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Hello-

So I will be starting a solo practice soon and wondering if I should hire an accountant right away or is a program like quickbooks sufficient to start?

I’m also feeling like hiring an accountant from the beginning may be smarter because he will advise as to any tax advantages I have for owning a small business.


Thanks.

We seem to be getting these narrow posts from an anonymous user with absolutely no reason for it to be anon; I think it's the same poster. So OP, if you keep posting these threads, no reason to be anon, just have a running thread so it becomes a better resource for others in the future.

The answer to your question is both -- you need Quickbooks and you need an accountant.

Having Quickbooks (or some form of accounting software) will help you keep track of your expenses, which you should do weekly. I tried several applications and Quickbooks was the best at integrating with my bank accounts/credit cards and organizing my expenses. And doing this saves you a ton of money on taxes instead of acting like a doofus at the end of the year and going through receipts.

If you are going to elect to be taxed as a sole proprietor, then Quickbooks Self Employed is an excellent start. Super easy to use, super cheap ($10/month), and its mileage tracking is great. Note that the accounting on this only works if you are electing to be taxed as a sole proprietor.

If you are going to elect to be taxed as an S-corp, then Quickbooks Simple Start is your best bet. It is $20/month and is also very easy to use, although not as easy as QBSE. The invoicing from this version of Quickbooks, however, is much more customizable and it's great.

So you're probably wondering, what goes into the sole proprietor vs. S-corp decision? That's why you need an accountant. You can google the basics but you should honestly sit down with an accountant and go through everything.

A good accountant will save you thousands and thousands and thousands on taxes. I run a lean office but an accountant is not an expense that I cheap out on.

AVBucks4239 wrote:
So you're probably wondering, what goes into the sole proprietor vs. S-corp decision? That's why you need an accountant. You can google the basics but you should honestly sit down with an accountant and go through everything.

A good accountant will save you thousands and thousands and thousands on taxes. I run a lean office but an accountant is not an expense that I cheap out on.

Accountants aren't even that expensive. Their profession doesn't seem to have an over-supply problem like law, but accounting for a small law business should be very simple work that doesn't involve complicated taxes or cost accounting (No COGS or resource allocation to worry about). 99% of accountants should be able to do it, OP can probably find a CPA to do it for an affordable price. It's like the accounting equivalent of doing a criminal arraignment.

Aptitude wrote:

AVBucks4239 wrote:
So you're probably wondering, what goes into the sole proprietor vs. S-corp decision? That's why you need an accountant. You can google the basics but you should honestly sit down with an accountant and go through everything.

A good accountant will save you thousands and thousands and thousands on taxes. I run a lean office but an accountant is not an expense that I cheap out on.

Accountants aren't even that expensive. Their profession doesn't seem to have an over-supply problem like law, but accounting for a small law business should be very simple work that doesn't involve complicated taxes or cost accounting (No COGS or resource allocation to worry about). 99% of accountants should be able to do it, OP can probably find a CPA to do it for an affordable price. It's like the accounting equivalent of doing a criminal arraignment.

What I meant, and didn't state clearly, was that you shouldn't just hire an accountant at the end of the year to do your taxes and call it a day.

You should have a fee-based accountant and meet a couple times a year. He or she can develop tax strategies, improve your profitability, make sure you are paying estimates and filling everything you need, and advise you of deductions you never knew about. It's well worth the expense.

I am the op... sorry for anon it’s habit.

Thanks for the replies.

Anonesq wrote:I am the op... sorry for anon it’s habit.

Thanks for the replies.

Anon is fine because you are revealing an intent to start a solo practice, which falls into the "intent to resign/seek a job" bucket of qualifying reasons to post anonymously.

But I agree that you should try to consolidate your posts into a single thread instead of making a new thread for every single question about the same topic.