Too many business owners wait until their business is in trouble before they call their accountant.

It is similar to how people treat their doctors; they don’t like to visit the doctor unless they are really ill.

Wouldn’t it be far better to see your doctor when things are starting to look grim so preventative measures can be put in place?

It’s the same in your business.

You need to see your accountant not just when your business is really sick, but when you sense that your business may be running into a bit of difficulty. If your accountant is given the time to look at your situation early enough problems can usually be avoided.

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(Source: startrungrow.com)

If the business is not working out as planned then it may be time to investigate what to do to turn the business around. 

There are 9 basic steps that a business owner should follow to succeed.

Many owners of small and medium sized businesses have successfully used these steps to improve their business results.

Step 1: Write up proper plans.
It is absolutely critical that your business has written plans relating to your operation.  Companies who develop and follow their plans on a day to day basis generally never get into trouble.  The plan is the roadmap for your business. Your plan makes it easier to detect when you have run off the road and what you have to do to get back on. It prevents your business running into difficulties from which you may not be able to recover.

Everyone involved in a business - management, employees and the business owners - need to understand the business’s future plans as well as how to achieve the objectives of those plans.  Each person needs to see how they fit in and what they have to do to assist in meeting the targets. Many people value the opportunity of putting forward suggestions, ideas and skills from their own experience that may help turn the business around.

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There are a number of ways in which you can help minimise the fees that you pay to your accountant.

These include the following:

 Minimise problems

Keep in touch with your accountant so that problems don’t arise and your accountant has to charge extra in trying to resolve them

Good records

Provide your accountant with good, accurate and clean records

Good accounting systems
Make sure you have in place proper accounting and bookkeeping systems so that all the information can be extracted easily. A product such as iCashbook.com allows your accountant to access your information directly.

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There are many things that you can do to help your accountant give you the best help for your business.

Your accountant is human like anyone else. They make mistakes, they forget appointments, they forget to return your phone calls, they often appear not to understand you, they can’t work tax miracles for you when you make high profits, they are easily misunderstood, they are hard to get hold of and their fees continually appear too high.

You must appreciate that you are not the only client that your accountant is responsible for. Having said that, many accountants need to shake their ideas a little and take note that it is their clients that keep them in business. They need to remember that good service is the key to a successful accounting practice.

It takes two to tango so if both parties understand what is required from each then things would work much smoother for the benefit of all.

Here are a few suggestions to consider that would help your accountant give you the best service:

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The secret to saving is to take out the amount to be saved first, as soon as you are paid. This amount should not be touched for any other purpose except saving, and possibly investment. It has to be deducted first because if it is deducted last, in general, you will find that nothing is left. This money saved should be put into a separate savings account – preferably one where the money cannot be easily withdrawn.

It means that whatever you have left (after taking the set amount out) must be budgeted to live on. Sooner or later your weekly expenses will adjust down to the amount you have left. The upside is that while this is happening, your savings account will grow and you will be able to look at investment.  This will help you create extra income (if done wisely).

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