Have you ever noticed that it's a downright foreign language when your dental accountant starts talking? Almost alien. They start throwing terms around like Gross Profit, Section 179, Basis, Capital Gains, AMT Tax… and you say “gesundheit.”

I’m guessing you most likely don’t find accounting exciting, and you don’t have the time to understand it. As your dental accountant is going over fees with you, you force a smile and nod in agreement. However, you have no idea what they are talking about or why you have sky-high fees. And you’re not alone, trust me. So, how can you hope to reduce dental accounting fees if you don't understand the services? I have some easy ideas to help.

Five ways to cut dental accounting fees in your dental practice:

1. Stay organized and paperless

2. Communicate consistently

3. Don't add extra services

4. Use a payroll service

5. Use a dental bookkeeper

Stay Organized and Paperless

Mailing physical documents to your dental accountant is a big no-no these days. It's standard procedure to make copies of everything that comes in that door, and your dental accountant usually charges you for the time it takes to scan those papers into PDFs.

If you scan and email documents, a significant difference you can make for your dental accountant is to keep everything organized, so they don’t have to search through an email of documents labeled “Image 1”, “Image 2”, etc. Title your PDFs and Images clearly for your accountant, like “Bank of America 01-31-25”. It’s also helpful to send everything as one lump instead of sporadic emails with single files attached. It takes so much more time to sift through.

Communicate Consistently

I know how busy practice owners are. It’s one crazy day to the next, and that’s good because that means you’re making money. However, if you wait a week or weeks to get back to your dental accountant with answers to questions, it will cost you. While your information is fresh on their minds, they want to finish the project and get it off their plate. But when time lapses a couple of weeks, and they start to forget where they left off, it will cost them more time to go back through everything again to remember, and it will cost you more money in the process.

Don't Add Extra Services

Try to cut back on all the extras tacked onto your dental accounting services. These will include formal financial statements, multiple meetings throughout the year, and 1099 preparation. These are ok services; however, you can find more cost-effective methods for getting these extras. Use your bookkeeper for financial statements, get 1099s prepared by your payroll service, and you only need one or two meetings with your CPA a year.

Use an Easy Payroll Service

Using your dental accountant for payroll services can be more costly than a payroll service like Gusto, ADP, or Paychex. I understand it feels easier to have it as a package deal, but amuse me and shop around to see what’s out there and for what prices. You’ll be surprised. They are simple to use with support for help, and they file the payroll tax returns and 1099 forms for you. I would advise against using a payroll software platform that requires you to submit the payroll tax returns yourself, such as QuickBooks/Intuit payroll. There is too much room for error, and they are full of deadlines that pile up on you.

Use a Dental Bookkeeping Service

Putting your dental supplies transactions in an expense account in QuickBooks might seem easy, but accurate dental bookkeeping is never that simple. Your dental accountant is spending more time fixing your bookkeeping errors than you know, dramatically increasing your dental accounting fees. Trust me. I was that dental accountant in a dental CPA firm for five years.

Consider using a dental bookkeeping service instead of doing the books yourself. The dental bookkeeper will probably do it faster and better than you, saving you money with your dental accountant and your valuable time.

Conclusion:

Don’t forget that you can shop around for a dental accountant, and you don’t have to stick with what you have. It doesn’t hurt to talk with other dental accountants to find out their fees and what they can do for you. It’s also not necessary to work with a local dental accountant. I know many dental accountants who have clients nationally. You have a plethora of options, and I can help you make the change if you need guidance.

Thank you so much!

Sona Wegner, MBA

CEO | Percentology

Dental specialty bookkeeping with us:

Bookkeeping services are generally not a core service of accounting firms. So if you’re struggling with outdated bookkeeping and unclear overhead costs, we can provide you with better, more specialized dental bookkeeping while working seamlessly with your accountant to get tax reporting done each year, often enhancing the tax service your CPA provides.

Our unique approach focuses on making it easier to see where your money is going at a glance by doing your dental practice’s bookkeeping with overhead expense benchmarking. You just continue to pay your bills and run your payroll. Meanwhile, your dedicated Percentology bookkeeper keeps track of all financial activity in QuickBooks Online and makes it easy to read and understand.

• Clear and consistent bookkeeping like clockwork

• Only for dentists, currently 100+ dental clients

• Discover where you stand against industry averages

• Everything your CPA needs for taxes

Let’s ease the uncertainty of not knowing where you stand.  With your finances organized and under control, you can focus on what matters most—your patients and practice success. I'm eager to learn more about your practice and discuss how we can meet your bookkeeping needs. Schedule a call with me today.