Accounting is necessary for business to calculate and pay taxes, submit reports, take employees to the state, charge their salaries, and report to the state.
In the beginning, when there are few documents (and free money), owners can do wage accounting on their own. Usually, owners record debits and credits in Excel and work with documents using simple programs. These tools perform one task: they help to prepare standard invoices, acts, or contracts quickly and free of charge.
But if it is difficult to deal with documents or there is not enough time, it is worth taking an assistant. There are many options: online accounting services, a freelance accountant, a staff accountant, and outsourcing. Some are more expensive, others take more time, and some are suitable for those who are not afraid to take risks. So, you must think a lot about how to choose accounting for business.
Online accounting for small business
This is the most affordable option for your pocket. There are many online accounting options, and each has its distinctive features. So, there are a lot of ways to choose accounting for business.
You can get a tool for accounting and reporting. Although, you will have to do everything yourself: start documents, fill out acts and invoices, invoice, prepare, and send declarations.
Advantages of online service compared to accounting in Excel file:
- Ready-to-use user-friendly interface, similar to 1C, but more simple.
- The system calculates the tax itself and generates reports based on your documents.
- You can send tax reports in electronic form directly from the service.
In this case, personal advice can not be obtained, but you can contact the support center. If there is an error in the reports, you will communicate and deal with government agencies on your own. The interface depends on the service.
The option is suitable for a beginner online store, where you are the only employee. But when you hire workers, it will require monthly calculations of wages, payments, and reports. You will need to add more accounting services for small business. Your time will no longer be sufficient to do all the work, and you will think about hiring an accountant. In this case, the accountant will analyze the status of your accounting for small business, calculate the cost, and tell you what documents are missing. These are practical recommendations on how to choose accounting for business when you are just starting.
Freelancers’ accounting services for small businesses
Such an accountant for small business will create documents, calculate taxes, form, and send reports. The specialist will advise and help with the registration of employees. The accounting will be maintained in 1C. Primary documents (checks, invoices, and others), most likely, will always be in the correct order. Freelancer is a good answer to the question, “How to choose accounting for business?”.
A responsible accountant will help to resolve issues with government agencies and transfer cases when the business grows. But there are also unscrupulous accountants who:
- are working in a legacy database as it does the taxes;
- can leave you alone with checks and tax;
- will not give you the base; if you need to fire them, the restoration of the base will hit the wallet and take time.
Freelance accounting for a business is like Russian roulette. If you are lucky, you will get a partner, assistant, and responsive accountant in one person. And if not, you will spend the money saved on accounting on restoration.
However, a good accountant will get rid of headaches, will respond quickly to questions and will take on all the accounting tasks: work with primary documents, communication with the tax authorities, accounting, and management reporting. He or she will report to the state and help with personal finances, for example, help with deductions on tax returns. If you attract the attention of the tax authorities and will get audited, the right accountant will help ease the stress and save time and money. So, the question “How to choose accounting for business?” has many answers.