Hiring an Accountant and Lawyer - How

[JMN]

Well, I guess I'm celebrating. The lab is now 18 months old and has gotten to the point that I need help with doing taxes and keeping out of trouble. Well, trying to keep out of trouble.

Any advice for finding an accountant/tax helper and lawyer?
Anything I should ask, look for, verify?
Do they have various levels of certification?

Should I get the number guru first and go with his legal beagle suggestion, or the other way around?

Really feel like I'm flying IFR in dense fog at night on a VFR ticket, so anything helps as I've never dealt with these professions before and have no clue what to look for or what compensation is expected and reasonable.

 

[CatamountRob]

If you'd asked, I would've suggested hiring an accountant 18 months ago when you started. They should be CPA's, I've never heard of any certification other than that. Just go to a reputable firm in your area.
I wouldn't hire a lawyer unless I needed one for something. Same thing with a hit man.
My kids went to private school, everyone I'm friends with from there is either a Doctor, Dentist, Lawyer or CPA.

 

[doug]

Do you have a good bookkeeper? CPA do not do bookkeeping. The foundation of being safe from tax problems lies there. A CPA will do your taxes and give you some advice. A good bookkeeper will keep your business on track, ( I call my bookkeeper "Penny Perfect") collate all of your financials for the CPA, and get answers to potential tax issues quickly. I've used 3 CPA's in 33 years, I've had my current bookkeeper for almost 11 and I can't live without her. Oh yeah, unless your wife has an accounting degree she can properly do the books. Anyone can run a check register.

 

[TheLabGuy]

A good CPA accountant has there own in house bookkeeping. And yes, in my opinion, this should of been done before you started your lab. Also, get a good one, when you get bigger and more successful, you will need them because let me tell you my friend, an audit sucks...Big time!!! As for lawyers, I have two of them on retainer...One for business and one for personal. I have a big mouth and have a short fuse for stupidity and incompetence, that's where the personal lawyer is needed. Protect yourself and remember, anybody can sue you for anything, and in u.s. the current system punishes success...The more you make the more they take.

 

[JMN]

I should've said that I went to a bookkeeping assistant with my records 1 month in to see if I was out of bounds and was told that my methods and records were more than adequate using my spreadsheet system. That I only needed to come to have them do it when I had too much work to keep the books too.
Also I spoke with the owner, an accountant, of a local franchise of tax prep places, he gave me some suggestions and their group did my taxes last year, but I feel that it is a stretch for them as they primarily do personal stuff. My records were then described as unbelievably and uncommonly well kept.

What I'm looking for is advisors I can contact for updates on regulations and requirements as well as a deeper understanding for maximum legally allowable manipulation of my position.

Which is why I was wondering, basically how to tell if an accountant and lawyer are a decent or decadent. There's only 3 in the area I know, and I know of them for the reason that they are, well, sub-optimal.

 

[Wade Bognuda]

Well, I guess I'm celebrating. The lab is now 18 months old and has gotten to the point that I need help with doing taxes and keeping out of trouble. Well, trying to keep out of trouble.

Any advice for finding an accountant/tax helper and lawyer?
Anything I should ask, look for, verify?
Do they have various levels of certification?

Should I get the number guru first and go with his legal beagle suggestion, or the other way around?

Really feel like I'm flying IFR in dense fog at night on a VFR ticket, so anything helps as I've never dealt with these professions before and have no clue what to look for or what compensation is expected and reasonable.

Flying yourself into that situation almost always proves to be fatal. I fully understand the importance of what you need here, but I'm confident you aren't going to end up dead if you choose the wrong CPA etc.!! Look into finding an E.A. (enrolled agent). They have been educated and tested to a level that puts them somewhere between a book keeper and a CPA. What I do is have the tax return reviewed by a CPA before I send it off to the IRS. The CPA usually finds more deductions. They don't charge much to check your return, it's important to get it to them as early as possible, April 14th is not a good time to do this. Best wishes.