Articles

Often, clients and potential clients grumble when their tax professionals recommend hiring a bookkeeping and/or accounting professional. Why? Because many people (including some tax practitioners) simply do not understand the miraculous complexity that is double-entry accounting.

As some are probably aware, proper bookkeeping and accounting are much more than simply entering income and expenses into a software program. Nevertheless, it is sometimes difficult to explain the nuances of and the necessity for double-entry accounting to clients.

Following are the specific circumstances under which clients should hire a professional bookkeeper and/or accountant. And remember, what works for clients also works for busy tax and accounting professionals.

You may, after reading this article, decide that it’s in your own best interests to outsource your business’s tax and accounting work both for peace of mind and for time and money saved. So, when is it just good business to gently insist that your client hire an accounting professional? Keep reading to find out.

It’s every tax professional’s favorite answer to the question “How is your business organized?” “I have an LLC.” It’s the non-answer answer. Unfortunately for many clients and practitioners, clients often decide to form an LLC for no reason other than “they said I should” and more often cannot provide a good answer when the practitioner asks, “Who is ‘they?”

Ideally, small business clients should consult both an attorney and a tax professional when deciding to form a business entity under state law. Because while state law governs entity formation and many aspects of entity administrative compliance, federal and state tax law determines which tax returns you need to file and which tax laws apply to the entity.

It is just good business to make a mindful, proactive choice when choosing a type of business entity. Making a conscientious choice means asking the right questions. And when choosing a business entity, asking the right questions means asking questions about matters other than simply tax considerations.