Читать книгу Start & Run a Home Cleaning Business - Susan Bewsey - Страница 19

The time will come when your business needs the advice of an accountant or a lawyer. A lawyer is invaluable if you are sued, need advice on business law, have to sign a contract, or want to enter into a partnership agreement. A good accountant will make sure your business can take advantage of favorable tax laws and comply with all other requirements for reporting income.

Finding the right person is important; the best way to find a good lawyer or accountant is through referrals. Ask your friends who are in business who they use and if they are pleased with the services provided. Your banker is also a good person to ask for a recommendation.

Once you have selected your lawyer, take steps to keep legal costs in line. Lawyers bill for their time, so write down your questions before you meet with your lawyer. Don’t call without a reason and don’t ramble on about the weather. It pays to be organized; always have the right documents at hand.

Prepare a list of questions. For instance, you’ll want to know the following:

(a) Do you have previous experience in advising a small business?

(b) Are you familiar with this industry?

(c) In the case of litigation or tax problems, what is your success ratio?

(d) What is your availability for me and my business?

(e) What is your fee and what are your billing terms?

(f) Where do you obtain your current sources of information?

(g) Do you offer information seminars?

These are just a few of the questions you may want to ask. Do not take up too much of the person’s time. Get a feeling for the person. Did he or she treat you well? Did you understand each other? Did he or she communicate in plain language or were you baffled by technical terms? Did he or she seem genuinely interested in having you as a client? These relationships are very important for you so choose well at the onset before any problems arise.

You may need both an accountant and a bookkeeper. An accountant is a certified professional who prepares financial statements and tax returns and can also set up a bookkeeping system, prepare budgets, and provide general advice on all expenditures. If you need tax advice, go to your accountant.

A good bookkeeper, though experienced, does not have the same level of knowledge and training that an accountant does. Keeping the books means keeping track of sales and expenditures and entering them in a ledger. You can and should do your own bookkeeping in the early stages of your business. This way, you learn the numbers that make your business tick. For further discussion about bookkeeping, see Bookkeepers’ Boot Camp, another title in the Self-Counsel Business Series.