I only have 3 words to say to you: Get. An. Accountant. As soon as humanly possible. Business accounting is straightforward at its very foundation: money in – money out = profit. Right? Kind of, but… no. This is why you need an expert business accountant to keep you on the right path.
There are so many formulas at play in accounting that you shouldn’t really give it any thought further than ‘get a business accountant’. Do it the minute you start generating revenue. It doesn’t matter how little you’re making – you won’t regret it.
For example, with our accountants, it’s like having a financial director in the business. They help advise and steer us in the right direction for financial stability and, indeed, sustainability.
Having a business accountant can be like therapy
For me, this works a treat and is why having this type of accountant is brilliant. They act as therapists when you just need to talk to someone about money. This could be about money problems or, indeed, how to spend. For example, your business might be ultra-successful; however, you’re going to have the opposite problem of not knowing what to do with so much money!
Business accountants make your money work for you
Get that advice, because you’ve got to make that money work for you. After all, it’s useless just sitting in the bank doing nothing.
In business, money has to be busy. It has to be creating additional revenue. If you don’t have a financial background, you’re not going to have the foggiest what to do with it. Therefore, you need someone who knows about the relationship between money and transactions and taxes and so on.
Our business accountants are helping us with debt, cashflow, invoicing properly and chasing owed money from clients. Not only that, they’re helping us to plan ahead – because we’ve got big goals for the future. They’re looking at the company right now and helping us put a plan together for the next five to ten years.
Are you delusional about your finances?
The main thing to think about on the goals front is how confident you are in your business actually making it. Are you a bit delusional about where you think your business is and where it’s going, versus what’s actually happening in your business?
Again, this is where a business accountant comes in. They can look at your numbers and tell you whether your business is in a good shape or going to hit the wall. You can also look at your sales pipeline – is it healthy? Have you got invoices out there ready to be paid?
Overall, it’s good to have an overview so you can work out whether it’s worth going any further and risking more debt and the b-word: bankruptcy.
So, get a business accountant as soon as you can. They’re good with numbers and it will give you someone to help share the stresses and burdens of dealing with finances. It can be like therapy!
Thank you for reading this chapter of the Diary of an Entrepreneur. I must stress, I’m not trying to teach you anything. I’m just sharing my journey, and if it motivates you, then great – job done!
If you want to hear more about my entrepreneurial journey, check out the Diary of an Entrepreneur podcast on all available platforms – I talk all things business in terms of my OWN journey and experience. It’s not one to miss!
If you’d like to chat more business, feel free to get in touch with me here or you can email me directly at dannylacey@stadamedia.co.uk.