Even if your dental practice is always busy and you’re struggling to keep up with demand, juggling cashflow to make ends meet might still be the norm, and hiring a new employee to help you cope, might feel as if it’s out of the question.
With patient revenue notoriously unpredictable, hiring a new person – even if you clearly need one – can be a commitment you’re not comfortable making.
However, by consulting with an experienced dental accounting service, they can help you evaluate your needs and determine whether taking someone on may actually be a viable option.
Here’s what you need to give careful consideration to:
Your staffing needs
Are there more busy days than quiet days? Do you struggle to keep up with patient demand on a regular basis, or just from time to time? Knowing whether you really need a new employee is key. Study your patient database to determine whether you can manage those numbers efficiently, or whether having an extra person would help you maintain a higher standard of patient care.
If you are busy sometimes, but not the majority of the time, you may want to consider hiring contractors who you can call upon as and when you need them.
Hiring costs
Dental hygienists don’t come cheap, with salaries often averaging out at above $80,000 depending on the region, and dental assistants might be looking at earning more than $40 per hour. Although these numbers might seem astronomical at first, once you understand them fully, you can make hiring plans that are more realistic.
But it isn’t just wages that need to be factored in, there are benefits such as health insurance, retirement contributions and paid time off, all of which can increase a base salary by up to 30%.
Securing payroll of at least 6 months
When you’re making plans to hire a new dental employee, the key is to think ahead. A financial cushion is essential for those unexpected challenges that may (and often do!) arise, and can help you protect your practice as well as your new hire.
Try to save up at least 6 months’ worth of payroll, or 3 months as a minimum, just to give you some peace of mind.
Assessing your financial position
Although we’ve discussed saving 6 months’ worth of payroll, being able to do this is only possible once you’ve got a clear understanding of your current financial position. For this, you need to study your receivables and payables.
By speeding up collections, strategically delaying supplier payments, and using business credit wisely, you can give yourself a healthy cashflow to build your payroll fund and take some of the stress out of hiring decisions.
Think about financing
If you need to hire someone as soon as possible, a smart solution may be to seek out financing. From a line of credit to a small business loan, some form of borrowing could help you hire a much needed team member when you really need it. However, it’s important to weigh up the pro’s and cons of doing so, as financing can come with some hefty repayment obligations.
Along with tax planning for dentists in Miami, working closely with a dental accountant can help you get an accurate idea of your finances, and give you the confidence to make hiring decisions backed up by real-time data.
Understanding not just whether you need a new employee, but whether you can afford one, shouldn’t be a decision you make alone; take advice and guidance from those who know, and your hiring decisions will always be in alignment with your goals.