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Do You Need an Accountant?

Accountants are more than number-crunchers; they can be an integral part of your strategic planning team.

By Cynthia E. Griffin

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Stacy Perez is a typical new business owner. She's a soleproprietor, she doesn't have any employees yet, and she uses anaccounting professional only to do her taxes. "I'm not bigenough for an accountant-it's just me right now," says the31-year-old owner of Dot ComMommies, a Hanover Park, Illinois, company that listslegitimate business and work-at-home opportunities on its Web site."But when I start hiring people, then I think I'll needone."

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Currently, all Perez's money goes toward paying bills, sheexplains, and her sales are not such that she needs theprofessional services of an accountant. She currently uses only aMicrosoft Excel spreadsheet to keep track of company expenses andincome. But should she reach her goal of $10,000 in monthlyrevenues-which could happen once her new e-books hit the market-shesays that could trigger the need for both an accountant and abusiness advisor.

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