Working With Your Dental CPA: A Practice Owner Guide

Your CPA sees your practice through numbers. When you help them see clearly, they can help you make better decisions.

The Value of a Good CPA Relationship

Your CPA is more than someone who files your taxes. A good dental CPA is a strategic advisor who can help you understand your practice's financial health, plan for growth, minimize taxes legally, and prepare for major transitions.

But CPAs can only help you if they have accurate information and understand your business. The relationship works best when it is a two-way partnership, not a once-a-year document handoff.

This guide covers how to work effectively with your CPA to get maximum value from the relationship.

Choosing the Right CPA

Dental Experience Matters

Not all CPAs understand dental practices.

Why dental expertise helps:

• Understands dental-specific revenue cycles
• Knows typical expense ratios and benchmarks
• Familiar with dental practice valuation
• Understands insurance and patient payment dynamics
• Aware of dental-specific tax opportunities

Questions to ask:

• How many dental practices do you serve?
• What percentage of your practice is dental?
• Are you familiar with dental practice management software?
• Do you understand dental insurance payment processes?

Services to Expect

A full-service dental CPA should offer:

Tax services:

• Practice tax returns
• Personal tax returns
• Tax planning throughout the year
• Estimated tax guidance

Accounting services:

• Financial statement preparation
• Bookkeeping oversight or services
• Chart of accounts setup

Advisory services:

• Financial analysis and benchmarking
• Profitability consulting
• Cash flow planning
• Practice valuation

Specialized services:

• Entity structure advice
• Compensation planning
• Buy/sell transaction support
• Retirement planning coordination

Red Flags

Signs a CPA may not be the right fit:

• No dental experience
• Only contacts you at tax time
• Cannot explain things in plain language
• Does not ask questions about your practice
• Takes weeks to return calls
• Surprises you with bad news

What Your CPA Needs From You

Timely Financial Data

CPAs cannot help without data.

Monthly:

• Profit and loss statement
• Balance sheet
• Bank statements
• Credit card statements

Quarterly:

• Same as monthly plus:
• Payroll reports
• Estimated tax payment verification

Annually:

• Year-end financial statements
• 1099 information for contractors
• Retirement plan contributions
• Any unusual transactions explained

Practice Management Data

Beyond financials, CPAs need practice context.

Helpful data:

• Production reports
• Collection reports
• AR aging
• New patient counts
• Procedure mix if available

This helps them understand if financial results make sense.

Organized Documentation

Save time and money with organization.

Best practices:

• Consistent file naming
• Organized folder structure
• Digital copies of important documents
• Notes on unusual transactions

What to keep:

• All bank and credit card statements
• Loan documents
• Equipment purchases with invoices
• Employee records
• Insurance EOBs for reference

Proactive Communication

Do not wait for problems.

Tell your CPA about:

• Major equipment purchases planned
• Staff changes (especially owners/partners)
• New services or locations
• Buy or sell considerations
• Any unusual transactions

Early communication enables planning rather than reaction.

Getting Value Beyond Tax Filing

Quarterly Check-Ins

Meet regularly, not just at tax time.

Quarterly review agenda:

• Review financial performance
• Compare to prior periods and benchmarks
• Discuss any concerns
• Plan for upcoming quarter
• Address any compliance items

Financial Benchmarking

Understand how you compare.

Key benchmarks:

• Staff costs as percentage of collections (target: 25-30%)
• Lab costs as percentage of production
• Rent as percentage of collections (target: under 7%)
• Net income as percentage of collections
• Collection rate

Ask your CPA:

• How do I compare to similar practices?
• Where am I strong/weak?
• What should I focus on improving?

Tax Planning

Minimize taxes legally.

Opportunities to discuss:

• Entity structure optimization
• Retirement plan maximization
• Equipment purchase timing
• Compensation structure
• Deduction opportunities

Timing: Tax planning should happen throughout the year, not in December.

Cash Flow Guidance

Manage cash effectively.

CPA can help with:

• Cash flow projections
• Working capital needs
• Debt management
• Distribution timing
• Emergency reserve sizing

Growth Planning

Plan for the future.

CPA role in growth:

• Financial modeling for expansion
• Associate compensation structuring
• Partnership structures
• Acquisition analysis
• Exit planning

How Reconciliation Helps Your CPA

Clean Books Save Money

Better reconciliation means lower CPA costs.

