Binta calls her accountant once a year, right before tax season. Every other month, silence.
Most business owners treat their accountant like an emergency contact instead of an advisor. That’s a missed opportunity, and it usually shows up as a surprise later.
Questions Worth Asking More Often
- “What’s changed in my numbers since last quarter?”
- “Am I pricing this correctly, based on my actual costs?”
- “What would happen to my cash flow if I lost my biggest client?”
- “Is there a tax deadline coming up I should know about?”
None of these require a crisis to ask. They’re the questions that catch a problem while it’s still small and cheap to fix.
Why Owners Don’t Ask Them
Most people assume their accountant will flag anything important. In reality, accountants often work with the numbers they’re given and don’t always know what’s happening on the ground unless you tell them. A quiet quarter looks fine on paper even if you know something’s shifting in the business.
The businesses that get the most value from their accountant treat the relationship as ongoing, not annual. A fifteen-minute call once a month beats a scramble every January.
A Simple Way to Start
You don’t need a formal meeting to build this habit. A short email works just as well, three or four lines summarizing what’s changed since you last spoke and anything that’s been on your mind.
- Send a quick update after any major client win or loss
- Flag a large purchase before it happens, not after
- Ask for a mid-year check-in, not just a year-end one
The goal isn’t to turn your accountant into a daily advisor overnight. It’s to close the gap between what you know about your business and what they can actually see in the numbers. That gap is usually where surprises hide.
Binta started sending a short monthly note three months ago. Nothing formal, just a few lines on what felt different. Her accountant caught a pricing issue in the second month that would have taken her another quarter to notice on her own.
Want an accountant who actually knows what’s going on in your business? JS Morlu works with you year-round, not just at tax time. Talk to our team.