Take this to the bank: Your accountant must be an asset to your company, not a liability!
As a business coach, I see, firsthand, the benefits a salon or spa gains when they have an effective working relationship with their accountant. Quite often, this relationship is not being maximized to its full potential. This success or lack thereof is a two way street so let’s look at responsibility on both sides of the coin:
Salon/ Spa Owners must be responsible to:
- Have current and accurate books (receipts, bank statements, POS system)
- Learn how to read and understand the information instead of handing it off and forgetting about it
- Require an updated Profit & Loss statement (P&L) and Balance sheet from their accountant by the third week of each month, not just here and there.
- Send all necessary information to the accountant or book keeper within the first 2-3 days of the month
- Block off time in the schedule to analyze the P&L, learning how to look at key performance indicators (K.P.I.’s) that directly impact profit
Accountants / Book Keeper’s must be responsible to:
- Create a detailed list of needs from the salon / spa owner to help them complete their work each month
- Take the time to learn the key sales & expenses that must be separated and tracker that are specific to a salon or spa business such as service sales, retail sales and gift card sales being separated. Another example would be seeing inventory lumped together when retail inventory should be separated from back bar / professional supplies.
- Complete a year-to-date P&L and balance sheet and send it to the salon / spa owner each month along with analysis & recommendations
These are some of the points to consider when working with an accountant or book keeper. Find the right firm to support you. Even if you pay a few hundred more dollars each month, it is money well spent when you consider how much money an accountant can save you each month and at tax time when they know your business, understand industry benchmarks and take the time to work with you to help you grow!
To learn more about how to manage this relationship as well as these important benchmarks and key performance indicators check out my book Financial Fitness: Systems to Increase Profitability in Your Salon or Spa in my book store! https://stephengomez.net/product/financial-fitness-systems-to-increase-profitability-in-your-salon-or-spa/
