2007.
I was already working as a part-time web designer, while also living my teenage dream of working as a radio DJ.
The pay was pretty bad, but the job allowed me to have a lot of ‘me’ time, which I started using for my own web design passion obsession. I’d do my daily show, get back home and work on my websites and design sites for my few clients.
These clients made me understand there’s even more money to be made as a web designer, so I decided to incorporate as a business.
I couldn’t register an Sole Proprietorship, because in Romania you’re required to own a diploma in the industry you intend to open a business in. I’m a self-taught web designer and clearly didn’t want to lose time/money trying to go to college once again just for this.
So I decided to open an LLC.
While this solved the diploma issue (you don’t need to be certified in that industry to become a business owner), it brought one bigger problem: you are not allowed to have an LLC without having an accountant on the pay-roll.
Even if you’re not paying an accountant full time, you still have to work with one.
At first I was pretty furious about this, but, in the past 10 years since I ran this company, my accountant proved to be one of the best ‘investments’ in our firm.
Here is why your small business needs an accountant
Bookkeeping
I always disliked the idea of registering each transaction, making calculations and trying to figure out how much we need to pay in taxes each money, every 3 months and on an yearly basis.
In this case my accountant’s help is invaluable, since she’s the one doing all this work.
I just have to put all our invoices in order, which I usually find boring, and my accountant will enter all the date into their special accounting software and email me how much I have to pay in taxes.
Financial reporting
Another job I find tedious is to generate all the business reports needed and also submit them to the appropriate authorities.
My accountant saves us a lot of time and hassle, by doing all the financial reporting and filing all needed papers. Instead of wasting days each month just to submit our paperwork, she’s doing the job and just reports back to us, if there are any issues we need to work on.
Keeping us in compliance with the current laws
Financial laws in my country are like a roulette, you never know what’s gonna hit you next.
From new regulations we just fail to know about to all kinds of tax tricks and subtleties, our accountant knows them all.
I am making a huge effort to be current on everything related to online marketing and web design, since it’s my business and I have to provide our clients with the best services I can, but it’s almost impossible to also keep up with the business legislation and all kinds of regulations, as they are being enforced.
So, whenever a new tax is ‘born’ or we have to file a different paper, my accountant would just call me and tell me about it. She’s a true professional and has been for decades, she’s always well informed and keeps up with everything new.
Knowing about new laws, taxes and paperwork has allowed us to avoid any legal issues, which, as we know, can be pretty costly.
Ten years ago I was almost devastated, finding out that I have to pay an accountant on a monthly basis, but now, after working together for a decade, I realize that her presence has been a great asset for our small business.
Does your small company have an accountant? Are you pleased with his or her work?
