What to Look For
Your mission is to find a CPA who offers the type of services you need (and preferably specializes in them) AND is someone you’ll be comfortable working with. If the two of you have clashing personalities and/or work styles, then it won’t matter how competent they are. If the CPA is only available during “normal business hours” and you’re trying to start up a business by working nights and weekends in addition to your “day job,” you’re going to have a hard time connecting. Or, if the CPA prefers to answer questions and send documents by email, but you don’t know a pdf from an exe, you’ll have a difficult time communicating.
To find out as much as possible, ask around for recommendations. Talk to other business owners about which CPA they use, why they chose that particular person, and what it’s been like working with them. If your city has an independent rating service like Angie’s List or something similar, you might be able to find performance type reviews of local CPAs.
State CPA Societies
It’s been my experience that those organizations only maintain membership listings. Sometimes they have a magazine or web site with a section that seems to be a list of recommended CPAs but it usually turns out to be a list of advertisers who have paid to be included. It’s a good idea to check with the State Board of Accountants (or whatever the professional licensing agency is called in your area) to see if the CPA you’re considering is in fact licensed and in good standing.
Consider Price and Other Factors
After you have a list, call each person, and you can ask about prices, but I don’t advise making your decision based just on prices.
Suppose you’re looking for monthly bookkeeping services and you’ve found two CPAs who provide that. If the first one charges $60 per hour and the second one charges $90, you might be tempted to conclude that the first one is the least expensive. But your total fees also depend on the number of hours it takes to get the work done.
Monthly Bookkeeping
What’s included in “monthly bookkeeping” might not be the same for two CPA firms. One CPA might define it to be posting cash receipts and disbursements in QuickBooks while the other might also include preparing monthly journal entries, balancing the bank statement, and printing a profit and loss report.
Ask for a Preliminary Meeting
Ask the CPAs if they would be willing to get together with you in person for a short meeting to explain more about their services and how they work. Most CPAs are happy to spend 15-20 minutes doing this. During this time you’ll get a chance to see how they treat you and you’ll probably get a good feel for whether or not the two of you would be a good match.
CPA Selection Checklist
This checklist of questions you can use for this initial consult is available on my web site NoMoreBookkeepingHeadaches.com. Click on the tab that says “Choosing Your CPA.”
Ask for References
Be sure to ask for references from current and past clients. And take the time to check those references. You want a CPA you can trust and one you’ll feel comfortable sharing the financial details of your life with. You need to be confident that your CPA won’t share those details with anyone else without your permission.
Choosing a CPA to help you in your business is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. It’s worth spending some time on.
Back to Select and Work With Business Advisors
Sheryl Schuff is a licensed and bonded CPA who has been in private practice since 1976. You can find her online at No More Bookkeeping Headaches. She is the Founder of the Business Startup Success Club and the author of “ Save $100s in Taxes With a Home Office Deduction.” Ms. Schuff developed the tax curriculum for the Business Ownership Initiative of Indiana and she teaches workshops about taxes, recordkeeping, and business shart-up. In addition, she is the financial guru for the Web Sellers Circle and she serves on the panel of experts at the International Association of Solopreneurs.
