Many contractors don’t like bookkeeping and accounting. Smaller contractors are notorious for not properly processing withholding taxes, workers’ compensation, unemployment and other financial requirements, so it makes sense that many would look to their accountants to take care of this. While this may work for basic taxes, this type of system probably won’t work as a contractor’s business grows. It is not uncommon for us to work with contractors who have their accountants do all their recordkeeping off site. The contractor’s internal records tend to be a mess, and it is almost impossible to tell where he or she is financially.

Here are some do’s and don’ts.