Accountants do a lot more than people think they can. When most people think “accountant”, they think tax returns, payroll and VAT. In reality, an accountant can provide a business with far more.

They can help with business planning, corporate restructuring, company formations and tasks within your business from the miniscule to the massive. With so many things an accountant can do for your business, at what point should your business consider hiring an accountant? On one level, this is simple – on another, it’s complex.

The Simple Answer

You should hire an accountant when you’re no longer able or willing to handle your business’ accounts management yourself. At AIMS, we find that many businesses are happy to do the little things – many of our clients still handle their own bookkeeping, for example. However, when it comes to major projects that require specialist knowledge, like account structuring or VAT returns, then they look for an accountant to handle the tasks they can’t do.

The More Complicated Answer

Hire an accountant when you feel they would best benefit your business in terms of time/money saved and quality of life improved. Many businesses balk at acquiring an accountant because they just see the costs of the work without looking at the benefits. One fact you have to face running your own business is that nothing is free – even if you’re working from home then you’re still paying for extra utilities. Worrying too much about costs can cause serious issues for a business. Instead of thinking of an accountant as a cost, think of their fees as an investment – whilst you could do the basics yourself for “free”, an accountant can streamline your accounts and optimise your processes. Often AIMS Accountants see clients’ costs go down as a result of their work!

An accountant also gives you a better quality of life – with your accountant handling the financials, you can spend more time on the parts of your business you really enjoy. You wouldn’t try and build an extension to your house on your own to save costs (we hope), so why should you expand your business without an accountant to help you manage the foundations?

Ultimately, you should look into acquiring an accountant when you think your business would benefit from it most. It’s important to consider exactly when that is, though – it may be a different point than you think!

Find your local AIMS Accountant to support your business. We are business accountants for business people.