When books are clean:

• Less CPA time on cleanup
• Faster financial statement preparation
• Fewer questions and research
• Lower fees

When books are messy:

• CPA spends time investigating
• Questions delay completion
• Adjustments needed
• Higher fees

Reconciliation Enables Analysis

CPAs cannot analyze unreliable data.

With good reconciliation:

• CPA can trust the numbers
• Analysis is meaningful
• Advice is based on reality
• Trends are visible

Without reconciliation:

• Numbers may be wrong
• Analysis is questionable
• Advice may be misguided
• Problems are hidden

What CPAs Look For

Your CPA will verify:

Bank reconciliation:

• All bank accounts reconciled monthly
• Outstanding items are reasonable
• No long-outstanding items

Revenue verification:

• Reported revenue matches deposits
• AR changes are explainable
• Payment types reconcile

Expense verification:

• Expenses are properly categorized
• Unusual items are documented
• Payroll matches reports

Preparing for CPA Meetings

Before Each Meeting

Gather:

• Financial statements for the period
• Questions you want to ask
• Information about changes or plans
• Any documents they requested

Review:

• Your financial statements before the meeting
• Note anything you do not understand
• Identify concerns or questions

During Meetings

Be engaged:

• Ask questions
• Request explanations in plain language
• Take notes
• Discuss future plans

Provide context:

• Explain unusual items proactively
• Share operational changes that affect finances
• Discuss plans that might have financial implications

After Meetings

Follow up:

• Send requested documents promptly
• Implement recommendations
• Keep notes for future reference
• Calendar next meeting

Common CPA Relationship Issues

"My CPA Never Calls Me"

CPAs are often reactive, not proactive.

Solutions:

• Schedule regular meetings yourself
• Send updates proactively
• Ask for the communication cadence you want
• Consider if a different CPA would be more engaged

"I Don't Understand the Reports"

Financial statements can be confusing.

Solutions:

• Ask for explanations in plain language
• Request a walkthrough of key reports
• Focus on the metrics that matter most
• Ask for visual dashboards if helpful

"Fees Are Too High"

CPA fees reflect time spent.

How to manage fees:

• Provide organized, timely information
• Reconcile books before sending
• Batch questions rather than calling repeatedly
• Discuss fee structure upfront

"I Get Surprised at Tax Time"

Surprises usually mean poor planning.

Prevention:

• Quarterly tax planning meetings
• Estimated tax discussions
• Year-end planning in October/November
• Ongoing communication about changes

"My CPA Doesn't Understand Dental"

Generic accounting misses dental nuances.

Options:

• Educate your current CPA
• Find a dental-specialized CPA
• Accept limitations and supplement with dental consultants

Special Situations

Buying or Selling a Practice

CPA is essential for transactions.

CPA role:

• Valuation input
• Due diligence support
• Deal structure advice
• Tax implications analysis
• Transition planning

Start early: Involve CPA at the beginning, not when the deal is almost done.

Adding a Partner or Associate

Compensation and structure decisions are complex.

CPA role:

• Compensation modeling
• Entity structure advice
• Buy-in/buy-out planning
• Tax optimization

Major Capital Investments

Big purchases have financial implications.

Discuss with CPA:

• Timing for tax benefits
• Financing vs purchase analysis
• Depreciation strategies
• Cash flow impact

Business Structure Changes

Entity changes have significant tax implications.

CPA guidance needed for:

• S-Corp election timing
• Partnership conversions
• Multiple entity strategies
• State tax implications

Making the Relationship Work

Treat It as a Partnership

The best CPA relationships are collaborative.

Your role:

• Provide accurate, timely information
• Communicate proactively
• Ask questions
• Implement recommendations

Their role:

• Provide accurate, timely services
• Explain implications clearly
• Offer proactive advice
• Be accessible when needed

Invest Appropriately

Good advice costs money.

Perspective:

• A few thousand dollars in tax planning can save tens of thousands in taxes
• Clean financial statements help with practice valuation
• Good advice prevents costly mistakes

Build for the Long Term

CPA relationships are most valuable over time.

Long-term benefits:

• CPA understands your history
• Advice is tailored to your situation
• Transitions are smoother
• Trust enables frank discussions

Want to give your CPA clean books every month? Zeldent automates reconciliation so your financial data is accurate and ready for your accountant. No more cleanup work, no more surprises, no more wasted CPA hours investigating discrepancies. Schedule a demo to see how Zeldent makes your CPA relationship more productive.