small business cpa

Avoiding Common Pitfalls: A Small Business CPA’s Guidance

Small Business 5 Mins Read February 17, 2025 Posted by Soumava Goswami

Are you a small business owner? Or are you planning to start one yourself? Whatever the situation, a small business CPA is necessary for all small business owners, startups, managers, and entrepreneurs.

While managing a business, you must record all the financial records and further categorize them.

On the other hand, payroll, budgeting, financial reporting, analysis, and taxes require your attention.

When you have a small company or a new one, it is obvious to rely on accountants and bookkeepers for small business CPA services. In that case, the certified public accountant is at your rescue.

Yes! You may not need a CPA for the weekly payroll. However, these certified public accountants can be useful for the other segments of your small business, such as financial statements or opting for a bank loan.

Want to learn more about small business CPAs and how to use them to manage your finances? Read on…

The Concept Behind The Small Business CPA

The Concept Behind The Small Business CPA

Small business CPAs— are referred to the Certified Public Accountant who works with all kinds of small businesses. They focus on providing accounting services such as preparing for taxes, analyzing financial statements, and even consulting with businesses.

They can further tailor their services based on the services required by the small businesses. This way, small businesses can manage their finances effectively.

Here are a few key points about CPA:

Expertise in all sorts of small business news. They typically understand the financial challenges and complexities that small businesses face.

They provide a very comprehensive service. Small business CPAs can help you handle payroll processing, tax planning, and compliance checks.

Guidance and advice. They have the expertise to offer you strategic financial services. As a result, small businesses can make proper, informed decisions.

They must be state-licensed. This is applied to all the CPAs. They need to have a license from their state to practice accounting.

How A Small Business CPA Can Be A Huge Help Before You Start A Business

How A Small Business CPA Can Be A Huge Help Before You Start A Business

Are you trying to figure out how to start your new business? Trust me! A CPA can be a huge help for you. You have your idea ready. All you have to do is to have a conversation with the CPA.

They can help you understand how exactly you can make the business planning and make it happen! Here’s how…

Evaluate Your Overall Business Idea

The small business CPA evaluates the viability of the business plan. Starting a company may sound like a good idea, but you should not make any decisions in a rush! A CPA can help you understand whether the plan will be profitable.

Pick A Specific Business Entity

If your business idea makes sense, a CPA can help you determine the business entity type you should use: a C corporation, S corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, or partnership.

Figuring Out All Of Your Tax Responsibilities

The small business CPA also lets you know about your tax responsibilities. Working on the tax responsibilities is necessary. You may not realize when you are missing a tax unless you get a bill that includes the interests and penalties from the government.

Set Up The Entire Bookkeeping

A bookkeeping system can be useful to keep track of all your business transactions. These include your sales and expenses. A small business CPA can help you stay organized through a system that is also easy to use.

Planning Out Your Deductions

Finally comes the deductions part. Your CPA can help you to figure out your deductions. Let’s say you have larger and more complicated deductions for auto expenses. The CPA can teach how you can qualify.

And…the Main Part: How Much Does A Small Business CPA Cost?

And…the Main Part_ How Much Does A Small Business CPA Cost_

A small business CPA typically costs between $1,000 and $5,000, depending on the service requested. The hourly rate ranges from around $50 to $400, with the average falling closer to the lower end for basic accounting for a specific small business.

Several factors affect the costs, such as:

Business complexity. There are much simpler businesses that have fewer transactions. These will cost you less than any complex business, especially the ones with large volume activity.

CPA experience. The more experience a CPA will have, the more they will charge you for the hourly rates.

Location matters a lot. The costs may vary greatly based on the CPA firm’s CPA location.

A service provided by a small business CPA, basic tax preparation is less expensive than comprehensive accounting services.

And…How Can I Lower The CPA Cost?

To be very frank, there are two ways to help you keep a low cost while hiring a CPA. You can do nothing if your business structure is complex or covers multiple states. However, you can at least keep the books clean.

You must ensure your record is thorough, properly organized, and error-free. This can help the CPA understand your bookkeeping immediately. They can also easily access all kinds of paperwork.

This will allow them to spend less on lowering their taxes, causing the costs to fall gradually.

Another way to lower your overall tax cost is to create a tax strategy for your small business. A CPA doesn’t know any magic.

However, their expertise can provide feasible suggestions for making money with the IRS. They may also have some ideas on how to cut costs in other areas of your business.

Top Companies Who Provide Small Business CPA

Recently, online CPA services have been providing accounting and bookkeeping services. As for the findings, these agencies are making it easier for you to access them.

In this section, I will provide you with the best options that you can consider.

Wing Assistant

Wing Assistant

The Wing Bookkeeping virtual assistant can offer top-notch services to help you manage your finances. Wing Bookkeeping Virtual Assistants is a familiar accounting software like QuickBooks or Xero. You can consider it the highest praise indeed.

This specific platform is highly dedicated to your business. It can ensure the learning curve can quickly recover.

Bench Accounting

Bench accounting provides its own financial software. They even have a dedicated team to take care of your small business CPA services.

Currently, the company is providing services to around 25,000 small businesses. They also provide one-on-one services to their clients.

Pilot

This is one of the largest startup and small business accounting firms in the United States. Pilot has over 250 employees, including fractional CFOs, accountants, and tax specialists. Their service providers are efficient enough to handle projects for small businesses.

Bookkeeper.com

Bookkeeper.com

This platform provides a wide range of bookkeeping and accounting services. They can assist you with your small business CPA services. The company has over 37 years of experience in providing bookkeeping services to clients.

So? Are You Ready To Hire A CPA?

Well, there is no right time to hire a small business CPA. But, it is profitable to go for one once if you feel like your business has started to make a profit.

If your business is experiencing rapid growth or is about to be audited, you can immediately consult with a small business CPA.

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Inspired by The Social Network, Soumava loves to find ways to make small businesses successful – he spends most of his time analyzing case studies of successful small businesses. With 5+ years of experience in flourishing with a small MarTech company, he knows countless tricks that work in favor of small businesses. His keen interest in finance is what fuels his passion for giving the best advice for small business operations. He loves to invest his time familiarizing himself with the latest business trends and brainstorming ways to apply them. From handling customer feedback to making the right business decisions, you’ll find all the answers with him!

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