Talking Cents

The friendly Sydney small business accountants

Spending as much time as we do online conducting research and staying abreast of the never ending changes to the political, economic and legislative scene to assess the impact on our client base we also tend to see a lot of questions from small business owners in Sydney and across Australia. These queries are often posted in response to articles or blogs or perhaps on online forums such as Flying Solo. More often than not they are genuine questions to issues that the small business owner does not comprehend or does not have time to research themselves.

What concerns us here at m.a.s accountants is that these business owners seek online answers, often from unknown and unqualified sources to solve key issues in their livelihood, their small business. Now, if you’ve decided you don’t really need an accountant and do it all yourself and I can understand using the internet as a primary source of information but if you have an accountant why wouldn’t they be your first point of contact? Surely, a qualified and experienced accountant is best placed to be able to respond to your query and tailor the response to your personal circumstance. If you aren’t comfortable approaching your accountant then a change must be made immediately. It is no different to saying that you don’t need a mechanic until your car breaks down. At that point it’s too late and is likely to cost you a whole lot more in repairs.

Contact your accountant, they don’t bite, if you’re worried about being charged for a phone call or email for advice then say that upfront or map out a scope of works with your accountant so you do know exactly what you will and won’t be charged for.

Remember, as in life, you will only get out of your small business what you put into it.Poor advice, or advice that you trust and rely on from unqualified sources, can only ever result in poor outcomes. Great advice used in a pro-active manner will provide clarity of mind and result in better decision making. Most small business accountants, if they're really small business focused, should understand the way you operate, and treat you the way you should be.