Should My Tax CPA Do The Books For My Business?

As you are building your business, it is essential to define your accounting needs – and to figure out the best way to meet them. We often see business owners wondering if they can simply outsource their books to their trusted tax CPA. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

A tax CPA is just what it sounds like: a certified public accountant who focuses primarily on preparing your taxes. A good tax CPA is a key part of your business, and they will make your life much easier when it’s time to file. But it’s important to recognize that they provide a very specific area of expertise. At kept.pro, we only recommend using a tax CPA to manage your books if ALL of the following conditions are true:

• You’re the owner of your business
• You have few if any employees
• You do NOT plan on growing
• You are familiar with every transaction in your bank account and credit card
• You don’t have any loans
• You pay your credit card off each month
• You get paid at the time you provide products or services

As you can see, those are very limited parameters, indicative of a static business with simple financial management tasks. If that is your situation – fantastic. Partnering with a tax CPA to review your books quarterly and annually is all you need. A single bookkeeper can also suffice under these specific conditions.

However, the businesses we work with have more complex financial processes and accounting priorities, even if some of them might have described their needs as “simple” or “straight forward”. Depending on just one outside person to assist you with bookkeeping can come with very real opportunity costs. You likely won’t have the checks and balances in place to prevent costly missteps such as payroll errors, misclassified expenses, and even embezzlement or other costly forms of fraud. At kept.pro, we’ve seen the negative impact of such mistakes firsthand. That is why we work to provide a team-based approach to ensure your growing business is set up for success.

Case Study: From Loss To Profitability

For example, in this case study, we stepped in after a California brewery had negative experiences with not just one but FOUR different kinds of outsourced accounting providers. Their finances were never quite right, and they consistently grappled with:

• Sorting out misclassified expenses
• Flip-flopping between account organization schemas
• Managing balance sheet accounts and COGS that were way off

They reached out to us, feeling skeptical and burned – and our team of experts immediately got to work. We brought clarity and organization to their third-party technology tools, streamlined their accounting processes, and provided accurate financial reporting to help them truly understand the economic landscape of their business. As a result, the brewery swung from loss to profitability within months of completing the onboarding process with kept.pro.

This is just one of many examples of how our team makes an impact. There is no such thing as an effective one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to fractional bookkeeping and accounting teams. We will dive into your specific needs and pain points to design a unique system – blending modern technology and first-rate service – that actually works. You can rest easy knowing that our experts will provide proper oversight, ensure control over your hard-earned cash is maintained, keep your books in compliance, and that you have the data you need to grow your profitability.

Interested in learning more about kept.pro bookkeeping services? Set up a complimentary call today.