I could sing praises about my accountant over and over again!
Not only has he saved me so much with my business time, and time again, he gives me some of the most sound advice I receive.
I have moved between multiple states which means multiple accountants, and I have finally landed with an accountant that understands the photography world and small businesses! Here’s the crazy part, even though he is based in Colorado Springs, I have actually never met him in person. Everything has been virtual, and honestly I don’t mind!
Here are the three reasons you need to hire an accountant for your business!
They Can Save You Hundreds If Not Thousands
You use TurboTax? How is that going for you? Well let me just break this to you, as your business grows, you will want to make sure you have the absolute best accountant on your side.
Did you know that making proper reconciliations can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars each year in your business!
There are many moving pieces to a photography business from possibly having a studio, miles driven, meals on the road, equipment, office space, supplies. The list can go on and on. I have found that my accountant makes sure I am reconciling correctly and saving my business all the money it possibly can from my day-to-day activities. At the end of the year, I find that I am saving anywhere from $3000-$5,000 just from following the protocols my accountant has set-up for my business.
Frees Up Your Time
I was actually complaining to my accountant the other day about just the upkeep with my business because well, it is expensive. He said something to me the other day that made me stop dead in my tracks which was, “Ashleigh you are saving yourselves days out of each month with having these tools and an accountant. This frees up your time so you can go invest it in other parts of your business.” Shoot, was he right! And that was why I hired him to begin with. Yes, overhead can become frustrating at times, but having an accountant is essential to any business moving forward.
Checks and Balances
I am putting my mistakes front and center for you because, hello! I am just not perfect here! I sure wish I was, but I am not. At the end of each year, my accountant goes into my Quickbooks account and runs through my expenses, income, transactions etc. This past year was a doozy while being pregnant, having a baby, being a new mom. I did all that I could, but unfortunately I had some blips, didn’t enter things correctly (hello pregnancy brain!), and my balance sheet was way off. My accountant came to my rescue! He pointed this out to me, helped make the changes, walked me through how to not make those mistakes in the future, and off I went with a brighter and better 2019! Trust me, an accountant will be your lifesaver time and time again!
If you don’t already have an accountant, ask other photographers in your area who they use. You will probably start to hear a pattern and will want to reach out to those few accountants that come up time and time again.
This will be one of your biggest business expenses. Just do it! You will thank your past self if anything comes up in the future.