Doing your own accounts

[Dan]

Does anyone here do their own accounts and no hire an accountant?
Is it worth saving money doing accounts yourself?

[Slashmire]

I do not have anything special to have an accountant; but I assume that any business big or small should definitely hire one.

[OneofaKind]

Dan

I really think it depends on the amount of time and knowledge you have for your accounts.

If you get the right accountant, you can actually save money by using an accountant.

[Melos]

I file taxes as self-employed and do my own taxes using Quickbooks.  Accounting software really makes it easy to keep track of everything.

[Business Brian]

I do the book-keeping, but I use an accountant (now).

I think it's really important for a business to have an accountant from the start. There are so many pitfalls you can accidentally step into tax wise, and absolutely need to keep abreast of it all.

My own marketing company has come very close to stepping into some very deep tax holes that could have bankrupted it. I kid you not. Luckily, I managed to avert the issue quickly enough, by getting an accountant.

It's also worth noting that you should choose your accountant carefully - you'd be surprised how many sharks and plain bad business practice goes on with accountants. I'm on my third, but this one looks good at last.

[feline]

Perhaps if you have a business that is just small, you won't need any accountant but just do the accounting yourself.  Definitely, if your business is big, to minimize the problems that Brian has mentioned, you should be having an accountant.

[taiarain]

I do my own books (background in accounting), but turn it all over to a pro at tax time. Despite my background and talent, it's good to have a pro check my work.

Taia

[Melos]

That's pretty much where I am - my business is really small.  In fact, this is going to be the first year in quite a few that I am actually filing taxes at all.