They are focused on advisory, assistance, management, and outsourcing. And while they can help with long term staffing needs for your accounting firm, they also have a large focus on helping you with your interim financial reports needs if you’re in a jam. Even if you aren’t planning on growing any time soon, you need to have a sense of how much money is coming in vs. what is going out. On top of that, you need the data used in bookkeeping to file your taxes accurately. A small business can likely do all its own bookkeeping using accounting software. Many of the operations are automated in the software, making it easy to get accurate debits and credits entered.
This leads to more accurate and reliable financial records, ensuring better overall financial management. Working with an outsourced CFO offers business leaders the opportunity to access this financial expertise at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time CFO to work for their business. 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.
Bench: Best for bookkeeping + payroll
You won’t be weighed down by the responsibility of doing your own bookkeeping. But, you won’t be able to check in on your bookkeeper as you would your other employees. Outsourcing does have its disadvantages that you should be aware of too. Be aware of the points below as you prepare to sign up outsourced bookkeeping services for an outsourcing service. When you give yourself a little more breathing room to run your business you’ll be surprised at how productive you could become. It’s also worth mentioning that if you hope to grow or scale your business, you won’t be able to without proper bookkeeping in place.
But for many businesses, the process of arriving at that point of financial clarity is lined with challenges. If you need in-house support but can’t afford to hire a bookkeeper full-time, consider hiring one part-time, and increasing their hours as needed. Some businesses also bring in a part-time bookkeeper but assign them extra administrative tasks in order to create one full-time position. For most business owners, it’s best to do it sooner rather than later. Even pre-revenue businesses require bookkeeping, and consistent recordkeeping is invaluable as you start to grow your business.
What does an outsourced bookkeeper do?
Based in Canada, but only exclusively servicing small businesses and firms in the US. Here you are moving business processes and your in house accounting team to another country, typically one with a lower labor cost structure. What makes offshoring unique is that you essentially maintain full control over the financial data processing, which might be interesting if you’re providing client accounting services.
If your main financial goal is to sell your company, make sure you hire an outsourced CFO that has previously advised on a number of successful transactions. As you evaluate different outsourced CFO options, there are several things to bear in mind to ensure you make the right choice. By keeping these considerations in mind, you’ll be able to avoid any of the drawbacks that can impact businesses that partner with an outsourced CFO that isn’t a great fit for their business. Challenges in working with an outsourced controller typically occur when communication is infrequent. To avoid these issues, prioritize relationships with outsourced controller service providers who call out responsiveness as a key element of their client service philosophy. Because an outsourced bookkeeper isn’t immersed in your business the same way an internal employee would be, there may be some intricacies of your business that they don’t understand at first.