Dental Accounting Essentials: A Guide For Every Dentist 

Dentistry comes with its own unique set of financial complications and challenges, with a fairly complex web of financial considerations that need to be taken into account. This sets the dental profession apart from other businesses.

As a result, the distinctive accounting needs of dental practices such as yours require specialised attention to ensure that your business is not only compliant but also financially sound and capable of growing sustainably. 

Accountants for dentists can be extremely beneficial, freeing you up to do what you do best: care for your patient’s smiles. Let’s look at the distinctive accounting aspects that dental practices like yours likely face and how a specialised dental tax accountant like Schofields Accountants can assist.

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10 Ways A Dental Accountant Can Help Your Practice Grow

1. Saving Time

It is no secret that accounting can be time-consuming due to the significant amount of administrative work involved. As a highly qualified dental professional with your own practice, you are no doubt already pressed for time due to the need to run a business and provide expert care for your patients. 

Wasting valuable time dealing with accounts is unnecessary when this responsibility can be transferred to an expert. As such, finding an accounting and bookkeeping practice like Schofields Accountants, that specifically helps dental clinics, can allow you to focus on ensuring that your staff and clients are kept happy and satisfied so that you can enjoy running your practice.

2. Mitigating Risk

Like any business, dental practices must mitigate financial risks to ensure their legitimacy as an ongoing concern. 

Accountants for dentists can help ensure that risk mitigation is taken care of and that forecasting is accurate and based on sound financial reasoning. A good accountant can give your dental practice a clearer picture of its expected revenue and expenses in the near future, allowing you to plan accordingly.

A good accountant can help you deal with any potential risks so that you can prepare for any financial setbacks and ensure the continuity of your business.

3. Specialised Dental Equipment and Depreciation

One of the most unique factors of having your own dental practice is the heavy reliance on specialised equipment, ranging from state-of-the-art x-ray machines to sterilisation tools, dental chairs, and much more. 

These are unlike some more common business assets because they require substantial upfront investment, have a finite useful life, and have unique depreciation schedules. 

All of this means that it is crucial for an accounting professional to have knowledge and expertise in these unique asset types to ensure accurate financial reporting and flawless tax planning.

4. Insurance

Like other medical professionals, dentists are exposed to the risk of malpractice claims and can also face other business risks, such as property damage, theft, or business interruptions. 

Therefore, a dental accountant must be there to help make sure that the necessary insurance coverage is in place to protect your practice from any unforeseen calamities that might befall it. 

There are various types of dentist insurance that you could consider, ranging from business interruption coverage to property insurance to malpractice insurance. These have unique and specific accounting principles attached, and an expert dental accountant can help ensure they are properly recorded and managed. Schofilelds Accountants can guide you in the right direction. 

5. Continuing Education Expenses

Owing to the complexity of your job as a dentist, you are required to constantly update your knowledge and expertise. The dynamic field of dentistry is forever evolving, with new technological advancements and treatment modalities being developed continuously. 

As such, investments in ongoing education are non-negotiable to ensure that you remain at the forefront of your profession. 

Therefore, your dental accountant should be kept abreast of the financial implications of attending courses, conferences and seminars to ensure that these expenses are well-managed, that the value they bring is optimised, and that the costs are minimised.

6. Payroll and Benefits

Like any business, your dental practice has employees who require salaries and benefits. Whether it’s dental hygienists, assistants, or reception staff, all are essential to ensuring the smooth functioning of your practice. 

The team at Schofields Accountants can ensure that the complexities of your practice’s payroll and benefits for staff are managed accurately for compliance and employee satisfaction. Effective financial management in this regard can ensure that your practice retains the top talent, thereby ensuring sustained growth.

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7. Inventory Management

Your dental practice, no doubt, goes through a lot of consumable and perishable items. Therefore, efficient supply inventory management must be implemented, as this can directly impact cash flow every month. 

A good dental accountant can advise on cost-effective strategies to minimise inventory waste and provide accurate forecasting assistance to ensure that your business is not over- or under-supplied.

8. Dental Tax Planning

As a dentist, you are classified as a high-earning professional, meaning you would greatly benefit from strategic tax planning assistance. There are various tax considerations to take into account that are unique to dentistry, which might include things like deductions for equipment purchases. 

An experienced dental tax accountant will know the most pertinent and recent legislative changes to ensure that your tax liability is minimised, potentially saving your practice thousands of dollars in taxes every year. 

Importantly, tax accountants can save you time and effort by ensuring that your tax returns are correctly filed annually, with business activity statements also filed each quarter. A dental accountant will know exactly which expenses to include in your annual tax return so that your tax liability is minimised while remaining 100% compliant.

9. Business Advice

While filing taxes and carrying out income and expense reports are essential fodder for accountants, quality accounting can also help grow your dental practice from a business perspective by providing sound financial business advice. 

The team at Schofields Accountants bring a wealth of experience to provide insights that can significantly impact your practice’s financial bottom line and give it a leg up for growth. 

10. Wealth Planning

In addition to offering sound business financial advice, a good dental accountant can also provide financial advice to you personally, being cognisant of your career trajectory as a dentist and geared towards building wealth.

A carefully crafted wealth strategy can help you achieve your financial goals while also ensuring that your personal assets are protected and your income is maximised.

Choose an Experienced Dental Accountant

Here at Schofields Accountants, we can act as an accountant for dentists owing to our unique experience and expertise. Keep your practice compliant and financially sustainable by contacting us today.

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