There are many common accounting services available for small businesses, and some offerings you may not be aware of. Whether you’re looking for help with reporting, need to update your budgets and forecasts, or have a specific project you’re looking for help on, below is a list of accounting services for small businesses.
Accounting Services for Small Businesses (scroll for details):
- Bookkeeping
- Monthly Accounting
- Payroll and Employee Benefits Management
- Cashflow Forecasting and Profit Projections
- Financial Reports
- Debt Payoff, Cost Cutting, and Budget Management
- Business Structure (Company Formation) and Multiple Entities
- Outsourced Chief Financial Offer (CFO)
- Year-End Tax and Reporting Services
- Consulting
For details on each of these services, keep scrolling. For how our accounting services work and to contact us for a consultation, click here.
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is one of the most critical components of small business accounting, and impacts every element of your accounting strategy and plan.
An accountant or outsourced bookkeeper can check daily cash on hand, track and categorize expenses and revenue sources, reconcile transaction, track inventory, invoice clients, review employee timesheets, and so much more.
Think of bookkeeping as the daily, weekly, and monthly updating of your financial data, and all the actions that are required to ensure your data is up-to-date and accurate each and every day of the fiscal year.
Monthly Accounting
Monthly accounting involves reviewing the month’s performance and financial data, reconciling bank statements, generating reports, and amending the budget. What’s critical here, even if you have an in-house bookkeeper, is that an accountant will evaluate the results and performance of the month and advise on changes to budget, any red flags or performance dips, and consider ways to better support the business’ financial goals.
Payroll and Employee Benefits Management
This service isn’t just issuing payroll, it’s everything that goes into making sure payroll is accurate, following all required regulations, and issued to employees correctly (did you know some states penalize employers who inaccurately underpay their employees?).
Payroll involves collecting, reconciling, and filing expense reports, withholding state and federal taxes from employee paychecks, collecting W4s, I9s, and other tax documents from employees and independent contractors, and deducting health insurance premiums, 401k contributions, etc.
Payroll is an extensive process where accuracy is incredibly important, making it a common service small businesses choose to rely on an accountant to handle.
Cashflow Forecasting and Profit Projections
While cash on hand is typically reported daily as a core component of bookkeeping best practices, forecasting how much cash you will have on hand along with projects income and spending can help your company ensure it has the finances it needs for new investments, inventory, bills, and to prepare for potential changes. Cashflow forecasting is especially important for companies with seasonal and/or fluctuating seasons for income.
Financial Reports
Beyond your monthly accounting reports, additional financial reports can be put together by an accountant. These will often depend on your circumstances. If you’re considering a sale, an accountant can conduct an audit and provide up-to-date financial reports on the overall health of the business, debts and liabilities, assets, shareholder value, and more.
Additionally, if you need reports on performance, income, or inventory for a select period, an accountant can also ensure you get these reports in a timely manner.
Debt Payoff, Cost Cutting, and Budget Management
One of the major services accountants offer is budgeting and strategy. If you are looking to build a debt payoff strategy, need to cut costs, or are looking for operational inefficiencies and budget-suckers, an accountant can offer a thorough investigation of your financial state and operations. The result? Options and paths forward that can ensure you meet your financial obligations, and your goals.
Tax Obligation Payment and Reporting
As a business owner, you are required to pay tax obligations and report these payments to both the IRS and your employees (and, in many cases, to the state as well). An accountant can ensure that the appropriate amounts are withheld from employee paychecks, that employee and employer portions of tax burdens are paid in the appropriate schedule based on the tax burden threshold, file the appropriate documents, and generate reports for end of year filing for both the business and the employee.
This includes generating and issuing W2’s, 1099s, and other employee tax forms by the required tax forms.
Business Structure, Company Formation, and Multiple Entities
Depending on your business, size, and growth strategy, there may be cause to change your business structure (i.e. from LLC to C-Corp), or to divide your current business into multiple entities. This is something we see particularly with Real Estate and Construction investors and firms, where there are critical tax benefits to changing the entity structure and hierarchies of the business.
If you are just starting out, a CPA can advise you on the best entity structure for your business and ensure all the necessary documents are filed.
Whether you are starting out, an established single-owner LLC (or Schedule C filer) looking to expand, or someone who is reevaluating the structure of their corporation, an accountant can absolutely advise you on the best strategy for your business.
Outsourced Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
A relatively new service for small businesses, an accountant can serve as an outsourced CFO, or Chief Financial Officer. A CFO will guide the business from a financial perspective, spanning everything from budgeting and forecasting to debt management and reduction and expansion strategies. You can hire an outsourced CFO for a specific project (i.e. a new product launch or an acquisition), for a specific timeframe, or as a consultant who can offer input on strategy. Some CPAs have more experience in owning and operating businesses than others, so it’s important to find a CPA with a strong team behind them and a proven record of business ownership.
Year-End Tax and Reporting Services
Year-end taxes and reporting are critical for every business, and built on a foundation of accurate financial reporting throughout the year. An accountant can ensure you have all of the paperwork necessary for your company return, issue W2s, 1099s, and other tax forms to employees and independent contractors, and take on the heavy task of ensuring all expenses and income is categorized appropriately.
Your accountant will also fully investigate opportunities for credits and deductions, and can help you build a tax strategy for the coming year.
Consulting
If you require a combination of services, or simply aren’t sure what you need, remember that many accountants offer consultancy services. Accounting consultants can be hired for a specific project, period of time, or phase of business, and often offer retainer pricing for their services. This way, you get an expert’s opinion on whatever you need, and can add in services as needed.
To view our small business accounting services, visit our services page
If you’re considering small business accounting services, you can learn about our team and the experts that will be guiding you through the process.
