15 May What to know about small business accounting

As an owner of a small business, you understand how important it is to think about growth and the future of your business throughout its entire life. Finding ways to help your small or family-owned business grow, streamline your business operations, and simplify your daily life are critical. This is especially important regarding your business’s finances, as finances can be such a challenging and stressful part of owning a business. This is when small business accounting services can be useful.

What Is Small Business Accounting?

Small business accounting tracks the money flowing in and out of your business accounts and helps you account for and document your company’s assets and liabilities.

Simply put, small business accounting includes all the processes needed to track, record, and analyze your business’s financial transactions. This includes purchases, sales, payroll, and expenses, among others. All of these financial transactions are recorded and collected into a statement that offers an overview of your business’s profitability over a period of time.

Types of Small or Family-Owned Business Accounting Services

One of the largest burdens as a small business owner is handling your business’s finances. Keeping track of your finances can be incredibly tricky, and ensuring that you are tracking, recording, and analyzing your transactions can be even harder without the help of a professional.

Luckily, there are numerous accounting services that are specific to small and family-owned businesses. In addition, professional accounting firms offer services tailored to suit the needs of businesses like yours.

The best CPA (certified public accountant) firms will provide the following services.

• Auditing and accounting services that can help you maximize your revenue and reach your business goals.
• Assistance with buy/sell agreements for businesses with more than one owner to protect the owners’ interests in the case of the loss of a shareholder (due to retirement or death).
• Bookkeeping services — including compiled financial statements, ledger preparation, budgeting assistance, payroll filings, projected financial statements, on-site bookkeeping assistance, and accounting system setup.
• Business consulting to help you design the perfect retirement plans for your family members and company employees.
• Business valuations estimate the overall value of your business at a particular point in time as well as litigation support services ranging from examination and analysis of financial records to expert testimony.
• Capital formation assistance helps the next generation to purchase the business without completely depleting its working capital by locating capital sources.
• Deal structuring assistance to ensure favorable financial consequences.
• Estate and gift planning strategies that are specifically designed for small businesses and tailored to meet your specific personal and family business goals.
• Financial planning — including tax, retirement, investment, risk management, and wealth management planning.
• Succession and exit planning — including if, when, and how the next generation of your family will take ownership of your family business.
• Tax preparation to help minimize your tax liability for both yourself and your business.

How Can These Services Help Your Small Business Grow?

Now that you have a good idea of the numerous types of services you can utilize to improve your business’s finances, you may be wondering what these small business accounting services can do to help your company.

Truthfully, accounting services can help your business in various ways, from improving tax efficiency to understanding your business’s financial standing. But these are not the only benefits of small business accounting services. Proper accounting practices can also help to make your business more attractive to potential investors and clients — which can help grow your business.

Here are a few of the most impactful ways that accurate accounting can help your business and help make it more valuable for your clients.

Increased Efficiency

The first major benefit of small business accounting is greater financial efficiency. By ensuring you have up-to-date, accurate financial information about your business, you can more easily make crucial decisions about potential business opportunities — such as investments or equipment purchases. Having accurate financial data can help you determine whether or not it is the right time to invest in your business and how those investments can affect your overall cash flow.

Enhanced Planning Strategies and Guidance

Another critical advantage of professional financial assistance is improved planning strategies for critical business operations, such as reporting, tax planning, business structuring, budgeting, and marketing.

When you truly understand your business’s finances through proper accounting, you can better assess where to allocate resources and determine what practices are improving cash flow versus halting it. This knowledge can help inform you on how to best plan your operations to capitalize on the practices that are aiding you and alter the ones that are not. Additionally, a professional accountant can provide you with expert guidance on all of the bigger financial aspects of your business so that you can be sure you are taking the right steps toward growth and profitability.

Improved Financial Stability

Utilizing an accounting firm gives you the confidence and peace of mind that can only come from actually having your finances in order. This provides an accurate (and constantly-evolving) view of how much money is coming and going and helps you create a more accurate prediction of the future of your business.

Thinking ahead is essential for small and family-owned businesses because you never know when tough times may strike, and you need to ensure you have enough reserves to get through these times when they appear. This prevents you from needing to cut down on employees or cut costs and allows you to provide your clients and customers with a consistent and positive experience (which is much more likely to make them want to come back again).

Better Financial Reporting and Data Analysis

Reporting for your business gets a lot easier with an accountant on hand to perfect and analyze your financial statements. You can rest assured that you have not made any mistakes that could become costly down the road, and you can have greater financial clarity in your business. Your small business accountant can also help you interpret your financial data and advise you on making the wisest financial decisions moving forward based on your goals and financial situation.

How Dempsey Vantrease & Follis Can Help

There is no denying that managing your finances is a complicated and time-consuming process. More often than not, it may feel like the hardest part of your job as a business owner. But, it is important to remember that you do not have to tackle your finances alone. A consultant can help you more effectively and accurately manage your finances while providing guidance and resources to help you optimize your finances.

With the help of Dempsey Vantrease & Follis (DVF), you can maximize your financial resources and allow your business to grow into the company you have always wanted. We are committed to providing you with expert advice and all of the valuable services you can expect from a small business accounting firm, including QuickBooks training and support!

Contact us today to learn more about how DVF can help your small or family-owned business take control of your financial situation with top-tier accounting services.