Do you have a proactive accountant, one that is preparing for the good and bad that may come in your future? Many dental offices don’t think much about this until there is a concern that needs to be managed effectively (and sometimes quickly). Consider what a financially successful dental practice looks like. This is an organization that can handle periods of downtime, such as when a pandemic makes it impossible to provide services to clients. In some cases, this type of practice is one that has the financial means to grow and expand. The investment in new equipment or technology is something that’s planned for, rather than hoped for over time.
To achieve these goals within a practice, the dental accountant must be working to be proactive. That means they are planning to meet goals and achieve financial excellence. If you are looking for a CPA for dentists that can engage in this way, you need to know what to expect from them. A proactive dental CPA is a professional you know that’s looking out for the success of the company.
Proactive vs Reactive Dental CPA
What makes a dental practice successful? One of the core components of this is having a dental CPA that is proactive when it comes to managing the practice’s financials. It is possible for a practice to get by with a reactive accountant, of course. Yet, a reactive professional is putting a lot on the line and hoping for the best outcome.
A proactive dental CPA is a professional capable of planning in advance for some of the most common concerns. This may include creating solutions to handle common problems such as high and unexpected tax bills or a lack of money put aside for growth and expansion. A reactive dentist is one that simply reacts when there is a need – such as managing the bills as they come in rather than having a plan in advance to reduce them.
What Does a Proactive Dental Accountant Look Like?
Knowing how to run a successful dental practice often means focusing on patient care. That’s the work you do as a provider. You put your trust into a CPA who should be able to specifically manage your finances and help to keep your practice in line with goals and expectations. A proactive dental CPA is one that ensures that happens by thinking ahead and planning for potential “what if” situations and expected costs.
What does this professional do, then? There are a few things to consider:
They keep accurate books.
Their records are easy to manage and understand. If there is a need to gather specific information or to document a payment, it’s simple and fast to track down exactly what is necessary.
They keep up with the taxes.
That’s your expectation when working with a dental CPA, but the reality is some professionals may not stay up to date on this as much as they should. That puts you at risk.
The professional ensures regular communication.
You should not be meeting with your dental CPA just one time a year right before tax time. You want to stay ahead of the game by ensuring there is always comprehensive communication. There’s quite a bit they should be communicating with you as well. This includes:
- Salaries that you are paying out
- Incentives provided and available
- Payroll taxes (especially when there are changes to expectations)
- Profit-Sharing plans (management, updates on the overall growth of them, concerns with them)
- Equipment purchases (this is something to be considered before a purchase is needed, not just when there’s a need to find the money to do so later)
- Buying vs leasing space (including when it is time to move on to some location that is more cost-effective for you)
- Mileage costs and how well they are being tracked
- Updates on goals for expansion and growth models
- Other concerns with dental practice management and communication about changes in billing
The right dental accountant is one that automatically keeps you updated. That is, you should not have to ask about updates but establish a schedule to receive them on a routine basis. You should not need to worry about asking the right questions to get the information you need.
They have knowledge beyond the tax season.
Overcoming the challenges of running a dental practice takes a lot of work, and that means having financial support throughout the process (and throughout the year). Be sure they can help you with every task you have as a part of running your business. This may include:
- Having insight to advise dentists especially when it comes to both good and bad financial matters (expansion, raising costs, and managing expenses)
- Being able to support major business decisions with data and insight into the best decision for the practice
- Being resourceful and up to date on tax laws and how they impact the organization, especially when it comes to having a way to minimize taxes for the practice
- Maximizing unique circumstances to ensure the organization’s short- and long-term goals are always kept in mind
They provide regular analysis of the financial health of the organization.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked ways that a proactive accountant can work to meet your needs is by providing ongoing analysis and assessment of the financial health of your practice. This includes looking at and assessing the profitability of the practice. This often includes ensuring that the practice has the tools and resources needed to manage any concerns related to profitability.
They should be sharing their expertise before a problem arises. With good oversight of accounts and routine balancing of the books, they can foresee a problem long before it actually occurs, helping you to minimize the negative outcome.
They see you as a partner.
A dental accountant should view you, as the dental practice owner, as a partner, and not a customer. When they view you as a partner, they are better able and more likely to treat your organization with a careful eye. They see the growth and success of your practice as a clear indication of their own success. More so, their job is to ensure your organization is successful.
Do I Need a Dental CPA?
When it comes to proper dental practice management, recognize the importance of having a dental CPA. If your organization is a professional one, and you have taxable income coming in, it is critical to have a CPA in place to manage your practice’s finances. Anything short of this could put your organization at risk.
There are many potential benefits to having a dental CPA. It can help you to make better business decisions. In addition to this, it encourages you to experience greater profit potential, especially in a highly competitive industry. You may also enjoy practice ownership at a new level. With this type of support and financial insight, your organization is set up to thrive.
More so, hiring a professional dental accountant is empowering. It is the easiest and most profitable way to gauge how well your practice is operating while you are continuing to work and grow your company. You can focus solely on your organization and your patients. These professionals work to keep the financial health of your business in line with your goals.
A proactive dental accountant should provide ample services to support your success. A component of this process is to provide a review of:
- Practice planning: Where you are now and where you hope to be in the future requires planning. This professional should always be available to review and create goals for this. And, when things slip out of hand, they should be able to spot that coming, so you can change the path ahead.
- Tax planning: Planning for taxes is more than just filling out documents. It’s about keeping up on taxes throughout the year, ensuring that your needs are met along the route. It also means developing tax strategies to reduce your obligations. That doesn’t happen just at tax time.
- Wealth planning: Profitability is an important part of building your practice. Let your CPA help you to grow your organization’s wealth and your personal wealth as well.
- Strategic planning: This includes planning for everything from the next economic downturn to your expansion plans. Strategic planning is critical for long-term success.
When you have a professional in place providing these services, you can get back to focusing on what really matters to you. That’s taking care of your patients with good reliability. It also means living the life you desire rather than one trapped in your organization balancing the books.
Why the Dental CFO?
Here’s the key. You need a CPA, but you need a well-qualified professional that can meet the very specific needs and goals you have within your organization. That’s why you need Dental CFO. We are more than just a CPA, we offer CFO level services and do the hard financial work for you. Our services are designed to meet the very specific needs of dental practices. That’s not something that just any CPA can offer.
We do not provide just support in completing your annual tax documents. We partner with you to ensure you have the very best oversight and management of your business in place, reducing risk and creating the potential for long-term success. Take a look to find out what we’re doing differently.
We provide strategic dental financial management and accounting solutions. We know the dental industry. We can provide you with exceptional support as you work to build a successful practice.
Request a free consultation right now. Find out how we are changing the face of dental practice financial and practice management.
