Small Business owners may not have the time to perform the bookkeeping for their businesses. And in fact, they may not want to. After all, almost half of small business owners admit that bookkeeping and accounting are their least favorite tasks.
These pesky tasks that eat away at a founder's precious time do not have to be their problem anymore. Thankfully, you can outsource bookkeeping and accounting services to an individual or a firm. We've put together a brief overview of outsourced bookkeeping services so you can consider all options available.
Bookkeepers help business to keep their financial transactions in order. They will handle bank reconciliation, take care of payroll, accounts receivable and payable, ensure your financial records are in order, and prepare financial statements.
So now that you know what services bookkeepers provide, let's dive into what outsourced bookkeeping means.
An outsourced bookkeeper is a freelance bookkeeper (either an individual or a firm) that will provide the services of a bookkeeper. They perform the tasks that founders do not want to. Thus allowing founders to focus on growing the business. And they cost much less than hiring in-house support.
There are many benefits to outsourcing bookkeeping, some of which include
Founders can focus on running their businesses. They will be able to save time and focus on tasks that can help grow the company.
The accounting you do is done in real-time. You work with us to make plans for the future. We can work on the same data simultaneously, ensuring that it is accurate and up-to-date. This means that you have access to accurate and up-to-date data that you can use.
It costs money to hire, train, and keep bookkeepers on staff. You don't have to pay for hiring and training new people when you outsource bookkeeping. Plus, you do not have to pay taxes or benefits as they're not employees.
When a key member of your finance team leaves, they take valuable knowledge with them. You then have the headache of recruiting and training the new team member.
With outsourced Bookkeeping services, there is less chance of losing knowledge and more continuity for the business.
Outsourced bookkeeping firms use tools to help them in their operations. Their goal is to be efficient for their clients, so they will purchase tools to help them with that goal.
Small businesses will be trying to cut costs, so they may not have access to these tools. Outsourcing your bookkeeping will give you the same access and benefits from these tools that more established competitors have.
Outsourced bookkeeping firms hire highly experienced and knowledgeable staff and can offer more than just bookkeepers to look after your account. They can also provide CFO and accounting services.
So this gives you access to several experts at a cost-effective price. It would be difficult for a small business owner to hire an entire team of experts due to budget constraints, but they can access these experts via an outsourced bookkeeping firm.
These experts have been trained to ensure that financial data is in order. They have years of experience handling the finances of businesses like yours. They're less likely to have errors in their work compared to a founder who may not have that much experience with bookkeeping and who did want to do it in the first place.
This way, founders can be assured that their books will be done by an expert and relieved that they do not have to spend precious hours performing a task they did not want to perform in the first place.
And this list is by no means exhaustive.
After reading about the benefits of outsourced bookkeeping services and why you might want to do it, it's important to look at a few things before making the switch. These things are:
• Telling a remote team what you want them to do when you give them work. This will help your team know what to do.
• Figuring out if a service provider is a good business partner. You want a good match, just like when you hire someone from the area.
• Figuring out if you have the time and resources to work with a team from around the world. I think of time zones and technology.
It's a great idea for your company to choose a local "bookkeeper" to oversee your global workforce, but it doesn't have to be you. Your bookkeeper should be open to change, know a lot about outsourcing, have good communication skills, and be willing to hold team meetings virtually.
There are usually a few signs that it's time to stop trying to do it yourself and hire bookkeeping outsourcing services.
If any of the following are true, it might be time to hire someone else to do your books:
• Keeping your books takes more valuable time than you can spare.
• Your financial reporting is out of date, and you cannot make high-level decisions anymore.
• You are in dire need of tax preparation services.
• You have trouble managing and improving your cash flow.
• It's hard for you to keep track of accounts due and accounts received.
If you've decided to go down the outsourced route, these are the things you must do to get started.
There is a multitude of options available to businesses. You can go with a virtual bookkeeper. The pandemic has made remote work a reality for businesses around the world, though if you do choose to take advantage of online bookkeeping services, you must be comfortable using accounting software and communicating virtually with your bookkeeper.
If you prefer face-to-face interactions and want to have physical copies of your transactions, you can choose a bookkeeper that is within your area of work, so it makes it easier to hand over files.
Also, remember that you can go with an individual or an organization. Each has its benefits and cons, so that is why research is vital. Take advantage of review sites for bookkeeping and accounting firms, or check out previous projects freelancers have completed and their average rating and success rate. This can give you an indication of what to expect.
Choose the option that suits your needs, budget, and requirements.
If you've done your research but are still unsure of which option to choose, let us make it easier for you. We take on the manual work of maintaining your books in Xero/Quickbooks and ensure that they are always up to date by month-end. Rather than you having to do this on an ongoing basis, we work in the background, and you have a monthly review call with us to ensure that we are booking things the way you want.
This goes without saying, but you must hand over all relevant financial documents to your bookkeeper. Business owners are understandingly hesitant to share sensitive company financial information with bookkeepers.
However, a dedicated bookkeeper will do their utmost to deliver the ideal bookkeeping experience for your firm.
This is especially important if you prefer online bookkeeping services, as virtual bookkeepers may live in different time zones, and email may not be the best communication tool for everyone. Remember to convert how often you'd like updates and reports and how best you'd like to review them.
Depending on your requirements, your bookkeeper may charge a little more, but it's worth it to have your books done in the manner you need and want.
Outside outsourced accounting firms to keep their books. The average monthly fee for outsourced bookkeeping services is between $500 and $2,400.
Of course, the actual amount you will end up paying for outsourced bookkeeping will vary based on the complexity and number of services your business needs. If you require bookkeeping, accounting, and tax services, you may have to pay a little more than a company that requires basic bookkeeping services. Conversely, if you require part-time bookkeeping and accounting services, you will fork over relatively less money.
