Hi Everyone,
I've been asking friends and a few other business owners for referrals for a good reasonable $ attorney and a CPA so that I can be sure all my ducks are in a row when it comes to my new business. What I am finding is that most people do not have one or the other or have not had good experiences.
Both my attorney and CPA are solopreneurs - one man offices. My first criteria is: how experienced are they? Is this a specialty for the attorney or just an area he or she "dabbles" in? Second criteria: check your state bar's website for information as to whether the attorney you are contemplating is held in good standing with them. Your state's bar assn. will also have a listing of attys. in your area and how many years of experience they have. Sole practitioners will normally offer reasonable fees because they realize that their competition is fierce.
Our CPA was obtained through a personal recommendation and we've worked together for 16 yrs. now. I would continue to ask business acquaintances for recommendations.
Hope this helps a bit.
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Leslie Sansone Williams
LeslieSansoneWilliams.com
Have you tried your local chamber? How about people at your networking events?
There are some programs such as LegalZoom however I have never used it so I could not give you any feedback on those.
For CPA's, you could also look for an experienced accountant. It is hard to give suggestions on this because I am not sure if you are looking for advice, someone to do your account or even someone to file your taxes.
We do not have legal representation secured but I did employ a CPA firm in about our third year of business. It was the end of the tax year when I realized I would need help going forward, and I wanted to make sure I was completing that year's taxes correctly. I found the firm online, called to ask a few questions about and was so impressed by their willingness to help that I hired them once we finally got settled in the new city (they actually emailed me - a non-client at the time - some forms I would need and provided some great advice on the deductions we were taking).
We ended up moving again about two years later (to a neighboring state) but I continue to work with them. I did shop around a bit after we moved, thinking it would make more sense to work with someone local but it turns out they're more affordable, and they're always on the ball so we're happy to stay with them.
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Selecting an attorney and a CPA
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