Accounting can often be more complex than it needs to be, which is why most businesses opt to outsource a professional to do the heavy-lifting. Although, in such a popular profession you may be wondering who the best person for the job actually is. Most people are surprised to learn the key differences for medical accounting versus regular business accounting – so how could this affect your business?
Discover how a specialised medical accountant could be right for you and contact us at Curve Accountants for more information.
What a Specialist Medical Accountant Can Do For You
A specialist medical accountant can do everything a non-specialist can but with additional capabilities in the field. Some abilities that may be relevant to your medical business can include:
- Understanding what claims can be made to minimise ATO enquiries
- Notifying you if there are any unexpected or missing figures in your expected income
- Responding appropriately to complications of GST for medical practices
- Keeping up to date in any industry funding changes such as Medicare, and educating you on how this might impact your practice
- Helping you prepare meaningful allocations for your business
- Making relevant monetary calculations as a part of your performance indicators
- Providing access to other experts you may require in the medical field – either in-house or via referral
Common Mistakes of a Non-Specialist Accountant
The medical industry is heavily regulated and as a result businesses can far too often fall victim to limitations and regulations, unique to doctors and other healthcare professionals. Regardless of how much of an expert a non-specialist accountant might be, there remain a lot of grey areas they mightn’t be aware of in the medical field. For example, some of these accounting mistakes might include:
- Miscalculating superannuation contributions due to a mix of employment vs self-employment
- Incorrect tax treatment of superannuation paid or due, which leads to applying incorrect tax relief
- Taxing the business twice by accidentally including income where PAYG withholding has been applied already
- Netting off income and expenses, leading to incorrect GST claims
- Allocating profits incorrectly which impacts balance – commonly for personal service income
Benefits of a Specialist Medical Accountant
Aside from the practical tasks a specialist accountant can undertake for you, they can also benefit your business more holistically with their experience and expertise. Here are a few more advantages they have to offer:
1. Expert Consultancy and Advice
A main goal of accounting is to support better decision making, which means it’s best to employ someone with well-rounded knowledge. An expert in the field will be best at advising you in maximising revenue and minimising tax obligations that are most relevant to your organisation. Their knowledge will also mean you can approach them for answers on any other accounting or tax related concerns for your industry. Having an advisor on your team will enable proactive, rather than reactive, financial advice to easily navigate your monetary concerns.
2. Highly Educated on Deductions
Deductions vary between industries and it’s important your accountant understands these differences. Tax requirements are a lot higher within the medical industry, but a specialist accountant will have a sound knowledge and experience of which deductions you can claim. This will reduce the amount of money you could potentially be owing during tax time, which you’re at risk of losing without the right knowledge.
3. A Wider Range of Services
A specialist accountant will typically have a wider range of niche services available for your industry than a non-specialist would. Whether it includes preparing tax returns and plans, bookkeeping or payroll, a specialist will have strategies more specific to your business. Our team at Curve Accountants specialise in a wide range of accounting services for doctors, dentists and other medical professionals.
Book a Specialist Medical Accountant
With an already busy schedule, healthcare professionals don’t need complex systems and time restraints getting in the way of billings and tax responsibilities. A specialist medical accountant can do the hard work whilst you get back to what’s important. Rest easy knowing that any monetary concerns will be handled by a seasoned expert in the field. Contact us at Curve Accountants to make a booking with one of our medical accounting specialists.
