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By Mary Bennett

It often seems that new businesses think accounting is just about numbers. They don’t fully appreciate that numbers are what tell the story of their business in a meaningful way. They tell you how you’re doing, what problems are coming, what opportunities you can afford and more.

Working with an accountant is the surest way to keep your business on the right path. When it comes to accounting and tax preparation, here is What Every New Business Should Know:

1) Maintain good bookkeeping habits. From the time you launch, always do timely entries and reconciliations through QuickBooks or your chosen accounting system. It’s about the daily discipline of maintaining current and accurate books.

2) Meet with your accountant at least quarterly to review your financial year. This will help you head off any problems and make sure there are no surprises at the end of the year. With that knowledge, you can manage a liability. Maybe you hold off on a major capital purchase until after the 1st the year.

3) Know how to read your financial statements. As an owner, you should know what your expenditures truly are and what impact they have to your bottom line, both positive and negative. Remember it’s not how much you make, it’s how much you get to keep.

Essential financial records would be the Profit and Loss Statement and the Balance Sheet. That’s the bloodline of the company. Without knowing your P&L, you can be chugging along very nicely and all of a sudden there’s no cash flow or reserves. If you can use your financials as intended, you can see it coming and make changes to survive.

4) Many startups believe they can’t afford an accountant. They are mistaken. The truth is you need the extra set of eyes that are not emotionally tied to the company. We train people to maintain their own books and we meet with the quarterly to make sure all is well. Quarterly meetings are more affordable than monthly and still ensure the opportunity to correct problems and make sure you are following your financial road map. Doing things correctly as you go will save the significant expense of trying to fix the problem later.

5) Your accountant can also be a business advisor and mentor. Our company is based on consulting and advising our clients. We help hold them accountable to their goals. That is the core of all our interactions. How can we help you? When things start clicking for startups, the accounting relationship becomes more extended.

6) Think about taxes all year long. It’s something you prepare for all year. Keep your books well and when we start preparing your returns, it will all go smoothly. If you show up to an accountant with a box of receipts, you’ll find it very expensive to have them do all the sorting that you should have done throughout the year.