Small businesses don’t have the luxury of having an entire team of employees in their accounting department. That’s why so many business owners try to manage the company books on their own.
The problem is that without proper training, your bookkeeping records won’t be accurate, which will lead to countless problems down the road.
Some of you might have an accountant, but it’s not your accountant’s job to prepare balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow reports. You can’t rely on them for your day-to-day bookkeeping operations.
I assume that you’ve recognized the need to improve your company’s bookkeeping. That’s what brought you to this article.
Outsourced bookkeeping can be the solution to your problems.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with outsourced bookkeeping, I’ll list and explain the top benefits of these services. This will help you make an educated decision for how you want to proceed.
Reporting Accuracy
Here’s an analogy. Would you go to a doctor who didn’t go to medical school? Or would you consult with a lawyer who didn’t pass the bar? Obviously not.
So why would you use a bookkeeper who hasn’t been trained to do that job?
If an untrained professional is managing your books, it’s going to have errors.
You might be a great entrepreneur. Your products or services are outstanding, and you’ve put yourself in a position to be successful in your industry. But that doesn’t mean you’re qualified to manage your books.
Accurate bookkeeping needs to be prioritized.
By outsourcing your bookkeeping services to a professional team of bookkeepers, it ensures quality control for your financial recordkeeping.
Cost-Effective
Outsourced bookkeepers are not company employees.
This will save you tons of money in terms of your employment costs. You won’t have to pay for things like:
- Wages
- Salaries
- Health insurance
- Vacation time
- Retirement
- Bonuses
- Taxes
- Training
As I’m sure you know, this is just a short list of the various costs associated with having a full-time employee on your payroll.
You don’t have to offer your outsourced bookkeeping service any benefits whatsoever. Plus, if they can work remotely, you can save on the costs associated with office space.
At the end of the day, an outsourced bookkeeper is far less expensive than an in-house, full-time employee.
Security
Professional bookkeepers know how important security is when it comes to your company’s financial records.
They use the latest innovative technology and tools to make sure that all of your information is kept safe.
If your current system involves handwritten records that are simply stored in a desk at your office, you are susceptible to theft as well as damages from things like a fire or a flood. An event like this would destroy your records.
You won’t have to worry about any of this if you work with an outsourced bookkeeping service.
Growth and Sustainability
As a business owner, your time is extremely valuable.
By letting a professional bookkeeper manage your books, you’ll be able to spend more time focusing on your business. This is a much more productive way to be spending your time.
Put an outsourced bookkeeper in charge of handling the essential financial reports for small business bookkeeping.
Once this relationship is in place, you’ll be able to focus all your energy on product development, day-to-day operations, management, customer relationships, and all the other crucial aspects of running a business.
Increase Profits
Working with an outsourced bookkeeping service means you’ll have lower overhead costs.
Plus, you’ll only pay for work that’s being done. For example, let’s say you only want help with entering transactions at the end of the month as opposed to day-to-day bookkeeping. That’s the only service you’ll have to pay for.
This is much more cost-effective than an employee who is being paid for 40 hours each week but only doing 20 hours of real work.
When you cut out the things we talked about earlier (training, vacation time, medical absences, etc.) you’ll have lower expenses, which yields higher profit margins.
Reduced Risk
I see so many small businesses that have one employee dedicated to bookkeeping. It may seem like a good idea, especially if this person is a trained professional.
However, if that employee leaves suddenly, then the company doesn’t know what to do.
That’s the risk you’re taking when you have a single person in charge of a crucial component of your business operations.
But your outsourced bookkeeping service isn’t going anywhere. If one of their bookkeepers leaves, the service assigns another one in its place.
It’s also worth noting that premier outsourced bookkeeping firms know the importance of cross-training bookkeepers. This is essential for the sake of business continuity.
Expert Knowledge
Simply put, an outsourced bookkeeper knows that they’re doing.
That’s because they have the advantage of working with so many different companies. This means that they’ve seen it all. They’ll never be presented with a situation that can’t be handled.
You should also try to find a bookkeeping service that specializes in your industry. These firms are highly skilled and can help you more than just a generic bookkeeper.
For example, here at Navitance we specialize in nonprofit businesses and startup companies.
Conclusion
An outsourced bookkeeping service is the best option for most businesses, especially for startups and smaller companies.
Stop trying to manage the books on your own. Don’t put an existing staff member in charge of something they haven’t been trained to do. There is no reason why you should hire a full-time employee for a position that can be filled at a fraction of the cost by outsourcing it.
If you’re interested in outsourcing your bookkeeping, we can help. Just request a consultation with to give us a better understanding of your needs.