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Accountants, like office coffee machines or sweaters for your office dog, can vary in quality from drab to fab.

And in the same way you don’t want coffee machines or dog sweaters that break down in the first year, even though you were offered a free milk frother with them, you want to find an accountant who can work with you for the long haul and save you money.

If you want a long, happy and fruitful relationship with an accountant, here are the top qualities to look for:

1. Do they bring results?

In the same way you may check the Amazon reviews for an organic romper you are planning to buy your friend’s baby Teddy for his second birthday, it’s important to spend the same amount of time checking the reviews of an accountant you are interested in working with.

Check out Google reviews, Yelp reviews, and Facebook reviews to see if customers are happy with the amount they paid, the service they received and the results that were accomplished with these accountants. You can even go a step further and visit Glassdoor to see anonymous employee reviews for the company to see if the company has longevity and if their business practices are ethical.

You can also check out testimonials on the accountants’ webpages to see if any well known companies are currently working with the accountants.

2. Do they use cloud technology?

Cloud technology is a rad way of doing accounting using online software which can be used from any computer or phone as long as you have an internet connection.

Cloud technology is awesome as it’s automatically backed up, you can easily share you accounting information with your CPA as they have access to your online accounting profile, and you can automate transactions so that bank feeds sync automatically with your accounting software.

Desktop accounting on the other hand, which is accounting accessed from software downloaded onto a computer, involves manual transactions, a license downloaded per computer, manual backups and manual sharing of accounting information with your accountant.

3. Do you feel comfortable with them?

In addition to researching your prospective accountants ability to do a good job for your company, it’s also nice to check whether working with them would be enjoyable.

For example, would you enjoy communicating with them on a regular basis? Do they work efficiently and save you time? Do you like their personalities? Do you feel good when you are around them?

So what’s the best way to check if your accountant is a good personality match?

Do some accountant speed interviewing.

Arrange free consults with the top three accountants you are hoping to work with, and see how you feel in the calls or in person meetings and choose the best fit for you.

4. Do they offer a price you can afford?

It helps to do a cost benefit analysis to see how much money spending on an accountant will save you in a year so you can estimate how much budget you can spend on accounting. Different accountants charge different prices depending on their target market and the packages they are offering.

Most accountants don’t list their prices online, so you can contact different accountants online for a free consult to discuss a quote and you can pick the company that offers you the best package for what you are looking for.

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If you would like a free consult to see if BDG could be a good cloud accounting fit for you, schedule one with us by contacting us today!