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Startup Services
The first years of running a business are as exciting as they are challenging. In these early stages, a startup accountant can guide you towards good financial decision making, while helping you navigate compliance and risk management.
If you get things right in these early stages, your company will be in a better position to grow. You’ll have the right staff in the right positions using the tools they need to work efficiently and effectively. Getting it wrong, however, comes with incredible professional and personal risk.
Competent guidance from a startup accountant helps you to make impactful decisions that promote a better, more profitable future for your business. It helps you navigate compliance and take thoughtful, measured risks. Most importantly, working with a startup accountant eases the anxiety and stress that come with running a business.
Accounting Services for Startups
- Business Structuring Advice
Reduce risk and maximise your business’ potential with the right business structure and compliant implementation. - Tax Planning and Minimisation
Planning for your tax obligations helps you meet reporting requirements while effectively minimising your tax obligations to only what you must legally pay. - Accounting and Operational Systems
Selecting the right accounting and operational systems for your business increases efficiency, removes friction, and frees you up to focus on what matters. - Strategic Planning
Let us gather the data and information you need to make impactful decisions to grow your business. - Business Planning & Advisory
Place our experienced and multidisciplinary team at your disposal with our business advisory services and benefit from our wealth of insight. - Financing and Fundraising
How you finance or fundraise today will impact your business for years into the future. We’ll work with you to manage risk and compliance. - Business Valuations
What is your business really worth? We will determine an estimate of your businesses market value and provide you with strategies to increase this value.
FAQs about Our Startup Accountants
Do startups need an accountant?
We see many founders manage their own finances and tax reporting while getting set up. During this time, finances are often quite tight and many founders are already dipping into their savings to survive. Businesses can, and do, survive like this – but we strongly recommend that startups find an accountant as soon as they can afford one.
(Good) Accountants take care of so much more than just taxes. We think a great accountant should be across the day-to-day operations of your business, casting a critical eye over the business to provide insight and advice about how your business is travelling.
In fact, your accountant should regularly be working with you, to not only improve things now, but over the next 12-months and even 5-years time.
When we work with founders, we:
- Catch up with you regularly to find out how business is going.
- Work with you to plan and set goals, both short and longer term.
- Provide regular updates about new legislation and government incentives/payments.
- Run through your business from top to bottom to identify potential risks or opportunities.
- Regularly talk to you about your cash flow and your individual life goals.
Why is accounting important for startup businesses?
At the end of the day, running a business is about your bottom line. Your startup needs to become profitable or it won’t survive – and once it’s profitable, you want it to stay that way so you can grow. A startup accountant empowers you to make financial decisions that drive growth, while improving your operational efficiency and productivity. This all falls under the purview of accounting for startups.
Generally, startups need to consider the following accounting-related items:
- Accounting processes and systems.
- Profitability projections and reporting.
- Servicing debt and maintaining responsible levels of debt.
- Cash flow management.
- Financial accounting and reporting for investors and/or stakeholders.
- Competitor analysis and market investment opportunities.
Can a startup accountant help me set and achieve my financial goals and targets?
No matter what point your business is in its journey, today is always the best day to start planning and being prepared.
We work with many of our clients to set goals, then keep them accountable to them. They often find that it helps with motivation, focus, and confidence since we’re here to act as a sounding board for their ideas too.
You can read more on this in our blog post on Target and Goal Setting.
Can Sharp Accounting’s startup accountant help me start a business?
Our startup accountants would love to assist you with starting up a business. If you have a good idea for a new business venture but don’t have expertise in the legal or financial aspects of creating a new business, we can help you:
- Decide on the most suitable structure for your business – sole trader, partnership, discretionary company or Pty Ltd company.
- Prepare a business plan, cash flow projections, budgets, and trading forecasts.
- Assess your finance requirements, advise on the best sources of finance, and draw up the necessary proposals.
- Establish a good working relationship with your bank.
- Deal with company secretarial issues.
- Set up accounting software to record and report on your business progress and successes. We work with Xero, Quickbooks Online, and MYOB.
