In the city of Los Angeles, you can find tons of accountants. Every business and start-up must have an accountant that will be making sense of the finances in the company. Being an accountant means never be out of a job. Of course, if other companies are working and prospering too.
Not all accountants are excellent, though. Some are better than others. It’s not easy finding the perfect choice for you. Especially if you’re living in LA, a city with millions of people and thousands of entrepreneurs.
In this article, we’re going to try to solve the mystery about which Los Angeles accountants are the best for you, and how to research while trying to find them. Keep on reading if you want to know more about the process, and what needs to be done.
1. Make sure they are local
First of all, you need a company or individual, depending on the size of the business, which will be located near your location. Unlike some other businesses and companies, accounting can’t be done remotely or virtually.
In theory, it can, but with all the paperwork, you and this person should meet and discuss all the details. In the world of accounting, just one dot can make a significant difference and make the entire business be ruined.
If you choose someone who’s on the other side of the city, you’ll need to travel for hours until you get there. Just imagine if you get in the morning traffic jam and lose hours of your time. A time that could’ve been used for doing something valuable and productive.
The best way to locate accounting businesses in the area is through Google maps. All businesses are listed there, so it will be easy to see who’s around on the map. See more about Google Maps here.
2. See if they are licensed and experienced
Checking everyone in the area is a must. Yes, it may be a little time consuming, but in the end, it pays off. What you must look for when opening their websites, is the experience they have in the business. Those who have been working for a long time, and have lots of clients will surely be licensed and professional.
Don’t do business with those who are not. It can be both dangerous and illegal.
If they’re licensed and have enough experience, then they might be a great choice for you. To know if someone’s experienced enough, you should take a look at their portfolio and about page. See how long they’ve been on the market, and how many customers they had before you.
What you’re looking for is at least five years of experience and multiple clients. A company can claim to be working for years, but if they had one client the entire year, it means they are out of the focus, and will not be a great choice for you.
3. Find more about their background (Who they worked for)
Since you’ve looked in their portfolio, you probably noticed who they were working for. These clients might be anonymous or not even exist. Run them through the search engines and see how well they are doing. If you find an imaginary company, then you know what you need to do – search for someone else.
If they have several important clients, and companies that are doing extremely well, then these are the guys you’re looking for. A respectable company won’t be kept as a client by those who do amazing work. These things are connected. One success leads to another.
4. Check out their reputation
The reputation is the most valuable information on a business you can get. People who had the chance to collaborate with someone, will go online and share their experience. As a customer or service receiver, people are happy to share what they’ve got.
If you’re searching for valuable information on LA accountants, you must check out Yelp, BBB, or Trustpilot. Pages where people share their thoughts on how good a particular business is. See more about review pages here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Review_site.
In all places, the companies are being ranked. Somewhere through stars, somewhere through a score. For example, the Better Business Bureau will rank business with A or B. Those who have an A++ are the best ones. Those who rank lower than A are simply not worth working with.
On Yelp and Trustpilot, clients share their experiences through comments and rank the companies with stars. So, if the accountant has over 4.5 stars, it means they are doing a great job. It’s rare to see a company that has 5.0 stars and still have more than a dozen reviews.
In other words, compare the business between each other and enjoy the clear insight of how they do business. If you’re looking for something amazing, these are the places where you should check for perfection.
5. Are they available and how much they charge?
Finally, availability and pricing. In most cases, those who are the most available will offer the most affordable price. The companies who are overwhelmed with work, won’t give you a cheap shot. They will ask for an amount much greater than the others.
You should think about getting a good value for money. It’s not common to find an accountant that has few clients and is still amazing. Those who are amazing will surely have lots of clients. At the same time, they’ll charge more. It’s up to you to decide what you’re going to choose. Excellency that’s less affordable, or mediocrity that’s affordable.
Conclusion
These 5 tips are a great way for you to know what you need to look for. There’s the location issue that you need to mind. Then, experience and licensing. The portfolio and who they worked for is also valuable, but the reputation might be the most important to know who’s best for you. Finally, discuss availability and pricing, and if all goes well, you’ve got yourself an accounting partner.
