Opening a new business and finding independent success is often seen as one of the touchstones of the American Dream. But, it’s often much more difficult than that because the keys to success in the early years can often lie in working with the best attorneys and tax people. Saving significant money on taxes is obviously very important and two different accountants can lead to two completely different tax returns. When competing for new customers, it’s very important to keep the money that’s going out as low as possible.
One of the unique challenges of working in the tri-state area is that the competition is extremely fierce and the margin for error may be lower than in other parts of the United States. Also, one error on a tax return can lead to many potential headaches down the road and that is the kind of error that definitely needs to be avoided. Having a good NJ accountant that has a history working with similar start-ups is crucial because there a lot of unique issues faced by new businesses that more established businesses don’t always have to deal with.
The problem is that finding a good New Jersey accountant can be extremely difficult. It can be very difficult to tell the differences between two accountants and it can be even harder to know who a small business owner will have a good working relationship with over the years. Also, there are so many new companies in the accounting industry and picking the wrong one can be a disaster and that’s scary to small business owners with many other challenges and decisions ahead of them.
For the average person that doesn’t have a strong tax or economic background, picking the right accountant may be the most important decision they make early in their career. For that reason, only working with an accounting firm that has a good deal of experience is a good way to initially screen candidates. A small business owner cannot have any doubts that a New Jersey accountant has the knowledge required to deal with an increasingly complex tax code. Having experience with start-ups is a must because working with new business owners can be different than working with other companies, because the new business owners may require a more hands-on approach and if that isn’t the accountant’s style it may be a contentious relationship.
The right New Jersey accountant can become a good confidant and save a ton of money while the wrong one can lead to financial ruin and having to start over. When we hear stats that anywhere from 75% to 95% of new businesses fail (a number that can be even higher in a bad economy) it’s important to realize this figure can be mitigated with good tax preparation. It is a boring topic, but it’s one that can really prove to be radically important. Quite simply, having a really good New Jersey accountant can be the difference between success and failure or between small success and big success.
Gavin Harrison is a free lance writer. Get more information about Accounting, Bookkeeping, New Jersey Accountant, New Jersey Bookkeeper, New Jersey Bookkeeping and NJ Accountant.