If you have the privilege of running a successful international company, one challenge that you may encounter along the way is managing its finances, especially on a global scale.
However, things don't have to be so difficult. With the help of an accounting professional, you can rest easy knowing that your most complex financial matters are being handled by an expert — and you may even find your tax liability reduced along the way.
But if you're just getting started, here are three things our international tax advisors say you should keep in mind when handling bookkeeping for your international company.
Sure, you can try and do things the old school way with Excel spreadsheets, especially if you're extremely organized, but it'll be a lot easier to manage things with a software designed to simplify the financial side of things for you. You'll use this to document and track your revenue and expenses throughout the year to understand how your business is doing and prepare your taxes.
There are many different accounting software programs available, so you'll be able to find one that works for your business. Once everything's set up, it's a simple matter to hand off your account to your tax preparer come tax season.
Everyone likes to get paid, but creating invoices and sending them out can be a dull and dreary task. If you use accounting software, it may also offer invoicing functionality so you can create invoices, send them out, and track the money that comes in, all in one place.
If it doesn't, or if you prefer to invoice your customers yourself, make sure to set aside some time every week or every month to send out your invoices. That way, your clients aren't left wondering when they should pay you for work completed and you'll have a healthy stream of revenue coming in at all times.
If your business is on the small side, it should be relatively easy to stay on top of your bookkeeping duties. In many cases, you may also prefer to keep the cash rather than spend it on an accountant's services if there's not much to do.
However, a successful business will inevitably grow — complicating your finances in the process. In cases like these, you'll want to hand off the work to a professional to ensure that all the work is done correctly, accurately, and in compliance with local regulations.
Most accountants will charge by the hour, which saves you the money you might otherwise spend hiring an accountant to work full-time in your business. Plus, it'll save you hours of your own time once you outsource this work to someone who can take care of these tasks in a fraction of the time it would take you.
Although Accountants without Borders is based in San Diego, our organization helps businesses and entrepreneurs from all over the world successfully set up shop here in the US and elsewhere.
Every company is different, which is why we first get to know your organization's needs and problems before we take a personalized approach to solve them. But regardless of your situation, you can trust in our team to get the job done right.
If you're ready to get started or if you have any questions about the services we offer, send us a message through the contact form on our website and a member of our team will get back to you shortly.