If you’ve recently opened up a new medical practice or are considering doing so in the future, you no doubt have a lot on your plate. From organising equipment to hiring staff, there’s a hundred and one different things to check off the to-do list.
In these early days, one of the best decisions you can make to safeguard your financial security is to outsource all your medical accounting needs. You might think that you understand your expanding practice best and are therefore in the optimum position to make financial decisions. There are elements of truth to this, particularly when it comes to short-term plans. However, one of the main benefits to working with a professional medical accountant is that they can look beyond your current situation, helping you to make decisions that are in your long-term interests.
You’re probably not planning for your retirement quite yet, but a good medical accountant will be! Other benefits of choosing to outsource your accounting and financial planning needs include:
Focus on patient care
As a medical professional, providing high-quality patient care is what you do best. Anything that distracts you from this task — whether it be processing payroll or completing your tax return — should be dealt with immediately or outsourced.
By handing off your financial responsibilities to a professional, you can devote undivided attention to your patients, increasing their service satisfaction and health outcomes.
Increased efficiency
If you asked a plumber to perform a root canal, you’re unlikely to get the result you’re after. Asking a medical professional who owns their own practice to complete a tax return is much the same thing.
We all have our own areas of expertise. Outsourcing medical accounting to a professional means you benefit through increased efficiency and accuracy.
Financial confidence
As a business owner, you have a number of obligations to the Australian Taxation Office. Completing your tax return is not a quick and easy job. You need to keep thorough documentation throughout the year and be prepared to back up your financial claims with solid evidence.
The ATO chooses to audit businesses of all shapes and sizes for a number of different reasons. If you were to be audited, having a trained medical accountant in your corner gives you the best chance possible of emerging from the situation with limited penalties. Outsourcing medical accounting should give you confidence that you’re meeting all taxation obligations and have the evidence to prove so.
Smart planning
When you first open your practice, many of your financial concerns will be immediate. However, these early days can also be the best time to make long-term plans that will ensure financial and operational success for many years to come.
A medical accountant can assist with tax planning, succession planning, and even investigate the possibility of small business grants and offsets that will be of enormous help in ensuring financial security.
As you can see, there are countless benefits to outsourcing your medical accounting. It’s never too late to speak to a professional about the ways in which you can improve financial performance and set yourself and your practice up for ongoing success.
