Finding an accountant
When starting a business you are going to need the assistance of a lot of people, one of the most important is an accountant. You are going to want to bring an accountant in fairly early in the process so that you can make sure that you have your accounting system set up properly. This will save you a lot of hassle down the road.
The best place to start looking for an accountant is by getting referrals from the people that you know who use accountants for business purposes themselves. In the course of setting up your business you are going to need to have a lawyer, an insurance broker, a banker and probably a whole host of other professionals that you will have to deal with. All of these people deal with accountants on a regular basis. You will also come into contact with other business owners who will also have accountants. Ask them if they can recommend one to you.
From your referrals you will have a list of accountants that you can contact. At this stage you will just want to give them a call and get some general information. Ask them about their experience and education, the size of the firm and how long they have been in business. You will probably also want to ask about how much they charge at this time as well. The information that you gather should allow you to narrow down your list to your top three choices, these are the people you will want to meet in person.
At this stage you will have a list of three candidates that you are considering, you will want to call them and set up an interview. This is where you will really get into discussing your business and your needs. You will want to make sure that your accountant understands what you are looking for and can help your business. You will also want to find out things like whether or not they will be handling your business personally or if most of the actual work will be passed off to an employee. Based on the interviews you should be able to make a choice of the best accountant.
Be careful not to rush into choosing an accountant right after the interview, take a couple of days and really think about who is best for your business. You are also going to want to take this time to do a background check on your first choice. You can check with both the Better Business Bureau and your state's attorney general's office to see if any complaints have been made. You can also check with any professional organizations that he claims to be a member of to make sure that he is in fact a member and has the credentials that he claims. Once you have done this you can then make your final choice.