Financial Challenges for Small Businesses
Many small businesses lack the capacity and financial muscle to effectively manage specific functions. Preparing financial statements and complying with federal tax laws are among the most challenging tasks that can threaten small businesses. As a business owner, do you wonder if your business maximizes profit? Do you struggle to take advantage of the always-changing tax laws? Is your business running as efficiently as it should? What’s more, the IRS has a string of tax-related penalties that can result in substantial fines and cripple your business. How do you avoid these penalties while maximizing your earning potential?
Partnering with a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) can help you comply with IRS regulations, improve efficiency, and be accurate in your operations. Here are some of the ways we help business owners in Gretna and surrounding communities throughout the greater New Orleans area.
1. Improve Efficiency
Preparing the book of accounts, end-of-year reports, or taxes is complex and time-consuming. Businesses without the requisite set of skills cope through experiments and consultation. Accountants possess unique skills to incorporate historical data, dissect numbers, and give sound financial advice. Certified public accountants can also analyze data for the decision-making process.
2. Take over Your Financial Tasks:
Bookkeeping is a daily task that a business must undertake to track performance and prepare financial reports. The daily entries include entering checks and deposits, invoicing customers, reconciling the bank account, and maintaining other sub-ledgers.
Partnering with an accounting firm removes the burden and time required to perform these tasks. Consequently, the business owner and the employees can focus on the business’s core operations. In addition, a CPA will take minimal time to prepare the books and other statutory reports, effectively improving business operations.
3. Increase the Accuracy of Your Records
A regular employee or business owner dispenses duties to the best of their knowledge. On the contrary, a Certified Public Accountant operates by following a code of conduct set by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, among other professional bodies.
As a result, a professional accountant must demonstrate competence and due care to clients. They must also uphold professionalism and integrity while performing their duties. The accountants can face disciplinary action, including license revocation, for failing to follow the code.
Besides professionalism, a CPA increases accuracy through:
- Provision of Core Services: A business owner who combines running the operation and doing the work of an accountant is likely not operating efficiently. On the contrary, a CPA specializes in maintaining financial records and statements. Therefore, A CPA is best suited to analyze trends and ensure the books are up-to-date and accurate.
- Accurate Accounting: Professional accountants have a set of tools that enhance the accuracy of their work. They employ a double-entry system, trial balances, balance sheets, and financial ratios. Ultimately, an accountant has the knowledge, skills, and tools to help your business achieve accurate books and reports.
4. Save You Money
Running a profitable enterprise is among the top objectives of every business owner. Resource optimization also complements efforts to run a healthy business. Therefore, when you partner with an accountant, you will significantly reduce mistakes that waste money.
Here’s a breakdown of how an accountant can save you money:
- Tax Advice: Failure to file the proper taxes on time can attract considerable penalties for a business. Tax is also applied differently to corporations, sole proprietors, or partnerships. Accountants, in general, offer essential insights like tax planning, business consulting, deadline management, and transactions that can mitigate your tax bill. These matters affect your bottom line, so involving an accountant is critical.
- Outsourcing: Hiring an internal accountant has additional costs, such as benefits, welfare costs, and office space. You can bypass the associated labor cost by partnering with a firm offering demand accounting services.
- Optimize Your Time: Time that is improperly utilized equates to lost money. For example, if you suspend your operations every two weeks to prepare books, you’ll lose an opportunity to close sales or concentrate on your operations. An accountant frees the schedule of an employee or a business owner, effectively saving money.
5. Gain Unparalleled Insight Into Your Business
An accountant has analytical skills that can be applied to financial data. Business owners can tap into the professional relationship to gain valuable insights into improving their businesses.
For example, CPAs can analyze year-over-year trends to determine if you are spending too much on payroll or if a business owner needs to raise their bill rates.
Certified Public Accountants Are Experts
A professional accountant brings years of experience, reporting standards, and a supporting team. Therefore, your business will gain from improved efficiency, reduced business costs, accurate financial reporting, and tax planning. We proudly serve the Belle Chasse, Luling, and the Greater New Orleans Area. We treat your family like ours and can’t wait to help you improve your operations.A Certified Public Accountant undertakes professional exams and is registered independently. As such, CPAs perform their work in conformity with IRS rules and global financial reporting standards.
Here are some of their skills that can add value to your business:
- Industry Knowledge: The subscription to professional bodies offers them constant updates and changes in reporting standards. They also work as a network, which boosts their knowledge of the practice.
- Time Management: By partnering with a CPA, you can focus on growing your business by outsourcing the routine financial tasks that a CPA can manage.
Why Estess CPAs?
Estess CPAs has become an industry-leading tax preparation and advisor firm, offering accounting and bookkeeping services. Owners John and Lori Estess relish their roles as advocates, advisors, and partners to small business owners. While answering many business owners’ questions, many have praised their patience, empathy, and willingness to help. John started Estess CPAs in 2005 as a full-service accounting firm after working in Banking and Governmental Accounting and at another CPA firm. He has served as Financial Secretary / Treasurer for numerous charitable committees and was nominated as a board member for his local area school. A member of the Rotary Club and Plaquemines Parish Association of Business and Industry and a member and officer of a local BNI Group, Crescent City Business Partner, John recently held the position of President for PASBA, a national group of Small Business Accountants for over 200 firms nationwide. With her background as an Administrative Services Manager in charge of all Payroll, Human Resources, and accounting, Lori Estess joined her husband, John, at Estess CPAs in 2007. She handles accounting and administrative duties for the Belle Chasse and Luling locations. Lori and John have been married for 30 years and have two children.
Through proper planning and shared knowledge gathered from working one-on-one with hundreds of clients, Estess CPAs continues to expand its services. In addition to helping small businesses run efficiently and save on tax liability, the accounting firm offers a wide range of services, including tax services, accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll services. Estess CPAs help small business owners stay informed through newsletters, monthly blogs, and social media campaigns. They aim to help small business owners understand how their choices affect their bottom line, including the ramifications of tax liabilities. Free consultations are available by phone, video conference, or in person. For additional information about Estess CPAs’ services and locations, call (504) 433-5122 (Belle Chasse office) or (985) 785-1470 (Luling office), or visit estesscpa.com.
Estess & Associates, LLC
Small Business Services
7822 Highway 23
Belle Chasse, LA 70037
(504) 433-5122
Estess & Company, LLC
Certified Public Accountants
128 Lakewood Drive
Luling, LA 70070
(985) 785-1470
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