3 Reasons You Need an Accountant for Self-Employment

Unless you’re a licensed CPA or have a deep understanding of tax laws and practices, it’s a good idea to hire a professional during tax season. An accountant for self-employment ensures your taxes are filed properly. They will also advise you on tax deductions and other tax benefits for which you are eligible. 

As a self-employed individual, your tax situation will be more complicated than if you filed a standard W-2. (Another reason to hire a trained accountant for self-employed workers!) The relatively small price you pay for an accountant if you're self-employed pales in comparison to the fines you could be subject to if your taxes are filed improperly. 

Accounting services can help small businesses with payroll, bookkeeping, and other day-to-day operational responsibilities. Continue reading as we discuss the top reasons to hire an accountant if you're self-employed.

Do I need an accountant if I'm self-employed?

You don’t necessarily need an accountant if you’re self-employed. However, you must legally file taxes and maintain other aspects of your company’s books. Unless you truly feel you have the know-how to handle this, you probably want to hire a professional. 

Accountants are obligated to follow professional and ethical standards. You can rest assured knowing that you are dealing with dedicated professionals when seeking these services. Your accountant will be happy to answer any questions you have. Furthermore, they’ll do everything within their power to ensure you don’t pay more than you need to and receive the maximum refund to which you are entitled. 

3 Reasons You Need an Accountant for Self-employment

For your business to succeed, you should know what you don’t know. If you know that you don’t have a deep understanding of accounting, know that hiring a professional will likely save you time, effort, and money. While there are countless benefits to seeking accounting services for self-employed individuals, here are three of those reasons.

1. An Accountant Will Save You Time

First, and perhaps foremost, it will save you time to just pay for self-employment accountant services. As a business owner, your time is money. Unless your expertise is in the realm of taxes and accounting, your time will be better spent handling another aspect of your business. 

Even if you can do your own taxes, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth your time — especially if it might take you two or three times as long as it takes a trained accountant. Your time and expertise are valuable; it’s important to leverage those two things to do whatever is best for the business. 

2. An Accountant Ensures Efficiency and Accuracy

Not only can an accountant save you time, but they’ll also ensure efficiency and accuracy. If something is filed improperly, the error is on the accounting service, assuming that you were truthful in all of your disclosures. 

However, it’s typically pretty rare for accounting firms to make major mistakes or to be unreliable. You are more likely to make an honest mistake filing on your own. This is one of those aspects where you’re better off leaving it to the professionals and focusing your efforts on other ways you can directly advance your business. 

3. Accountants Save You Money with Write-Offs and Other Tax Benefits

Your accountant will also know the ins and outs of tax write-offs and other benefits available to you as a self-employed business owner. You can deduct operating necessities such as your home office, internet, phone bills, and marketing.

It’s important for self-employed individuals to also think about their retirement plans. Remember that your contributions to these funds during a given year may also be tax-deductible. An accountant for self-employed workers will know the best strategy to maximize your retirement contributions. 

Accountants are key to a business's success

A good accountant can certainly contribute to a business’s success. It takes a stellar product and a lot of work on the front end to start a business. As your business expands, an accountant can play a role in maintaining your financial records and ensuring everything is above board tax-wise. 

The more success your business sees, the more crucial it is that your time is spent focused on other aspects of the business. As your time becomes more limited, the clearer your need for professional self-employment accounting services will become.

How much does an accountant typically cost for the self-employed?

At this point, you probably see the benefit of hiring a tax professional. But how much will it cost? Rates differ depending on the firm and your business’s specific needs; 1-800Accountant offers services with transparent pricing that can fit any business’s needs and budget. 

Basic accounting support starts at $125 per month. For $225 per month, you can get support for tax filing and planning. If your business grows to the point where it requires full-time accounting support, check out the Enterprise Package. This starts at $375 per month and offers full-service support, which includes maintenance of your bookkeeping and the production of financial reports. This way, you and other stakeholders have a bird’s eye view of your company’s finances. 

Just getting started? 1-800Accountant will help you file an LLC for free; you just need to cover the state fee.  

Hire a Professional CPA for Your Small Business

At the end of the day, you’re going to save yourself a lot of headaches by hiring a self-employment accountant. 1-800Account offers various accounting services with professionals who have specific expertise in the small business realm. 

Our accountants offer unlimited support with no hourly charges, and we guarantee you maximum tax savings. We can help with everything from accounting services and payroll to tax preparation and advisory to audit defense and entity formation. 

Chat with one of our reps today. They'll help you discover the best package for you and see what we can do for your business.