As a small business owner and operator, you know firsthand that it can be nothing short of a perpetual nightmare, especially in the early stages and during the tax season.
Even in jurisdictions where measures have been taken to reduce small business red tape and reporting burden, few business owners would say that life is easy when it comes to accounting, project management, customer tracking, marketing...
anything at all that is not that particular business's major focus.
Accounting for small business is the most usual cause of extreme stress on the part of entrepreneurs, and this may well be due to lack of proper information in their decision-making process when it comes to their accounting practices.
Path number one: braving it out on your own Some small business owners think that as their business is only in the early stages of its life, an extravagance like hiring an accountant is out of the question.
Such business owners attempt to do all of their day to day bookkeeping, accounting, invoicing, tax work, and so on, by themselves, which is the perfect recipe for making your accounting for small business the business's demise.
Few, if any, business owners actually have the adequate time to invest in bookkeeping and accounting, nor should they (especially if they are not professional accountants themselves).
There is nothing wrong with admitting you need help.
Toughing it out in your small business accounting will never be a positive experience and could have disastrous effects.
Even if successful with it for an extended period of time, no businessman or businesswoman would ever look back at this time as well spent.
Path number two: bringing in some help If you've avoided path one completely or saw where it was leading you early enough, your next contemplated option would be hiring an in-house accountant and/or bookkeeper.
Such a person would certainly get your paperwork in order, assist you with day to day operations of the business, and prepare for the inevitable business tax filing process.
An accountant like this is certainly to be cherished, but they are also not to be overworked and overloaded.
Once your business starts to grow and payroll and daily expenses and revenues become increasingly complicated, one or two in-house staff members would start to visibly struggle, which brings us to option number three.
Path number three: outsourcing Yes, you just read the formerly dreaded word 'outsourcing'.
As most successful companies now recognize that no one should attempt to be everything for all occasions, and outsourcing and contracting work out become common place, the outsourcing of your small business accounting becomes a reasonable and attractive option.
Your internal accounting and bookkeeping department will, by this point, have enough on their plate as is, but a professional external provider of accounting for small business will take you to the next level when it comes to long term forecasting, budgeting, and taxes.
Which option should you choose? Do your research some more and decide on the option that best suits your vision for the business's future.