Why you need an assessment to get an accurate accounting quote
Introduction
One of the best ways to ensure the financial viability of your business is to hire an accountant who can manage and monitor your cash flow, creditors, debtors, taxes and more. However, accounting is not a one-size-fits-all service. Every business is different and requires different systems and processes to get the best results. This is why there is no standard quote we can give you for doing your business’ accounting.
Read on to learn what really goes into providing an accounting service and the information we’ll need from you in order to provide you with an accurate quote.
The importance of accounting for your business
1. Keep a record of transactions
Having a real-time accounting system in place is important to keep track of your company’s financial information and transactions. Keeping financial records up-to-date can help shareholders and stakeholders compare current financial information to any previous and historical data. Full records enable the company to follow the performance of the business and make future financial predictions.
2. Facilitates decision-making
Accounting is a key factor in a business, especially for its internal users and decision-makers. These users will need any financial information at hand to plan and run the company efficiently, as well as make any future financial decisions. Daily processes and financial transactions need to be recorded with a real-time accounting system, to ensure that all financial information can be retrieved when it is needed.
3. Meets legal requirements
Proper accounting keeps your company in line with the South African Revenue Services (SARS). If your company happens to be caught in a legal dispute, your real-time accounting system will be able to reflect any required financial information.
What role does an accountant play in your business operations?
An accountant can play the role of being a simple bookkeeper, to being your business’s strategic advisor. Accountants have the very important role of being able to take all financial information and analyse it for all stakeholders and shareholders in the business.
The main role of your accountant is to manage all financial data that is related to the business and to ensure that everything is compliant with the laws of the country. Accountants have a systematic approach to how they analyse, record, and store all the data.
When it comes to the end of your financial year, your accountant will become extremely important. Your accountant will have kept track of all important financial transactions throughout the year and will be able to help with end-of-year closing documents.
How much will it cost to do my accounting?
The truth is that there is no way to give you a simple and immediate quote for your accounting. Our team will first need to do an assessment and audit of your business’s needs, as we are not sure what will be required of our team, in order to do your business’s accounting.
How do we determine how much real-time accounting will cost you?
In order to find out what accounting services will cost your business, we will need to find out what your business’s requirements are and how much work and resources will be needed to handle your accounts and provide you with the right information, in the right way, and at the right time.
As different businesses in various industries have their own specific needs and requirements, the team at Cloudworx will need to find out and assess the following in order to provide you with an accurate quote:
- What is the purpose of your business and what goods or services does it provide?
- What current accounting systems and processes do you have in place, and how do they operate?
- What systems can we put in place to provide a more streamlined process?
- What is your staff availability, job roles, and tasks?
Once we have all the answers to the above questions, our team will be able to use that information and create a real-time accounting system that works within the Xero accounting ecosystem.
What is Xero Accounting Software?
Xero is an online, cloud-based accounting software that has been designed for small to medium enterprises. This accounting software will allow your business to automate many of your admin tasks as well as your accounting processes. Due to the fact that Xero is a cloud-based software, it will also allow you to access your accounting information anywhere, at any time.
Xero’s accounting software has been created so that it can be tailored to suit your business’s budget. With 3 different price plans, Xero is able to offer you a plan that will suit your business needs and allows you to upgrade further for additional features and needs you may have in the future.
Why do we need all this information to quote you on your accounting?
By finding out all the relevant information from your business, our Cloudworx team will be able to use this information to calculate a realistic figure on what your accounting will cost you.
For example, if your accounting processes require your accounting team to make calculations based on R1 million worth of groceries sold, this will require the team to use a lot more time and effort than for a business that will require accounting on R1 million worth of sold motor vehicles. This is because the value of motor vehicles is much higher than groceries.
Accounting firms that do not ask for the relevant information to make a calculated decision, often run the risk of either over quoting or under quoting for a business’s accounting needs.
Conclusion
Simply put, in order to get a realistic quote on how much your accounting will cost, you will need to provide your business information and requirements.
If you are looking for a team to make an assessment of your accounting needs and provide an accurate quote, get in touch with us today and book a call to speak to a Cloudworx accountant.