5 Mistakes Business Owners Make when Hiring an Outsourced Accountant
#1 Hiring an Orlando accountant based solely on cost
Price is no indication of quality. Expensive can be just as good as inexpensive. And cheap
advice is cheaper, but not necessarily better. If you hire an accountant just to save a few dollars in fees and hire someone incompetent whose decisions cost you hundreds of dollars, then you did not get a bargain. In the long run bad advice or poor service will cost you far more than you may know. Hire someone that is expensive who provides poor service you will be unhappy no matter how sound the advice. Compare the services and determine a balance between service and cost. Good business advice can solve problems and save money and time.
#2 Expecting credentials and designations to make a “Good” Business Adviser
There are a lot of professional credentials and designations. Some credentials are good while other are terrible. Within every credential there outsourced accountants that are good while other are just down right bad.
The primary question to ask a business adviser or Orlando outsourced accountant is do they have the expertise I need?
Credentials may or may not help to answer that on their own. Credentials say nothing about the individual's personality, skills, talents, disposition, or ability to provide you quality service. You want someone that will take the time to learn about you and your business.
Finding a business adviser or outsourced accountant is about "the right person," not "the person with the right credential," and there is a big difference. When you have question or experience a challenge in your business, it's going to be the human being and not the letters after their name that you need to rely on.
#3 Making decision on expectations and results
Business owners hire advisers because they need help to solve a problem, they need a skill set they do not have, or they want someone to provide sound advice as needed.
Hiring someone solely on claims they can reduce or eliminate your tax bill is a recipe for disaster. A good tax adviser will provide you comfort they have found every tax deduction or credit you are entitled too. This comfort comes from meeting with the tax adviser on a regular basis. There is not much tax planning that can be done in January for the prior year.
Look for a business partner who will help you develop business strategies that enable you to reach your long-term goals or someone who has a service that allows them to learn about you and your business.
#4 Letting the adviser control everything
Business advisers are partners in your financial success, but you have the most at stake and, therefore, you run the show. With that in mind, you are entitled from the very beginning of the relationship to ask about anything you want, from why a recommendation was made to why something cost more than you expected.
You need to be treated like "the boss,". Some advisers treat customers poorly when the client doesn't take their advice or make a suggested move. That reaction is an instant warning sign that the adviser respects his position more than yours and may have put his interests first.
#5 Hiring friends and relatives
Doing business with a friend or family member spells trouble for one big reason: You let your guard down.
Working with friends has emotions on all sides. Ask your friend or relative to provide a written history of his business experience and credentials and they may be offended. Fail to ask a full set of questions about their qualifications you will not know whether or not you found the right expert.
There is more than money at stake when you do business with friends and family. Factor the extra value of your friendship into your decision making; you'll lose a lot more than just money if a financial relationship with a friend or relative goes bad.
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