Why Hiring a Tax Professional is Your Best Business Option

Whether you are self employed, run your own business or do not get taxes paid through your employer for another reason, hiring a tax professional can be a great decision and can save a good amount of stress and headaches at the end of the tax year. Here are some of the top reasons to hire a tax professional next time your tax return is due, so that your taxes don’t have to be taxing.

1. It’s their profession
Because most accountants will have spent years filling in tax forms, returns documents and producing the required evidence, they will be well abreast of current rules and regulations to make sure you are 100% above board and still getting the most for your money. Because they know the current legislation and rules, they may be able to save you a great deal of money through deductions and offsetting tax against expenses, which many small business owners are unaware of.

2. It saves you time and effort
Even if you are great at keeping your books in order and know exactly what you are doing with your tax return, by getting someone else to do it for you, you can free up your time to do what you do best – run your own business. If you are self employed or run your own small business the tax return can be extremely complicated, and it is estimated most people in this situation spend between 10 and 20 hours sorting everything out. If you view this in terms of the money you could earn if you were working rather than doing your tax return, it can make the accountants fees seem much better value for money.

3. Avoid costly mistakes
If you haven’t done a tax return before, it is highly likely you will make some mistakes when filling in your tax return. These can turn out to be very costly if you have underestimated your tax liability for the year, so use a professional to ensure you get it right first time. The added bonus of using a professional is that they will be around to answer any questions or queries that the tax office has with your submission, so that you can be left to carry on with business as usual.

4. Help with audits and other financial planning
If you are asked to be audited you can be sure it will not be a pleasant process. You will need to have a professional accountant to help you, and by already engaging with one for your tax return you will have built up a relationship with them and they will be aware of your business and better placed to help you. Accountants are also good at financial projecting, so if you are considering taking on a member of staff, expanding your office space or otherwise making a change that will impact the turnover of the business, you can enlist their help to project whether this will be a good business decision or not.

This article has been written from a Professional Cyprus Tax Firm PHS Hadjizacharias and Co. The Company is located in Cyprus and is offering Taxation, Audit, Accounting, Company formation and other corporate services for International Companies

Top 5 tips for choosing Business Accounting Software

If your current business accounting processes are running out of steam or your business is simply growing too big for the standard accounting package you currently use, upgrading is the logical next step.

Whether you’re a small start-up or a complex enterprise, you’ll be met with myriad of software choices. Let’s look at five no-nonsense tips for choosing the right accounting software package for your needs:

  1. Identify extra features you may need – most businesses will need the basic out of the box finance package as a given which usually includes accounting, sales and purchasing management, asset registering and payroll. But do you also need stock control? What about intercompany reporting?
  2. Make sure the new software integrates with your existing processes – Let’s face it, your staff are used to doing things in a regular way and while it’s still effective, why change it? Some of the better accounting software products such as MYOB EXO Business will fit into your existing business processes and also help improve them.
  3. Multi users and security – Dealing with sensitive company financial data should be limited to those who have the rights to do so, but going a step further, you need to be able to limit what each user can access. For example, a junior accounts person should be setup with a restricted login with less access privileges than the chief financial controller.
  4. After sales support and training – learning your new accounting software and sorting out inevitable teething problems are made easier with quality support and training. Phone and email support are essential as is face to face training involving all relevant staff. This help can be particularly useful when software updates need to be applied.
  5. Speak to others in your industry – at your next networking function, actually raise the subject of accounting software. Now, you may think it’ll send people running for the toilet of a drink refill, but you’ll be surprised how many people will tell you their experience. They’ll often recommend business software experts who helped them.

So, there we have 5 brief but very important considerations to take into account (bad pun intended) to help you make the right decision. Making the wrong choice of software can lead to headaches further down the track and even worse, you could end up making some bad business decisions because of it. Take the time to weigh-up the functions and features you need and look for a product which comes with upgradable modules you can ‘snap’ in as and when you need them.

If you’re looking for a consultant who can scope, design, implement and configure a business accounting software solution specialising in MYOB EXO, try Horizon Business Systems, a Perth based, MYOB Platinum Partner.