It's not enough to balance your checkbook and pay your taxes. You must think about cash as a tool.

Topic for Discussion: Do you have to do this alone?

Answer: No! Research shows that the CPA is a business owner's most trusted advisor. We have found that most small business owners do trust their CPA but most CPAs don't offer enough advice. Most CPAs tend to produce the reports that tell what happened in our business while it would be great if a CPA would suggest ways to improve different aspects of the business.

For example, at Modern Postcard, when the CPA noticed the company was growing rapidly, he suggested it was time for Modern to own its own building. Had the CPA not recommended this to the founder, Modern would still be paying rent today.

We suggest you ask your CPA to go over your financials with you and to point out places where you can improve. Since your CPA knows about the operations of other companies, there's a great chance that he will have some useful insight to share with you.

Tell your CPA that you are happy to pay his hourly rate for the time you spend in this type of session. You both might find this You think about it: Does your CPA have a number of clients that are larger than you? If not, do you need to change CPAs?