If you are signing up for a business consultation with an accounting firm, here are three things that you should expect to happen during the process.

#1 Establishing Your Goals

One of the first things that a accounting consultant is going to do is make sure that they understand your small business goals. They are going to want to understand where you are at right now with your business, where you would like to be down the road, and what you think you need to do to get there. They want to understand your long-term vision for your business, as well as your ability to execute that vision as your business is currently structured.

Make sure that you can verbally articulate how you want your business to grow over time. It can be related to expanding your physical location, offering a bigger depth of service, expanding your client roaster or a combination of the above goals or entirely different goals. Think about these things and even write them down before you meet with your consultant. You don't have to have a clear path or an exact plan already, but the consultant is going to want to know what general direction you see your business heading into so that they can help you figure out what challenges you'll face as well as ways to help you grow.

#2 Designating the Decision Maker

The next thing your business consultant is going to want to know is who makes the decisions in your business or who makes what types of decisions. For example, you may have a purchasing manager that approves all large purchases, or you may have a creative director who really spearheads new products within your small business. The decision makers in your business could be different than who owns and operates the business.

Letting your consultant know who the important people are in your business will help them bring in the right people to help you grow your business. They'll talk with the individuals who can provide vital feedback and approve or reject ideas.

#3 Sharing Business Data

Finally, you should share as much solid data as you can with your business consultant. For example, if you have data on your revenue and profit margin, your business consultant will want to see that. If you have solid data about how many customers you have and growth over time, that is also important information. Basically, any information that you can back up with numbers about any aspect of your business will help your business consultant draft a plan to move your business forward.