Do I Need an Accountant if I manage as Self-employed?

One of the most complicated questions that bother a lot of self-employed individuals is whether they should hire an accountant or not. It’s a common notion that only big enterprises require hiring accountants since their financial statements are more complicated than those of small business. However, this thinking leaves out the fact that starting out as a sole proprietor requires a lot of commitment and once your small business starts picking up, you will have too much on your plate to handle on your own.

Take, for instance, having a great business idea and starting off your small business. Your hard work pays off and you start receiving orders from clients. Within a short time, you are occupied with sending invoices to the customers. But wait, you forgot to register with the HMRC that you are running a sole proprietorship. This will be the start of your woes with the tax guys. However, you can easily avoid all that by simply hiring an accountant to help you starting out as a self-employed individual.

How an accountant can help self-employed individuals

If you are still reluctant whether you should look for an “accountant for self-employed near me”, there are several reasons why you should hire one.

Help you with the setting up your business

You great business idea cannot be successful unless you have a well-working business strategy. Before you can start, you need to look for a reputable accountant who will help you in drawing a business plan. Once you have the plan, you can go ahead and register either as a sole proprietor or as a limited company. The accountant should advise you accordingly and also help you with the registration process. 

Assists in the growth of your business

Other than helping you with paperwork, an accountant is very helpful as he;

• Understand the rules and regulations that need to be followed when starting a small business
• Offer useful insight that will help avoid any kind of financial complications when you are starting out
• Give you a clear view of your business and especially that of your respective industry
• Help you retain the momentum you started with even when things seem to be getting hard

Explain things that you may not understand

When you start out as self-employed, everything you are doing involves a lot of learning. With an accountant by your side, he will help you understand things that you don’t already know and also help you in making the right decisions and especially when it comes to choosing accounting software and such.

Other important things that an accountant can help you with include;

• Keeping your bookkeeping in order
• Ensuring your tax returns are correctly filled and filed in a timely manner
• Ensure that all your accounts are updated depending on the nature of your business
• Being available to offer you depending on your requirements

When starting out as self-employed, you don’t need to employ a self-employed accountant on a full-time basis. Hiring a freelance accountant is better since you will only pay for the tasks handled, which makes a lot of sense since your small business doesn’t have complicated accounting requirements.