Accounting can be a challenging process because we have to handle various sub-tasks, depending on our clients. Most people connect with us at the last hour to make sure we file their taxes before the deadline. When it comes to filing your taxes, people are allowed to handle them themselves, and would rather make changes and plans to do the same, so they do not have to pay an accountant. However, as they get closer to the taxation date, they would begin realizing that there are processes that they cannot handle and get in touch with us.
Filing taxes is not challenging but making sure we get through the process and tally the books can be a nightmare. While filing taxes might seem like an easy task, we have to handle various aspects of the process to make it possible, including the most time-consuming one, bookkeeping.
Working in this line for as long as we have, we learned about a series of questions we are always asked, so thought it made sense to document those to make the process easier for people who want to handle it themselves. However, we would rather they handle it themselves and make sure they have their basics in place, as compared to connecting with us at a later stage and we fix errors they made. These are some of the most common questions that we were asked over the years.
1. Is he/she a designated chartered professional accountant?
Yes, we worked with various clients in this field and look to receive more information on the process and improve on the changes we made. We additionally have a team that assists with bookkeeping, so our clients are open to the additional service and can work on their accounts.
2. What is the turn around time?
We work on a fast turnaround time, but that would depend on the clients that we are working with and the time that they have approached us. At times, people think that they can handle their accounting, but when they fail, they approach us at the final hour, a month before the end of tax season, and they want us to assist with everything. There are many challenges with a process like this, and we have a very short amount of time before we can get anything done, and delays could mean late fees. Depending on the clients we already have at the time, we try to get it done and teach them how to handle their books to make the process easier moving forward.
3. What type of services does he/she provide?
As a company, we provide a wide range of services that fall under taxes or the varying connected processes to assist our clients. We assist our clients in a personal capacity. Additionally, we work on corporate taxes for the series of businesses we work with. We assist with bookkeeping and payroll management. We also assist with Cloud accounting, which is assisting with our clients’ accounts remotely, general accounting, and various other business services.
4. Does he/she willingly share references?
We always tell our clients to talk to others before they decide to work with us. It is not challenging to add the best reviews to the website, but you should also read the reviews on Google because those tend to be unbiased. Additionally, you can always speak to various people and ask them about their experience, how they enjoyed the process, and if there were challenges they went through when getting it done. It would make the process a lot easier.
5. What is the fee structure?
We work with our clients to understand their requirements and accordingly explain to them our costs. While we have fixed costs for the various features we work with, we only charge based on our clients’ requirements. Otherwise, the changes do not make a lot of sense. Overall, our cost is quite reasonable and works along the same lines as others providing similar services.
6. What value will he/she add to your business?
Taxation has to be handled by all; individuals, as well as businesses and companies. While most people think that they can handle their taxes and other changes, we always talk about how we are a value add because we know enough to help save our clients a lot of money. We would assist our clients with information within the field, the always-changing tax slabs, and the percentages to be sent to the Government. We would be telling our clients about schemes and other changes where they would be able to save some more. We work with our clients so they can focus on the business and we can work on their taxation, from their filing point of view so it would be a lot easier for them to expand and grow bigger.
7. How does he/she keep track of various deadlines?
When it comes to the taxation point of view, we have reminders and pointers about all the deadlines of all the dates coming up at the beginning of the year. We mention this information to the clients we work with at the beginning of the year. Additionally, we follow up with all our clients a month before any deadlines that they should know about. We would ask them for any information that they could provide us which would assist in a big way.
8. How often would he/she meet me to discuss how it is going with the business?
We do not push for meetings, especially during the pandemic, but we would want them to take place. Currently, we are working on remote meetings and talking to our clients if they have any challenges when they are getting through any processes. There are many changes that they could get through without worrying too much about them, and they would not need a meeting with us.
9. What are his/her modes of communication?
Initially, we would prefer having all the documentation sent to the office so we can gather through files and other documents and keep everything systematically in one location. However, we were forced to move to the virtual option where everything is sent to us online, and we would be able to get through the process. We coordinate over the phone, email, and other virtual systems, including video calls, but we do not do that as much.
10. Would he/she represent me if audited?
We understand the requirements of our clients and then be in a better position to tell them if we can assist with the process. Ideally, we can because everything around taxes falls around the same umbrella, and we have a detailed understanding of that. However, we have to make sure it matches their requirements when they are getting through the process.
If you are looking for assistance to get you through the accounting process, please get in touch with GSP Chartered Professional Accountant Professional Corporation. We are a Tax Accounting Firm in Mississauga and Hamilton, ON, and work on Small Business Tax, Accounting, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services. We were in this line of work for a long time now and understand the changes that are taking place. We assist our clients to get through the process and inform them about the changes so they change their processes to get through. If you are looking for a better understanding of the services we provide, please click here. If you want to get in touch with us or think we can assist in any way, please click here.