How to Work With an Accountant: What to Send, When, and What to Ask
An accountant is paid for her time, and the most expensive thing you can ask her to do is sort your papers. The same return can take two hours or seven, and the difference is almost entirely in how the year arrives on her desk.
Most owners treat this relationship as a drop-off. A folder goes in during March and a return comes out in April. That works, and it leaves most of the value on the table, because a good accountant can tell you things in November that are useless to hear in April.
Here is what to send, a one page summary that does most of the work, and the questions that turn a tax preparer into an adviser.
One clear page does more than a full folder. Example data.
The short version
Send totals by category, not a pile of statements.
Put a one page summary on top: income, expenses, profit, tax paid.
Talk to her once in the autumn, when there is still time to act.
Ask what you could do differently. It is the question that pays for the appointment.
What an organized year saves
How the year arrives | Her time | At $150 an hour |
|---|---|---|
Sorted, with a summary page | 2 hours | $300 |
Statements and a bag of receipts | 7 hours | $1,050 |
Difference | 5 hours | $750 |
The rate and the hours are an example, and every practice bills differently. What holds everywhere is the shape: time spent working out what a transaction was is time you are charged for, and the answers are less reliable than if you had recorded it at the time.
What to send
Income, totalled by source. And any 1099 forms you received, though your own total is what counts.
Expenses, totalled by category. The categories on Schedule C are a good guide.
Estimated tax payments. Each one, with its date and amount.
Mileage. Business miles, by date, because 2026 has two rates.
Home office figures. The square footage of the space and of the home.
Equipment bought or sold. What, when and for how much.
Retirement and health account contributions.
Anything unusual. A large one-off payment, a loan, a change in how you work.
Receipts stay with you, filed where you can find them. She needs the totals and the confidence that the receipts exist.
The one page summary
Line | Example |
|---|---|
Income from clients | $94,000 |
Business expenses | $34,000 |
Profit | $60,000 |
Estimated tax paid during the year | $8,000 |
Business miles | 6,000 |
Retirement contributions | $6,000 |
Anything that changed this year | Began renting a studio in July |
Seven lines. With this on top, she knows the shape of your year before she opens anything else, and she knows where to look for what is unusual. Our post on what your accountant wishes you had tracked all year covers how to have these figures ready.
When to talk to her
When | What for |
|---|---|
October or November | Is there anything to do before December 31? Is my set-aside enough? |
January | Send the year, with the summary page |
When the return is ready | Go through it together. Ask the questions below. |
Before any big change | Hiring, a large purchase, a new business structure |
The autumn conversation is the one most people skip, and it is the most valuable hour of the year. In April she can only tell you what happened. In November she can still change it.
Income, expenses and profit for the year, already added up. Example data.
Six questions worth asking
What was my total tax as a share of my profit? That is the starting point for next year's set-aside.
What should I be setting aside from each payment?
Did I pay a penalty for underpaying, and how do I avoid it?
Is there anything I recorded in a way that made your work harder?
Which retirement account suits my income?
What would you do differently in my position next year?
The last one is open on purpose. A good accountant sees hundreds of businesses like yours and rarely gets asked what she has noticed.
Choosing one
Someone who works with businesses like yours. Sole proprietors and small service businesses have their own patterns.
Someone who explains. If you leave not understanding your own return, look elsewhere.
Clear fees. Ask how she charges before you start.
Available outside tax season. The autumn conversation needs someone who answers in October.
What she is not there for
An accountant prepares and advises. She does not keep your daily records unless you hire a bookkeeper for that, and she cannot know about a purchase you did not tell her about. The records are yours. Her skill is in what to do with them.
Three mistakes
Sending everything. More paper is more billable time. Send totals.
Only meeting in spring. By then the year is closed.
Not reading the return. It is the best summary of your business you will be given, and our post on how to read last year's tax return shows the lines that matter.
Start with the whole picture, free
La Soglia, the free membership of the Money Mastery System, holds everything you own and everything you owe in one place, personal and business together, with no bank connection and no card. The income and expense totals for the summary page come from the paid membership, which sorts your transactions and lets you share a report with your accountant.
Bring it to the Collective
What is the best question you ever asked your accountant? The Money Mastery Collective has a discussion feed open on the free membership, and it is a list worth building together.
Questions we hear
What should I send my accountant?
Income by source, expenses by category, estimated tax payments, mileage, home office figures, equipment bought or sold, and contributions to retirement and health accounts.
How can I reduce my accountant's fees?
Send organized totals with a one page summary. Time spent sorting papers and identifying transactions is time you pay for.
When should I talk to my accountant?
Once in the autumn, when there is still time to act before the year ends, and again when the return is ready.
What questions should I ask my accountant?
Ask what share of your profit went to tax, what to set aside, whether you paid a penalty, and what she would do differently in your position.
References
There are no outside figures in this post. The hours and the hourly rate are our own illustration, and fees vary from one practice to another.
Related guides: How to do your own bookkeeping, step by step · Home based business bookkeeping: a one-page checklist · Where does my money go? A simple money tracker.
Start free with La Soglia
La Soglia is the free membership of the Money Mastery System. It gives you the Net Worth Tracker, where everything you own and everything you owe sits in one place, and the Money Mastery Collective. There is no card to enter and no bank connection.
Keep in touch
Donna shares a short version of posts like this one on Instagram and LinkedIn. Follow along there, or find everything in one place on our links page.
A note on what this is
This article is educational. The Money Mastery System is an educational tool, not financial software, and nothing here is legal, tax, investment or financial advice. The figures are illustrations, and what your own accountant needs may differ from this list. For guidance on your own circumstances, please speak with a qualified professional who knows them.
Comments