Tax and Accounting Services Can Save More Than They Cost

Owning and operating your own business involves a lot of work and your time is best spent in improving and growing your business. Also, most entrepreneurs will tell you that the tasks involved in the bookkeeping and taxation side of the business are tedious at best and absolutely painful for many.

You may already have determined that your time is best spent in dealing with customers and operating your business, not making accounting entries and filing tax returns. However, are you hiring that out or using employees but not ratcheting your business financial activities up a notch with tax and accounting consulting services?

Yes, hiring tax and accounting consulting services carries a cost, but it could be one of the most valuable discretionary expenses on your tax return. Major corporations have directors that meet regularly to discuss past and present business performance as well as make decisions for the current and future years. Most small businesses have one or a couple of directors, you, maybe your spouse, or one or more partners. While the major corporation can hire directors or employees who are licensed professionals, you are at a disadvantage.

Operating your business should be your primary focus, and you can find tax and accounting services to help you with the things those large corporation boards of directors do. To help with the decision, here are the ways in which they can help your business and you personally:

• Asset protection advice – As you grow your assets with a successful and profitable business, do not leave them at risk from creditors and lawsuits. A tax team can advise you as to the tax and business value of how to combine insurance with other asset protection strategies, such as trusts. Protect your assets as you grow them with tax and accounting consulting services.
• Retirement planning – Retirement is in all business owner’s plans for them and their families. There are also retirement considerations related to business taxation when it comes to employee retirement programs. The advice of tax and accounting consulting services can help you in three ways:
  • Create and grow your personal and family retirement nest eggs with tax free growth plans.
  • Do the same to hire and keep the best employees with IRS qualified tax plans.
  • Minimize current business taxes through proper retirement plan contributions and deductions.
• Business growth planning – As you grow your business there will be many decisions along the way. Most will be related to major purchases of real estate, equipment, or vehicles. Tax consequences and benefits of those purchases, from timing to depreciation methods, can be minimized with expert tax and accounting consulting services advice. Their advice can also bear on changes in origination or changes in the business entity structure. At different times in the inception and growth of a business, it may require decisions as to whether it should be a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC (Limited Liability Company), S-Corporation, or full corporation.
• Audit response and representation – The main focus of a tax professional for a business is to help them to do everything right and accurately when it comes to business taxation. From the bookkeeping functions to tax return preparation, their advice in how to properly set them up, file and pay taxes is invaluable. Should the IRS still decide to audit your return, a tax professional can represent you in the process.

Tax and accounting consulting services will stand out as advisable when value and cost are compared.