is invaluable and can be a great help when you are trying to keep your finances under control.