Have you heard of a dental CPA or a dentist CPA? While most people know what a CPA is, many businesses don’t realize that CPAs can specialize in a specific industry. A dental CPA is an accountant who specializes in the unique financial landscape of dental practices. As your local dentist CPA in WA, we are drawing lessons learned across 10,000+ dental offices to demonstrate why working with a specialized CPA can aid your dental business in managing finances, maximizing profitability, and avoiding costly tax and compliance issues.
Key Financial Challenges Dentists Face
Running a dental business is no easy feat. Often, dental business owners and managers are faced with a myriad of financial challenges in addition to their day-to-day responsibilities, including:
- High overhead and equipment costs
- Insurance reimbursement complexities
- Team member compensation and payroll tax management
- Tax planning across personal and business finances
- Navigating growth, expansion, or ownership transitions
When these factors grow to be too daunting, time-consuming, or confusing, it is time to turn to a professional CPA for assistance.
Why a General CPA Isn’t Enough
While general CPAs may excel in their field, it is impossible to master the nuances of every industry. Due to this, they simply cannot provide enough for a dental business. Generalists often miss tax deductions and planning strategies specific to dental practices, which could potentially cost you thousands of dollars in available savings.
On top of that, taking advice from a general CPA doesn’t compare to a professional well-versed in the industry. Generalists lack understanding of dental-specific KPIs and benchmarks, whereas specialized dental CPAs understand the finite details of dental production-based income and practice valuation.
For example, a dentist CPA will be able to provide you with statistical evidence on where you should be landing with your net profit margin, revenue per employee, and revenue per chair. On top of that, they can provide you with data on how much you should be spending on dental supplies, lab fees, payroll, rent, and advertising as a percentage of your revenue.
Top Services a Dental CPA Provides
#1: Entity Structure & Succession Planning
How you set up and run your business as an entity will influence your business’s financial parameters, especially with your taxes. Your dental CPA will be able to explain the tax ramifications of various entities such as sole proprietorship, partnership, S-Corp, LLC, or a partnership of S-Corps.
Additionally, business ownership is not designed to last forever. Eventually, you will want to retire, which means having a succession plan in place. Your dental CPA can walk you through the best practices for succession planning for profitability.
#2: Profitability Analysis & Benchmarking
Business owners and managers often get lost in the weeds when it comes to tracking profitability and growth. A dentist CPA can analyze your existing profitability, compare your financial metrics to those of other dental offices, and help you identify areas of improvement.
For more information on the basics of benchmarking, check out our in-depth article on Benchmarking for Growth: A Guide for Dental Practice Owners.
#3: Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping is a full-time job in itself, and it can be easy for untrained personnel to make critical errors or fall behind. Reviewing receipts, inputting data, and tracking financial performance take far longer than people tend to anticipate, and it just gets more time-consuming as your business continues to grow. A dental CPA can handle your bookkeeping while providing critical insights into cash flow and overhead management.
#4: Strategic Tax Planning
Taxes can be a business killer if not planned out in advance. A dental CPA provides strategic tax planning services, giving you an in-depth understanding of what you will be expected to pay each year, so there are no surprises. On top of that, your dental CPA will provide you with business and industry-specific tax deductions you can take advantage of to minimize your contributions.
#5: Financial Coaching
In addition to all of the insights you gain from a dental CPA above, your dental CPA will provide you with financial coaching. From guidance on equipment purchases, to advice on financing options, to explaining the ins and outs of depreciation, your dental CPA will be there to answer your questions, provide cost-saving guidance, and be an avid supporter when it comes to all things money.
Real Benefits of Partnering with a Dental CPA
So, what does all of this translate to as real benefits you can take home with you each day? As a dentist CPA in WA, we at PorterKinney have seen our clients benefit from the following:
- Increased take-home income through smarter planning
- Reduced audit risk and improved tax filing confidence
- Clarity on long-term financial goals (retirement, practice sale, expansion)
- Time saved on bookkeeping and back-office tasks
- Improved confidence that they are handling their finances the right way
At the end of the day, our clients want to be dentists, not CPAs. By outsourcing their CPA work, they focus on the aspects of their business that they love and where they shine best, all while knowing that their finances are being securely tracked and handled.
Why Choose PorterKinney, PC
At PorterKinney, we are here to help independent dentists, group practice owners, dental associates, and startup dental professionals across Washington state who are seeking specialized financial guidance and tax strategy.
As a Washington State-based dentist CPA, we ensure your finances are not only built under dental-industry-specific factors but that you are compliant with WA State laws concerning sales tax, B&O tax, and capital gains taxes. We are here to help you every step of the way, starting at step one all the way to succession. So, whether you need assistance in entity structure, tax strategy, bookkeeping, benchmarking, succession planning, or all of the above, we proudly offer our award-winning services so you can get back to what you love most – being a dentist!
Want to see what a dental CPA can do for your practice? Schedule a consultation with PorterKinney, PC, and discover how our expertise can help you keep more of what you earn.
