It’s a big step, hiring an accountant. You always thought you could do it yourself, but the time has finally come to look around.
Don’t make the mistake of hiring the wrong person. In fact, there are some common mistakes that tradies make when looking to get their numbers sorted:
- Getting cheap but very generic advice
- Paying for services you don’t need
- Not realising you actually need more help
Some tradies don’t need to hire an accountant – and for you, it’s best to keep working in the way that suits you best.
But why struggle through when you could work with a firm like us who are all about making your life easier, giving you the tools to make smart business choices and understand your performance.
Cheaper doesn’t mean better – appointing on price
Everyone loves a bargain. Working in construction is no different.
But by hiring the cheapest accountant, you’re unlikely to get someone with the expertise to support you properly.
Not all accountants can deal with CIS like we can – by getting generic advice, you’ll get generic answers. And that’s of no value to ya’.
Look for a firm that works with businesses like yours. One that offers what you need, rather than just the most cost-effective option.
Not knowing what service you need
Lots of people know they need an accountant to sort out their money and tax returns – but they don’t always know why, or which service they actually need.
For most tradesmen, cashflow is pretty tight. Even if that’s not the case, keeping a watchful eye on what you spend is good business practice.
So just buying services for the sake of it means overspending and getting stuff you don’t need.
You wouldn’t carpet a wood floor if you’d just sanded it down, would you? So why pay for something that’s just unnecessary?
By talking things through with the accountant you’re thinking of working with first, you’ll get to know what exactly is on offer. Then you can make the right choice that suits you and your team.
And if an accountant won’t talk to you before offering you a service, avoid ‘em.
Doing too much yourself
Tradies often fall into the trap of trying to do too much.
Whether you’re on the job and checking your finances, or spending hours on admin once everyone has clocked off, overworking can mean the difference between a proper work-life balance and having no downtime between jobs.
By outsourcing something as simple as bookkeeping or payroll to an accountant like us, you’re saving yourself stacks of time.
You can then spend that time however you want to: talking to clients, looking for new ones, or painting the garden shed (hard to find the time to do that, isn’t it?).
Learn from your mistakes
One of the most important traits in any successful tradie is knowing how to react when things go wrong.
We’ve heard some real horror stories about some of the shit that’s gone down on-site in the past.
Obviously, hiring the wrong accountant isn’t as bad as a burst water main – but long term, it could set you back if things don’t work out.
We’re sparky, construction, plumber, joiner and property experts who’ve seen it all before. We’ll always have an informal chat before you look at buying a service.
We’re here to help you – get in touch today to find out what we can do for your business.