{"id":956,"date":"2024-04-30T00:18:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T06:18:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smallbusiness.hrblock.com\/?p=166"},"modified":"2024-04-30T10:19:46","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T16:19:46","slug":"why-you-need-a-financial-professional-and-how-to-choose-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blockadvisors.com\/resource-center\/small-business-services\/why-you-need-a-financial-professional-and-how-to-choose-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Why you need a financial professional, and how to choose one"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you take on a home improvement project and you make a serious mistake, you’ll either have to read the instructions again, make more trips to the hardware store, or call in the contractor who you should have hired in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you’re handling your company’s financial accounting and you make a serious mistake, it may be necessary to jump to the third option right away. But it’s not always easy to correct bookkeeping errors, and finding a reputable professional who can jump in immediately and troubleshoot will be difficult. You may have to wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, your bills aren’t being paid and no invoices or orders are going out. Your customers and suppliers are calling and your cash flow is tanking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Save time and money<\/h3>

Your personal accountant, for up to 50% less<\/p>

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Learn more<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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\"tax<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

It may be an overused adage, but it’s so true. And it illustrates the first, most compelling reason why your small business should retain the services of a financial professional. If you tangle up your records, you’re going to need them fixed, and fast<\/i>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if you’re using an accounting application that has safeguards built in to help prevent mistakes, you can still do a lot of damage to your company file. Accounting software and websites make it much easier to create records and transactions and reports, shielding you from the arcane rules of double-entry bookkeeping. But if you don’t understand the basic tenets, it’s easy to bury a mistake so deep that it’s impossible for you to find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skilled accountants can evaluate your bookkeeping procedures and find any flaws that are lurking. They’ll learn about your business structure and needs, and suggest ways to proceed that may simplify your financial tasks \u2013 and will surely improve the accuracy of your books. Then if you do something that compromises that accuracy, they’ll know enough about you that they’ll be able to fix it much quicker than a stranger would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Technology, taxes, and trouble<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Today’s best accounting professionals keep up with technological change. They know what works and what doesn’t, what makes sense and what may be a waste of time and money. They can suggest tools that would benefit you, and they can teach you how to use them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using today’s best small business accounting applications, a savvy financial advisor can create and analyze complex reports.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe you’ve always thought of accountant as professional tax preparers that you visit once a year. Some are so much more than that. They can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n