As your small business probably knows, anyone can perform basic bookkeeping tasks. Categorizing synced transactions from the bank isn’t rocket science. But it’s not just about finding someone who can handle these responsibilities—it’s about finding an experienced bookkeeper who gets it right, on time, and works cohesively with your CPA. If your bookkeeper made these accounting mistakes last year, it might be time to rethink your business’s accounting strategy.
🚩 Didn’t Collaborate with Your CPA
Having a bookkeeper and a separate tax person can prove to be an issue, as they are not incentivized to communicate with one another. Consider hiring a licensed Certified Public Accounting Firm that specializes in helping small businesses bridge the gap between transactional work and providing ongoing tax strategy planning.
You will miss opportunities to legally save money on your taxes if your financial efforts are not ongoing and cohesive. If your bookkeeper doesn’t do their job correctly on a daily basis, your CPA will have to clean up messes later on in order to correctly prepare your business’s taxes. Bringing in an integrated CPA team will ensure a seamless financial experience throughout the year as the same group of licensed CPAs sees your business through from the beginning of the fiscal year through to the end.
🚩 Missed Opportunities to Legally Save on Taxes
Your business could take a significant hit thanks to a financial disconnect between your CPA and bookkeeper. Is your bookkeeper only equipped to take care of your straightforward and transactional daily financial tasks? Don’t skimp in this area; what you might save by hiring an inexperienced bookkeeper that makes accounting mistakes you will likely spend when paying taxes and then some.
Enlisting the expertise of an integrated CPA team guarantees that you are getting high-quality service from a group of CPAs that work together to benefit your organization.
🚩 Didn’t Provide Year-Round Advisory and Planning
To truly thrive, your company needs year-round, customized financial expertise from an industry professional that has been trained to help business owners like you. Trusting an unqualified bookkeeper that works in total separation from your CPA will not do the trick.
A strategy that was established at the beginning of the year might need to be altered if your bookkeeper reports that day-to-day conditions have changed since the strategy was put into place. A communicative, collaborative relationship between these two is crucial for your organization’s success.
🚩 Risked an Audit with Mis-Reporting
You will be a likely auditing target if your bookkeeper continually makes mistakes—even small ones. Rounding to the nearest whole number, simple math errors, incorrectly categorizing expenses, neglecting to track reimbursable expenses, and more can catch the attention of the IRS and put your business in a vulnerable position.
If errors of this nature don’t trigger an audit for your company, your CPA will either have to allocate extra time and effort to rectify these mistakes later on or your business will simply miss out on opportunities to save money.
🚩 Didn’t Get to Know Your Business
Your bookkeeper should have an in-depth familiarity with your business, its problem areas, its long-term goals, etc. in order to help you save money. Ask yourself the following questions:
- ❓ Can my bookkeeper help identify problem areas?
- ❓ Opportunities to increase profits?
- ❓ Do they understand my goals to grow my business?
- ❓ Do they help me figure out ways to cut costs?
If the answer is no, and your bookkeeper makes accounting mistakes, consider how upgrading to an integrated CPA team might improve the financial aspects of your business.
💡 What Can Be Done?
As mentioned earlier, there are straightforward solutions to these costly mistakes. At Insogna CPA, we specialize in bridging the gap between transactional bookkeeping and ongoing tax strategy planning, so your business doesn’t suffer from poor financial management:
- ✅ Small business bookkeeping that helps your company save as much as legally possible on taxes.
- ✅ Identifying problem areas, maximizing profits, and advising on how to cut costs—looking beyond just the numbers to see the full picture.
- ✅ Preventing unnecessary audits by maintaining accurate records and avoiding common reporting mistakes.
Is your small business’s bookkeeping more of a headache than a help?
Let’s chat about how we can help you take control of your financial future. Reach out today—we’re here to make sure your books aren’t just balanced, but that your business is too.