Here’s How Real Estate Accounting Firms Can Help Your Business
If your business is growing, you’ll undoubtedly come to a point where it makes more sense to hire professional real estate accounting firms than trying to handle the books on your own. Whether you are the Treasurer for your HOA in Brentwood, operate a small business in Franklin, or invest in real estate all over Middle Tennessee, Westwood Management can help.
Why Westwood for Accounting Services?
If you’ve been looking for financial management help in the Brentwood or Franklin area, you know as well as anyone how many options there are to choose from. When it comes to your business’s financial health, it’s crucial to find a reputable accounting firm that won’t leave you second-guessing your bookkeeping, so take your time to find the right company.
How do WMCO’s accounting services differ from the competition?
CPAs on Staff
While basic bookkeeping practices are sufficient for most day-to-day business needs, licensed CPAs can provide more in-depth financial expertise and advice when needed, which is especially helpful during tax season.
Since 1988
Our Nashville-based financial management firm was established here in 1988, and we’re not going anywhere. We pride ourselves on forming long-term relationships with clients and learning their finances inside-out.
A la Carte Services
Don’t pay for financial management services you don’t need; we employ a variety of financial service experts that can help you with anything from light bookkeeping to in-depth tax and financial analysis.
Financial Services
WMCO’s financial office can help your business with every aspect of financial management, regardless of whether you’re an HOA officer, real estate investor, or an owner of another type of business. Professional real estate accounting firms can mix and match services to meet your exact requirements – we never sell you services you don’t need. Our team can manage your organization’s bookkeeping needs by applying generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) throughout the year or help you on an ad hoc basis with services like financial statements and tax returns.
Don’t know what services your business needs? Just ask! We’ll be happy to go over service options and help you choose the best ones for your situation.
Bookkeeping
Professional bookkeeping services ensure you always have a clear record of the money coming into and going out from your business accounts, including accounts receivable and accounts payable. Your bookkeeping needs may involve invoicing, sales reporting and payroll. We can do that too….easy.
Often bookkeepers also reconcile account statements (such as credit account statements), keeping records up-to-date so you know, at a glance, the state of your company’s finances. In short, bookkeeping involves managing the day-to-day aspects of your company’s general accounting processes so you don’t have to worry about any surprises when you look at your accounts.
Payroll & Accounts Payable
Accounts payable refers to any money going out of your business accounts or more specifically, money owed to others. Accounts payable clerks keep track of your expenses, pay bills, and prepare expenditure reports. A skilled accounts payable staff will implement efficient payment best practices so that invoices are always paid on time, avoiding unnecessary and costly late fees.
Payroll is often one of a company’s largest expenses, but it’s often handled by the same office employee who handles all payable; however, it is different…very different. Payroll should be handled separately because of specific legal withholding requirements relating to employment status and payroll taxes imposed by the Departments of Labor and the IRS. WMCO payroll partners ensure timely, accurate paychecks and payroll tax deposits, and can also field employee questions about earnings and withholdings.
Invoicing & Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable services include maintaining your company’s billing system and keeping detailed account records. Accounts receivable clerks keep client accounts up to date, ensuring accuracy and resolving any issues or discrepancies.
These services also include generating client invoices and following up as needed to ensure timely payments, keeping accounts from becoming delinquent. WMCO’s accounts receivable professionals give your clients someone to turn to when they have account questions, helping them understand their billing statements in the case of any irregularities.
Tax Prep/Returns
Westwood Management’s experienced tax professionals can help you prepare your current tax returns and be on the lookout for errors or inconsistencies. We’ll verify that your returns are filed accurately and timely.
Working with tax experts means you don’t have to worry about missing important deadlines and filing late, which can result in unnecessary headaches. Of course, errors on your tax return can also open you up to stressful audits and up to thousands of dollars in unexpected taxes owed, so it’s crucial to have them prepared by someone with experience.
Financial Reporting
One of the most important aspects of financial management is the preparation of accurate and detailed financial statements. These reports provide an official view into your company’s finances, which is vital for decision making and are often required by banks for loan consideration and State/Local governments for certain licensing.
Accurate and timely financial reports allow you, and others, evaluate your business’s financial position from every angle. Each report (i.e. Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss, Cash Disbursement, Aged Accounts Receivable and Payable) is a new tool offering detailed information and insight into your organization’s operations and valuation.
CPAs vs. Accountants
When deciding what kind of help you need with your financial management processes, it can be confusing when you try to tell the difference between bookkeeping, general accounting, and the role of a CPA. Generally speaking, the main difference between the three roles is the level of education, training and responsibility of each position.
- Bookkeepers: may or may not have received classroom-level education and training; in very small businesses, the owner will sometimes handle the bookkeeping, which is simply the daily recording of financial transactions (although usually not as efficiently as a dedicated bookkeeper).
- Accountants (Professional): due to their formal education and training, they can offer big picture financial insight that bookkeepers cannot, in addition to handling all the general bookkeeping functions.
- CPAs: because of their formal education, training and certification, CPAs can provide even higher level services than Professional Accountants. One of the biggest differences between professional accountants and CPAs is that they are allowed to conduct formal reviews and Audits of an organization’s financial reports.
At Westwood Property Management, we got our start helping our real estate clients in the Franklin and Brentwood area manage their HOA accounts and investment portfolios. Over the years our services have expanded to include businesses of all sorts, so we have a pretty good idea of how to help investors and business owners determine what services they need.
Many of our clients prefer to take advantage of our general accounting services throughout the year so they can keep their accounts current and organized. Then they add our CPA services on an as-needed basis, during tax time, for instance. If you’re unsure what services you need, schedule a financial consultation and we’ll help you decide.
Are CPA Firm Fees Deductible?
One of the highlights to business ownership is the number of tax deductions available.
Fortunately, hiring a professional CPA firm to handle your business accounting services is completely tax deductible. Of course, this too will reduce the amount of taxes you’ll owe at the end of the year, which is a good thing for any small business owner.
One thing to keep in mind is that you can only deduct accounting fees when they’re directly related to your business. If the CPA firm that handles your company accounts also helps you with your personal finances, you’ll only be able to deduct the fees spent on the business. Of course, an experienced financial management company like Westwood Management will be aware of this and will be able to help you separate the two if you have any concerns.
Schedule a Financial Consultation For Your Business Right Now
Is your business in Brentwood, Franklin, or Nashville in need of one of the most knowledgeable and professional real estate accounting firms? Our team of financial experts has helped businesses of all types manage their finances, and we would love to help you get yours under control too.
We started out by helping homeowners associations and real estate investors manage their financial operations, which has given us invaluable experience that translates well to other fast-paced businesses. Over three years we have assisted lawn care companies, construction firms, equipment rental organizations and florists with a variety of accounting/tax services. And that’s just a few.
Let us take financial management off your plate so you can spend less time stressing about accounts and more time making a success of your business. Contact us today to schedule a financial consultation.