How Much Does a Small Business Accountant Cost? | Kristina's ...

Posted by admin on September 11, 2012 in General Accounting |

There is some confusion in a lot of small business about when to hire a Small Business Accountant, what to expect, and how much services will cost.

There are basically three tiers of accounting services that a small business can choose from.

1. The first tier would be an Accounting Assistant/Accounting Clerk (also called a data entry Accountant)

Their capabilities may include:
Data Entry
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Payable
Bank Reconciliations
Credit Card Reconciliations
Payroll Entry

Data entry takes time and if you have someone who is accurate and diligent, this can be a worthwhile investment for your business. Understand the limitations of this position though. They may understand what they are entering but may not be able to fix problems that come up. That being said, even though they may not have the experience of a Professional Bookkeeper, that does not mean that over time, someone in this position won?t get the experience and have greater capabilities.

You can expect to pay between $25-$40/hr for this position.

2. The second tier would be a Professional Bookkeeper/Accountant. In addition to everything in the above list, their capabilities may also include:

Payroll Processing
Adjusting Entries
Monthly/Quarterly/Yearly closing
Unaudited Financial Statements
Quarterly Payroll Returns
State and City Business Tax Returns
Year-end reporting and clean up
Custom Reporting
*Income Tax Returns (*some Prefessional Bookkeepers will do this, some do not).

Many small business owner?s rely on this small business accounting option as much as possible to make sure they have to spend as little time as possible at the CPA. Many people in this position (including Kristina?s Abacus) can do everything a CPA can do, except the taxes?at a great savings to your small business, all the way around.

You can expect to pay $40-$100/hr for this position

3. The third tier would be a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In addition to everything in the above two categories, their capabilities may also include:

Income Tax Returns
Audited Financial Statements
Budget and Forecasting
Tax Advising
Audits

You can expect to pay between $150-$300/hr for this position.

Many of my clients use all three of these tiers to manage their small business accounting. I caution them to never try and save money by just using the cheapest option though. I make a lot of my money from correcting mistakes made from people trying to save money on the cheapest small business accounting solution.

If you use all of these tiers, you can expect to spend a minimal amount of time with a CPA (many times only a couple of hours at the end of the year to submit taxes). In the end, utilizing all your options saves you money.

For more information on how Kristina?s Abacus can help you save money? on Small Business Accounting, look here.

Tags: Accounting for small Business, CPA, Delegating, Kristina's Abacus, Outsourcing, Small Business, Small Business Accounting, Taxes

Source: http://www.kristinasabacus.com/how-much-does-a-small-business-accountant-cost/

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