Why your need for a bookkeeper doesn’t end on tax day.
Are you considering hiring a bookkeeper? Not sure if it’s worthwhile after April 15th has come and gone? There are many more reasons to hire a bookkeeper than just dealing with tax time. They can help support your business year round with a long list of benefits. Here are just a few:
Free Up Your Time
Are you an expert at numbers and finance? No? That’s one great reason to hire a bookkeeper who is. Instead of spending an inordinate amount of time trying to keep track of your books and run your business, outsourcing the books will free up your time to focus on your business and its needs.
Reduce Conflict of Interest
In addition to removing the distraction of doing the books yourself, using a third party can prevent a conflict of interest. In-house bookkeeping can open you and your business up to potential misconduct from within the company. Whether protecting yourself, your partners or your business, conflicts from errors, whether intentional or unintentional, can cause irreparable harm to your company.
Ensuring Accuracy
If you’re trying to keep track of your accounts payable and accounts receivable and you have no accounting experience, your accuracy is not guaranteed. Hiring a professional who knows how to enter your transactions as well as properly classify them will help you year round. And being prepared in advance is the best way to be prepared for tax season when it rolls around again.
Save Money
Sounds counterintuitive, however, outsourcing your books to a professional instead of paying an in-house bean counter will save you substantially over time. Most small businesses don’t have 8-hour days’ worth of bookkeeping needs, so paying someone to work those hours isn’t beneficial. A third party provides expertise when you need it, which will end up being what you pay for, not more.
System Accessibility
Business owners keep a close watch on their budget, including any software and computer applications they need to run a company. You have the option to pay for software to manage your books, but then you have the expense of the software, upgrades, and training. Outsourcing gives you access to professionals who use cutting edge technology and the latest tools combined with their industry knowledge they can put to work for you.
Opportunity for Scaling Up or Down
As your business changes, your needs change, and along with them your accounting and bookkeeping needs. If you have a bookkeeper on staff and your needs decrease, you’re left with the option of moving them into another position, having them take on different tasks outside of their expertise, or even laying them off. If your business grows, which is of course preferred, a staff bookkeeper may not be able to handle the larger scope and demands.
An outside source allows you to expand or decrease the work they do without affecting how your business runs and how you allocate your human resources. A third party can also offer insight to help you achieve your goals an insider might not be able to envision.
Teamwork vs. Individual Contributor
Hiring a team to handle your books expands your options. More than one set of eyes and way of thinking can help find a variety of things that can benefit your company. It also affords the opportunity for checking and double-checking information to ensure your data is accurate. And, in the case of a sickness or other emergent situation, you won’t be out a bookkeeper because there will be a team to back them up.
It might seem like April 15th is the cutoff for hiring a bookkeeper, but they can do so much more for your business than just prepare taxes. With so many benefits, it’s never too late to find the right one for you.
Learn more about how hiring a bookkeeper can help your business by clicking this link.
