Knowing how to handle your finances is a key life skill and is even more important now amid a global crisis when unemployment rates and student loan debts are at an all-time high. Improper handling of certain situations can cost you a lot of money. This means that as a business owner, you have to be strategic about what services you’re going to acquire. Here’s a list of services that can help you to save money.
Lawyer
There are different kinds of lawyers for different kinds of legal areas and assistance. For example, a tax attorney can help you when you’re just starting a business. They can advise you on what business entity is best for you, among the other tax-related concerns of starting a business. Furthermore, if you plan on making your business an international one, you’ll end up with a more complex tax situation, and a tax attorney can help you with that.
In the case of a crisis, it’s best to hire the appropriate lawyer as early on in the case as you can. Such instances include lawsuits, where, depending on the kind of lawsuit, you might need a tax lawyer in case of any unpleasant encounters with the IRS or a civil litigation attorney.
Accountant
A shocking number of Americans are financially illiterate, and it shows. According to the annual financial literacy survey conducted by the NFCC, in 2020, 58 percent of American adults have expressed that they find it difficult to minimize their debt. This is mainly due to unexpected financial crises.
Financial literacy is an indispensable skill to have as a business owner. According to a CB Insights survey, 18 percent of startups fail because of cost issues. And if you aren’t equipped with knowledge of cash flow and the like, the best thing to do is to hire someone who is. At a certain point, especially as your business keeps growing, you’ll need to hire employees to tackle more specific and specialized tasks. This is so that you can focus on managing the business.
An accountant’s capabilities go far beyond bookkeeping and payroll services. He or she can help you with your business as early as the planning stages. They can advise you on the best business structure and help you acquire the necessary licenses and permits. They can also help you plan for your business’ growth in both the short-term and long-term. Working with an accountant will also help you to gain a better understanding of finances in general.
Once your business is up and running, you can also use cloud-based accounting software such as QuickBooks for all your bookkeeping needs, whether personal or professional. This program enables you to access your data at any time on any device. It also lets you create reports to let you see how your business is doing.
Cloud services
Speaking of cloud services, these are another kind of service that will help your business save money. One example is cloud-based IT solutions. Think of how much time is wasted when your server crashes, and you call your IT guy. You still have to wait for him to arrive. But a cloud-based IT solution is always within reach. You can access it on any device. These can solve your IT-related problems faster and more efficiently than a human IT staff worker. The machine learning capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) also mean that the system learns how to avoid similar crises in the future.
Outsourcing
Due to the rising unemployment rates set off by the pandemic, more and more of today’s labor force is working in gig culture. That trend may stick around for a while. Thanks to apps such as Fiverr, Upwork, and TaskRabbit, hopeful freelancers have access to a world of people looking to hire them. It also means that there is an abundance of talent from all over the world at your fingertips.
Another key advantage of outsourcing is that it will save you money compared to hiring full-time, in-house employees. When doing the latter, you have to pay not only for the workers’ salaries but also for their benefits. The best services to outsource are those that you don’t require daily. It depends on your business. For instance, if your business is an accounting firm, you’ll undeniably need to have accountants in-house. In this case, one example of a service you can outsource is graphic design.
The more your business grows, the more help you’ll need to hire to accomplish specific tasks. As much as many small business owners pride themselves in juggling the many different aspects of running a business, hiring help is worth it. People trained and educated to take on legal, financial, and other matters such as IT will accomplish the job better, thus lowering the risks of slip-ups and saving the business a lot of money.