At Inaura Chartered Accountants, we have assisted in the setup of hundreds of medical practices. While engaging in these services, we have found common issues that clients should consider when setting up and running their practice. We thought that we would share several of them with you.
Who should you bank with and does it matter?
It may not seem important, but ensuring you partner with the right bank when setting up your medical practice can save you massive headaches down the road. These headaches can come in the form of requesting funding from your bank for equipment purchases or potential issues of having to change your bank account when converting from a sole proprietor to an Incorporation resulting in updating your details with BHF once again.
Billing for my services
Medical practices need billing software to claim from the medical aid of the client. This function can be run in-house at your medical practice or outsourced to a billing provider. It would help if you considered which of these options best suits your medical practice. Should outsourcing be an option, you should understand how your billing provider will bill you for the medical aid claims. Your billing provider will charge you based on a percentage of funds received, a percentage of funds billed or a flat rate. There are pros and cons to these options which we can assist you with in making the correct decision.
Tax Registrations
Knowing what type of tax to register for and when to register is critical. Missing registration deadlines will result in penalties imposed by SARS as well as headaches for you. In our experience, most medical practitioners don’t understand why, when and how to register for taxes imposed by legislation.
The legal structure of your medical practice
The legal structure of your medical practice is critical and can either be a sole proprietor (individual), partnership, or an Incorporation. Deciding on which structure is most efficient from a tax efficiency standpoint involves an in-depth review of the business’s financial information as well as the goals of the medical practitioner. Medical practitioners are often unsure of this, that’s where we step in, and through a consultation assist with the structuring and services to ensure the structure of the practice is optimal.