NYC Bookkeeping - Challenges and Concerns
When picking a lawyer, one wouldn’t pick an expert in class action lawsuits to defend them in a criminal trial. Different lawyers have different specialties and this is true of bookkeepers as well. That said, for people starting up a new business, they can’t choose any bookkeeping service, it’s critical to find one that primarily works with start-ups and in a given industry. This is critical to the success of a new business. In a bad economy, it’s not the strength of the idea that will determine if a business succeeds or fails; it’s the attention to detail and controlling expenses while building revenue that will make all of the difference. This is especially true for businesses in New York and the tri-state area where the upfront costs and level of competence make it especially difficult for new businesses to thrive. To be one of the ones that does requires top-notch bookkeeping.
One of the scariest prospects for a person or a business owner is the threat of a tax audit by the IRS. Unfortunately, new businesses see a disproportionate level of attention from state and local tax authorities. It isn’t for any reason other than new businesses make the most common mistakes on their taxes which lead to audits and penalties down the road. Early on, these added and unforeseen costs can be devastating for a business that’s unprepared for them. Add in a very shaky and uncertain economy and you have a recipe for a lot of expenses that can end up slowing the company’s growth or even leading to its ultimate demise.
Having the best representation can make the difference between a business succeeding and failing in those crucial early years where any mistake can be a huge one. Focusing on a service that has experience working with other start-ups can go a long way to having a more pleasant customer service driven relationship and avoiding a contentious relationship where the NYC bookkeeping service doesn’t have enough time for its more inexperienced client. This happens because there a lot of unique issues faced by new businesses that existing companies don’t deal with typically.
Still, the most critical aspect to picking a NYC bookkeeping service is from one that works within the industry that the new business is in. A restaurant is going to want a bookkeeping service that works with other restaurants and cash driven businesses. These services are going to be intimately familiar with the tax angles that are most important to restaurants. No bookkeeper can be an expert on everything and most of them specialize, so it’s important to find the right one that works in a given vertical. New bookkeeping services can try to say that one size fits all and that they can work with anyone, but it’s not a risk worth taking. This is where good references can go a long way towards identifying the best possible bookkeeping services for a given situation. Other businesses that have had fruitful and long lasting relationships are in the best position to point out accountants that the client would want to work with. One that cannot provide references is to be avoided.