You’re ready to hire out your accounting, but you don’t know how to make the final leap. Here are some do’s and don’ts from the experts at Mom Talent that can help you make the right decision on who to hire to save you time and money on your accounting.

Don’t spend your time learning accounting software.

Business owners make the mistake of spending hours and hours pouring over Quickbooks or similar software that they don’t know well. A professional accountant knows the ins and outs of their chosen software (or multiple softwares) and can input data much faster, pull reports quicker, and analyze data with less manipulation. Instead of taking a course yourself, leave it to the professionals – just like you hope your customers will do for your product or service.

Hiring your accountant from within your family might just lead to some fights you didn’t anticipate.

Don’t hire family.

Many small business owners force their spouse to learn a software to “help out” or ask a family member who took accounting in college to do the books. Aside from the ticking time bomb of awkward family dinners and bringing work home with you, this can be a bad idea. You don’t know what they don’t know and you may miss what they are doing incorrectly until it is too late. Your CPA will thank you for having books kept tidily and all your accounting done in a manner that they can sift through easily. Oh, and you’ll save on yearly costs with your CPA firm – since your books will already be in order, the time they must spend at their high hourly rate will be greatly reduced!

Don’t hire someone who isn’t vetted.

This goes hand in hand with not hiring a family member. Just because they have dropped “debits and credits” in conversation once doesn’t mean they understand accounting principles. How can you vet someone? Hire a respected recruiter that screens their talent prior to sending them to you for an interview. If accounting isn’t your forte, trust someone who is to send you candidates who will make your company run smoother.

Accountants have many opportunities to demonstrate their skills. Look for credentials when vetting your accountant.

Do hire someone with credentials.

Talented accounting professionals have access to several credentials that will help them to stay current on changes that affect your business. CPAs (Certified Public Accountants) are required to attend continuing education seminars and adhere to a code of ethics to maintain their certification. MBAs (Master of Business Administration) have demonstrated their business knowledge to an accredited school of higher education. Core accounting principles are tested throughout MBA studies. Other graduate professional degrees such as MAcc, MAcy, MSAcy, and MPAcy all prove a candidate’s dedication to the accounting profession. Many are pre-requisites for taking the CPA exam.

Do focus on what you’re good at.

Leave the accounting to the pros. Your time is much more valuable spent on the business items that you’re good at. If you’re struggling learning an accounting software but can make sales in the blink of an eye, hire out your bookkeeping so you can add dollars to the bottom line through sales! If you’re just simply uninterested in accounting but love to create new products, follow your passion and design your next big line! If your talents can be utilized more fully in other parts of the company, there are options to outsource or hire in for accounting.

Just make sure to follow these do’s and don’ts to find a great candidate for your business.

You’re an indispensable asset to your company. Let an accountant free up more of your time to do the things you need to!