May 22, 2018

What to Look for When Hiring an Accountant

May 22, 2018

From risk-tolerance to entrepreneurial spirit and communication skills, this article lays out the characteristics to look for in a strong CPA who will be strategic on your behalf and lead you to the maximum amount of savings (in time and money). Even if you choose to use software tools to prepare taxes or accounting yourself, having a CPA review your work is always a good idea!

Read the full article at Entrepreneur: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/219298

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Mar 26, 2020

CARES Act - Senate Coronavirus Economic Relief Bill and How It Impacts Individuals and Small Businesses

Mar 26, 2020

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, H.R. 748 was just passed through the Senate late Wednesday's night March 26, 2020. This $2 Trillion economic aid package aims to stimulate the economy as it suffers from the effect of COVID-19 pandemic. This 880-page bill contains a plethora of provisions that are related to small businesses and individual taxpayers. These key measures are summarized below.

This bill still has to pass through House and sign by the President and therefore there might be additional changes.

Mar 26, 2020

Oct 23, 2018

Client Spotlight: SA PA Vietnamese Kitchen

Oct 23, 2018

Ky Nguyen, owner of the popular downtown lunch spot SA PA Vietnamese Kitchen, has this advice for other wannabe food entrepreneurs: make sure you have a strong team behind you. When he opened his business in 2012 he made outsourcing the accounting part of the plan. With a growing business including a food truck, brick-and-mortar location, and catering services he was going to have his hands very very full.

One of the first things that Tristan CPA did was to help reorganize the categories that SA PA was using for their financial statements, including their Profit & Loss account. This helped Ky get the most accurate and up to date information so he could make critical business decisions along the way. He says: “It’s good to have another person to talk over all of the financial information with. And Tristan is great, because he gets the business.”

Running a restaurant is a tough business, one where profit margins often run very tight. With a strong staff behind him, and consistent and reliable accounting from Tristan CPA, Ky says that he is proud to see SA PA turning a profit that supports the growth of his employees and business. He enjoys seeing happy customers devouring his carefully crafted egg-rolls, banh mi, pho, and savory bowls, knowing that he’s got “a good numbers guy” on his side that lets him focus on the food and his customers.

Check out SA PA Vietnamese Kitchen!

92 Bedford Street. Boston, MA 02111

Oct 23, 2018

Sep 27, 2018

Accounting In-House vs. Outsourced

Sep 27, 2018

Reliable and accurate accounting is key to the success of any business, but many business owners struggle when it comes to the decision of whether to hire an in-house or outsourced accountant. Being able to clearly understand the advantages and disadvantages of each will help you to decide which type of investment is best for your growing business. Below we outline three common scenarios that business owners face around accounting.

Keep in mind that there’s no one-size fits all answer to whether or not you should outsource your accounting work. Therefore we would strongly suggest that you weigh your options carefully, and seek a professional opinion on your specific situation.

Scenario I: You have, or are considering hiring, a full time accountant for your office.

Having an accountant on staff may provide more access and day-to-day control, but these minor advantages can be quickly outweighed by the cost and inflexibility of the scenario. A full-time accountant requires the same competitive salary, recruitment costs, office space, equipment, supplies, software licenses, and benefits as any other employee. On top of being costly, your accountant’s experience will be limited to your business, giving them less exposure to different problems, and their ability to increase production along with demand may be more limited than an outsourced accountant.

Scenario II: You or an employee are doing, or are planning to do, your own accounting work in-house using simple software.

As a business owner you may be thinking that you know your business best, and can rely on software to let you take care of accounting needs. It certainly appears to be the quickest and most cost-effective way to get started, but the increased risk of costly errors won’t be worth it. An employee turning ‘bookkeeper’ for a growing business is also dangerous for several reasons, the most dangerous being that the employee will lack the accounting knowledge needed to properly advise a growing or struggling business. Professional accountants are able to provide an unparalleled level of advice, as they are able to see much further into your business than you think.

Scenario III: You have, or are thinking of finding, an accountant that takes care of your books.

With advances in technology and the cloud, outsourced accounting has become a scalable, affordable option for many small to large businesses. An outsourced firm can provide much of the same ‘real-time’ access you would have with an in-house accountant with the advantage of reducing the burden of manual reporting by internal employees, eliminating costly mistakes.

Every accounting firm has different rates, pricing policies, and client experiences, so be diligent in your research and speak directly with the firms. Does the accountant treat you like another paycheck, or do they feel like part of the team that genuinely cares about your businesses success? Here’s a quick checklist of questions to ask:

What are your response times for questions?
Do you have a fixed cost package?
Do you work solo or on a team?
Do you offer a full service accounting solution?
Do you offer professional business advice?
Do you offer professional representation in case of an audit?

These are just some of the things that we provide at Tristan CPA. To learn more about how you can save money and still have high quality accounting service, contact us or get started today with our Quickbooks Review service!

Sep 27, 2018