Hiring a bookkeeper in-house, either part-time or full-time, can help, but that’s not an option that makes sense for every business. Recruiting, training, and managing employees is an expensive, time-consuming endeavor. On top of that, business owners are responsible for providing their bookkeeping employees with the resources and tools they need to be successful. The quality of your bookkeeping affects everything from your ability to raise external financing to the confidence with which you’re able to make forward-looking decisions. But despite the undeniable importance of bookkeeping, it’s a what are generally accepted accounting principles gaap task that many business owners fail to prioritize. Reduce costs, manage taxes, administer benefits, and stay globally compliant when you consolidate payroll with Remote.
Once the system is up and running, it’s essential to allow the new bookkeeper to do their job. Don’t worry about financial reporting, payroll taxes, accounting tasks, or offline vs. online bookkeeping. You have made your choice, and now it’s time to enjoy having a dedicated account manager and bookkeeper do the job for you. When it’s time to pay taxes, an online bookkeeping service can offer you a year-end financial package. This will include all the financial statements the accountant needs to file the small business tax return. Keeping track of financial data for a business takes time, effort, and money.
Leave the administrative load with us and get more time to focus on revenue-generating activities. Outsourcing your accounting and financial admin can unload some of that burden. “Virtual bookkeeping” may sound a bit dated—like a Windows 95 application—but this (admittedly awkward) term refers to a popular, paper-free method of handling your books. To help you choose which is right for you, we’ve broken down the pros and cons of both. Once you’ve determined which route you want to take, interview candidates for agencies or freelancers to find the right fit. Pick someone you trust with sensitive financial information and who can accommodate your needs.
How to Outsource Your Bookkeeping
Luckily, accounting and bookkeeping don’t have to be the business owner’s responsibility anymore. It’s becoming more and more common for businesses to outsource bookkeeping to take care of the pesky task of handling financial transaction records. To help navigate your options, we’ve put together a guide to outsourcing bookkeeping.
Virtual Bookkeeping
If you’re hiring across borders, you’ll have to recruit in-house accountants in all the countries you’re onboarding in. This can be costly and complex, especially if you don’t have legal entities in those countries. When you outsource your accounting responsibilities, you can significantly reduce what you would otherwise be paying. For any business this is a plus, but for budget-conscious growth startups, this can be a game-changer, allowing you to focus funds how to keep your nonprofits books organized and current and resources elsewhere. The amount of work you have available may not justify hiring one in-house, even on a part-time basis.
But the catch is that a CPA will generally charge more per hour than a bookkeeper would. They’ll typically charge their hourly rate, which is higher than a bookkeeper’s, because of the hard work in getting accredited. It’s up to you to determine whether your business can afford an in-house bookkeeper. Their standard pay, according to Salary.com, ranges from $39,568 and $50,577 per year—before taking into account payroll taxes and employee benefits. That can be a lot if you simply need someone to perform bank reconciliations and forecasting. Full-time, in-house bookkeepers are really for businesses with advanced needs.
The complete guide to finance and accounting outsourcing services
Ignite Spot Accounting delivers heftier reports than many other cloud accounting providers we checked out for this piece. Along with typical financial reporting (like profit and loss reports and balance sheets), you’ll get a KPI (key performance indicator) report and profitability analysis, among others. But Merritt Bookkeeping’s most stand-out feature might be its in-depth financial reports. Most other virtual bookkeeping services give you basic financial reports only, like income statements and balance sheets. In contrast, Merritt gives you more detailed reports like forecasting and quarterly comparisons. It also starts at $190 a month, which is less than nearly every other provider on our list.
If you use accrual-basis accounting, you’ll need the Growth plan, which starts at $990 a month. And the Executive plan, which is built classified balance sheet financial accounting for larger companies that need CFO services, has custom pricing. Having all of your bookkeeping together throughout the year will make tax season much easier.
- This ensures you’re getting the best support and advice on a range of financial matters, from tax planning to financial forecasting and budgeting.
- Typically, the lower your expenses (and the fewer your accounting needs), the less you’ll be charged.
- When hunting for bookkeeping firms, go for those who give immediate and secure access to financial reports.
- With Bench’s Catch Up Bookkeeping services, a Bench bookkeeper will work through past months of disorganized bookkeeping to bring your accounts up to date.
- At some point, you may find it more beneficial to move some or all of your accounting processes in-house.
Without a great bookkeeper, your company could be losing thousands of dollars each period. Accounts receivable (AR) and accounts payable (AP) are essential accounting functions for any business. They ensure the timely collection of payments from your customers for products or services sold (AR), and management of the money you owe to vendors (AP).
