Now that I've managed to get a few jobs in the door with my LLC, i'm coming up on the next roadblock of professional practice: Taxes. Or more specifically tax planning.
Besides just asking friends and business acquaintances for suggestions, does anyone know any good resources for finding a CPA who has had experience working with design firms in the past?
After hiring and firing four accountants over the years I have this sage advice.
1. ask your banker
2. ask your best client
3. ask your favorite contractor.
Between these three there should be a good candidate. interview all of them. You may pay through the nose the first couple of years until you learn the ropes. Later you can reduce the amount of service they provide.
For me, we used to have monthly meetings to reconcile the registry and discuss a/p, a/r and collections. Now i send him a disk once a quarter to validate my quarterly taxes and end of year accounts. All told about $3,500 / yr.
good luck and remember one thing. The IRS is your silent partner in your business. If you don't pay him on time and in full, he is about as fair as the mob - probably even worse!
Bookkeeper: $30-40/hour
- meet once every month or two
Accountant: $175+/hour
- meet once a year, a few support phone calls
Just find a good accountant, shouldn't matter that you are in a design industry. A bookkeeper is essential, imho, and worth every penny. Keeping accountants reconciled, keeping track of invoices, etc., is worth their time in gold.
My bookkeeper send the QB files to my accountant and everything is double verified.
Learn enough of QB to do the entries. It is simple.
Sep 2, 09 9:44 pm ·
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Finding an accountant
Now that I've managed to get a few jobs in the door with my LLC, i'm coming up on the next roadblock of professional practice: Taxes. Or more specifically tax planning.
Besides just asking friends and business acquaintances for suggestions, does anyone know any good resources for finding a CPA who has had experience working with design firms in the past?
After hiring and firing four accountants over the years I have this sage advice.
1. ask your banker
2. ask your best client
3. ask your favorite contractor.
Between these three there should be a good candidate. interview all of them. You may pay through the nose the first couple of years until you learn the ropes. Later you can reduce the amount of service they provide.
For me, we used to have monthly meetings to reconcile the registry and discuss a/p, a/r and collections. Now i send him a disk once a quarter to validate my quarterly taxes and end of year accounts. All told about $3,500 / yr.
good luck and remember one thing. The IRS is your silent partner in your business. If you don't pay him on time and in full, he is about as fair as the mob - probably even worse!
Quickbooks: $200 (or something like that)
Bookkeeper: $30-40/hour
- meet once every month or two
Accountant: $175+/hour
- meet once a year, a few support phone calls
Just find a good accountant, shouldn't matter that you are in a design industry. A bookkeeper is essential, imho, and worth every penny. Keeping accountants reconciled, keeping track of invoices, etc., is worth their time in gold.
My bookkeeper send the QB files to my accountant and everything is double verified.
Learn enough of QB to do the entries. It is simple.
Block this user
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