Accountant/Bookkeeper

This is by far, the most critical advisory role you will have. Your accountant can help you analyze and manage your spending and provide advice on the tax implications of your financial decisions. He or she can also prepare your tax returns. If they have been working on your account all year, they will be familiar with your situation and the preparation of taxes should be relatively painless.

You may decide to retain both a bookkeeper and accountant who will work closely together in tracking and overseeing your financial activities. The bookkeeper would be useful for doing relatively routine activities such as entering expense receipts, checks paid and payments received into your accounting software. You might even have them write out checks and pay your regular, monthly bills. He or she may not be knowledgeable enough to provide advice but will probably be much cheaper than your accountant for basic financial recordkeeping activities.

Questions for an accountant/bookkeeper

1. How many other companies of my size and industry have you worked for?
2. How long have you been in business?
3. What are your strengths? Weaknesses?
4. What are your rates? Do you charge by the hour or by some other period?
5. Will you be able to provide financial or tax planning advice? Will you be able to help me plan for future cash needs?
6. Can you file electronic returns with the IRS?
7. What kind of management reports can I expect from you? In what frequency? Will you help me understand them? What measures should I use to determine if my business is as profitable as it can be?
8. How can I help you keep your fees down?
9. May I speak with some of your other clients?

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