A common problem for clients is their business getting in the way of running the business. A CPA can not only provide clients money-saving tax tactics but review clients’ financials to make sure they will be able to pay employees. This is where small business accounting software helps a CPA provide business owners an invaluable service.
“Accounting itself is a challenge for small businesses,” Mike Mc- Derment, CEO and cofounder of FreshBooks. “Owners would rather be focusing on their business than going through receipts, reports and a mountain of paperwork. It can be intimidating and even isolating for those that are not knowledgeable in the complexities of accounting.”
Compliance and managing the inflow and outflow of money require more hours from an accounting firm owner than there are in a day. However, software can help in both respects.
“One of the biggest challenges small businesses face is the impact of regulatory and compliance issues,” said Chuck Gossett, CEO of Cougar Mountain Software. “To avoid fines and penalties, businesses must always remit accurate and timely filings. For many small businesses, keeping tax tables up to date and calculating tax amounts correctly is a tedious task. To help solve this problem, comprehensive accounting software solutions… make use of subscription services that keep the tax rates and calculations up to date. Updates are quickly available and can be applied automatically, saving both time and the risk of data entry error.”
“Small business owners often wear many hats: founder, HR manager, social marketing strategist, bookkeeper, you name it,” said Karen Peacock, senior vice president and small business segment leader at Intuit. But unfortunately, with so much on a small business owner’s plate, they often don’t have the time, energy or training to manage their books and deeply understand their finances. “Using an online robust business management tool allows small businesses to easily track their finances, integrate apps to help them automate redundant tasks and access their data anytime, anywhere."
Making time to run a business is one thing but managing all the associated data is not only a requirement for tax purposes but is extremely useful when used in realtime.
“Reliable and consistent accounting data, in a protected system environment seems basic, but it is still seen as one of the biggest challenges when it comes to small businesses,” said Luis Murguia, global head of SAP Business One at SAP Accounting. “In today’s digital economy era, what enables small businesses to drive their margin and revenue is the ability to connect data from their inventory, sales and purchase orders, and customers. The comprehensive analysis of accounting data can help to identify errors and even possible frauds.”
“Small business owners cited the economy (28%) and raising capital (15%) as top hurdles,” said Russ Fujioka, U.S. president of Xero. “The cloud, which allows small business owners the ability to access business data anytime and anywhere, is the single most important element that can help small business owners move the needle."
A genius in tax code and law may enjoy managing their own firm’s accounting, then take responsibility for the firm’s clients and appropriate some of the burden using the tools available.
“The biggest challenge for small businesses remains the same as it has always been: proper accounting has great benefits (compliance, business insights), but it’s not a natural part of the small business owner’s skill set,” Kirk Simpson, CEO and co-founder of Wave. “Accounting software that assumes any degree of expertise in accounting, will be a bad match for the owners of small and micro-businesses. This does not mean that accounting software should be ‘dumbed down’ — real double-entry software is as important as ever. But the software workflows must be made to match the business owner’s processes and abilities.”
“Small businesses are often under-resourced and lack accounting expertise,” Raj Sabhlok, president of Zoho Corporation. “Accounting software and features that can mask the technical accounting nuances are most important for small businesses. Owners don’t have to be an expert in order to financially manage their business, nor to generate accountant ready financial statements. More importantly, business owners are able to see the financial health of their business at a click of a button.”
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