9 Signs You Need Accounting Help

A few years ago, I got a call from a distressed business owner.  She has received a letter from the State Tax Commission saying that she owned them over $200,000 in interest and penalties.  Needless to say, she was in tears.  I would be too.  We were able to make most of that go away for her, but here's the thing, she had received over 20 different notices on the subject. She was a great example of someone that needed accounting help, but what about less extreme cases?

If you can answer yes to any of the following, you need an accountant for your business.  Lets begin.

Reason #1 - The Piles on Your Desk are Growing Fungus

Look at your desk right now.  What do you see? Are there piles and piles of papers that need to be handled? I've found that for most business owners, those piles do get taken care of over time, but the accounting documents get tended to last.  It's natural for most people to avoid or shun financial paperwork. For many its boring and time consuming. Over time, the accounting documents get left for so long that they start growing fungus.  If your accounting documents have mold or fungus on them, it's time to get an accountant. Be honest now... Is there fungus?

Reason #2 - Your Kids Forgot Your Name

Reason #3 - Your Office Chair Has a Butt Dent

Stand up and look at your chair.  Do you see the deep impression made by your backside right into the cushion? If so, you're in that chair for way too long.  It's time to get you up and moving with more important things to do like finding and taking care of customers. 

Reason #4 - The IRS Knows You By Name

Are you like the lady in the opening paragraph of this blog post? Do you get more notices from the IRS or your state tax commission than you know what to do with?  I can tell you this much, those kinds of things don't go into the "to be processed later" pile.  They go to a good accountant and get processed right now. 

Reason #5 - You Make Decisions Based on the Bank Balance

If you have no reporting of any kind that you can rely on to help you make business decisions, you're headed down a nasty road.  Logging into the bank account to see how much cash there is, is not a strong criteria for making business decisions.  You need more information than that.

Reason #6 - Your QuickBooks File Haunts Your Dreams

Do you find yourself lying in bed thinking about how much you hate Quickbooks?  I know a lot of business owners that are losing sleep over their accounting issues. If you're unsure of your finances, it's really hard to get a good nights rest.  In fact, it's almost impossible. 

Reason #7 - You Have Great Intentions & Poor Execution

This one has to do with your mentality.  Are you the kind of business owner that believes you'll get to the accounting documents but never do?  You're intentions are great and you really want to do the work because you like being "connected" with the finances, but at the end of the day you simply don't have time.  It's a common problem.  A lot of business owners like the idea of knowing all there is to know about every transaction, but they simply wear too many hats and don't have the space to get it done. 

Reason #8 - Your Marketing Stinks

If your marketing stinks, you shouldn't be doing the accounting.  As a business owner, your main focus should be on getting more customers and making them happy.  Your employees can take care everything else.  If you're sacrifice time to prospect for time do accounting, you need to realign your priorities. 

Reason # 9 - You Have a Life

Last but not least, you have a life.  if you're sacrificing things that are important to you in order to get the books done, you have an issue.  Being a business owner should be rewarding, not mind-numbing.   

So there you have it.  Again, if you can answer yes to any of the above, you need an accounting help for your business. It's tempting to try and do everything as a business owner.  It seems like that would save you money and keep you more connected to the business, but the truth is exactly the opposite.