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Further
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Incorporating You - Elena Fawkner Incorporating You © 2002 Elena Fawkner Running a business involves risk - the risk that the business may either succeed brilliantly or fail miserably. Or neither. The upside is high -- financial and (perhaps) time freedom; independence;...
Use Auction Templates For eBay Success! - Sydney Johnston Auction templates are simply a must for successful online auction selling. One day I spent approximately 45 minutes writing a listing for an item that would make me about $5 in profit! I suddenly realized the stupidity of what I was doing. Here I...
What Your Customers Absolutely Must Know About Your Business - Ray Worthy Campbell What Your Customers Absolutely Must Know About Your Business No matter how small or new your home business, it is never too soon to start thinking about your brand image. Brand image? You may think that brand image is something that matters for...
"earn while you Learn" Turnkey businesses - James A Glover So you have decided to start your own online business. You feel pretty comfortable about using a computer and the Internet and you have heard so much about how others have made millions on the Net and you want some of those millions too! Well if...
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Choose The Right CPA For Your Business
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Written By:
Maria Marsala
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CPA's are more than just individuals who do your yearly taxes. They can advise you a long list of other services, which may include advice on your accounting system, financial, retirement, estate and tax planning. CPA's are part of a business owner's professional team along with a Banker and Lawyer.
Ask for recommendations. Your local Chamber of Commerce will tell you the names of CPAs who are members. When you attend any type of meeting, or meet other business owner's, ask for CPA recommendations.
Use the 60% rule. If you're a business owner, pick a CPA who has 60% of their business coming from business owner's -like you! They're more apt to keep up with the laws regarding clients they deal with most often. If you're a corporation, make sure that the person specializes in corporate accounting, including financial statements, audits, etc.
Interview CPAs! Ask what type of services they do for their clients, how long they've been in business full time, and for referrals, etc. Don't forget to ask to see their license. Ask them about the benefits of choosing them over another CPA.
Rates Ask about their rates and what those rates include. If they have a rate chart, all the better! Also, ask what their hourly rate is and what the cost would be to answer questions during the year.
Ask Them About Record Keeping Ask what computer program they prefer you use for your record keeping and why they prefer that program. Many times, if you use the - continued below ...
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program they suggest, it can save you some money because they can use your data files. Some even have programs they'll set up especially for you!
Bring Your Records To The Interview Bring a copy of at least one year's tax return when you interview a CPA. This way your prospective CPA can give you educated "guesstimates" as to what their services will cost you.
How To File If you want to save some money, ask how they want your paper files.... If you bring your files to them in shoeboxes (hey, many folks do), you will pay to have all that deciphered! You can save money if you separate the information the way the CPA suggests.
Corporation vs. Individual Are you interested in hiring a corporation of CPAs or a CPA that has their own business? If you opt for the corporation, find out if you'll be dealing with one particular person, or will it be whoever answers the phone when you call. It's best to have one person to build a relationship with!
When do they work? What are their hours of operation? Make sure that you can call them at hours that are convenient for you.
Making a Decision Interview at least 3 CPAs. Don't rush this decision. Make sure you have the best CPA and bookkeeper for you and your business!
About the Author Maria Marsala is an internationally known Business & Life Coach-Consultant. Subscribe to her free ezine "Helping You and Your Business Grow" at http://www.coachmaria.com
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How to Get Organised for Xmas - Lorraine Pirihi Let’s make sure that this year you are really prepared for the Xmas onslaught. It’s an interesting time...extremely stressful for many people. There’s the pressure to complete projects, plan for 2002 and so many extra invitations. On top of that you...
The Top Three Problems IT Managers Face and How to Overcome Them - Frank Schmidt Todays business environment has changed drastically from just a few years back. Rather than working exclusively with equipment, data, and systems, todays IT managers face issues such as cross training, personnel management, interdepartmental...
The Nigerian Scam - Richard Lowe The Nigerian Scam letters - I'm sure you've received them in your mail and your inbox. This scam has been running for decades, and by now I would think that most people in the United States have received it or heard about it in one form or another. ...
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