After years of experience supporting clients just like you, we’re passionate about bringing  creativity and big-picture vision to all of your accounting needs. 

If you’ve tried googling your city for accountants, it’s likely you received pages and pages of options. So how do you know who is right for you, or what to look for? Here are some vetting questions you should consider before hiring someone new. 

• Does the accountant have sound business experience? 
• Can the accountant provide you with financial analysis along with your statements? 
• Will the  accountant provide you with tax reduction strategies or just tax preparation? 
• Do you feel comfortable asking your accountant any question? 

With the right accountant, the answers to all of these questions should be a resounding "Yes!"

Your accountant should save you time or money ... hopefully both. At Optimal Approach, we always keep our clients’ “net cost” in mind. When we provide you with business ideas or tax reduction strategies, the benefits derived, and the tax savings enjoyed, can exceed the price of the service. That should be an overriding objective with any accountant you interview. You should look to partner with an accountant who cares about helping you improve your overall profitability.

The price for accounting can vary depending upon your needs. Traditionally, bookkeeping is usually lower priced than strategic planning or developing a business plan. Pricing should not be based on the size of your company, but rather on your company’s accounting activity and the complexity of your financial statements. At Optimal Approach we are happy to work with you on a fixed fee or hourly basis in an effort to provide you with impeccable service at a cost that fits within your budget.

If you have a business or are thinking about starting a new business, an accountant can help you take the right steps. An accountant can discuss your business's organization, tax setup and operations, along with pricing models and targeted profit margins. If you are unsure as to whether you need an accountant you should definitely make an appointment to talk with one so they can educate you on how accounting services can be of benefit to you.

Most accountants have spent their entire career providing accounting services. While they are very skilled in accounting, they have never owned a business other than an accounting firm. The fact is that most accountants don’t want to be entrepreneurs and most entrepreneurs don’t want to be accountants. Michael Weiner, the founder of Optimal Approach is a rare breed in that he is an entrepreneur that enjoys doing accounting. That gives us a unique perspective on businesses planning and sets us apart from most other accounting firms.

Although there is no law that requires you to have one it is a good idea for two reasons: 

1. Clear communication
2. Liability

If an employee is not informed of their benefits they will often think they have a benefit that they may not have. For instance, many employees believe that if they cannot work, due to more than just a cold, that the company will continue to pay them until they are able to return to work. It is a good idea to communicate to the employees what the firm provides for both “Short-term Disability” and Long-term Disability.” It is also a sound business practice to let an employee know, in advance, what constitutes quitting their job. Otherwise, in your mind they may have quit their job but then they show back up to work and you tell them they no longer work there, which they interpret as being fired. What ensues is an unnecessary Unemployment Compensation dispute. These are just two of the many topics that should be covered in an Employee Manual.

Cost & Expertise. Depending upon the size of your company, bringing on a full-time staff member will probably be significantly more expensive than outsourcing your bookkeeping and accounting needs. Even if you bring on a person, you will probably still want to select an accounting firm to review your financial statements and prepare your tax returns. Having an independent party reviewing your information is a good “checks & balances” process.

Every business should have a business plan. It is a document that clearly defines your reason for being in business and your marketing strategy for achieving success. A good business plan will include an analysis of the market and information about largest competitors. It should include 3-5 years of financial projections, which you can use later to perform variance analysis. The plan should be reviewed regularly to see how the company is performing in comparison with the projections, and adjusted to adapt to changing market conditions.