Opening your startup business is full of challenges and requires you to learn how to juggle multiple hats. From the financials to sales, you are in charge of making sure everything is completed on time and that your clients are happy. But what happens when your business starts to grow and juggling all those hats becomes too much? It might be time to consider hiring or outsourcing aspects of your administrative tasks, particularly those that do not need your direct attention. There are benefits for your business by outsourcing, including tapping into greater levels of expertise, particularly in the area of finance. Let’s dive into what benefits hiring a bookkeeper can have for your business as it grows.
What Does a Bookkeeper Do for Your Business?
For many businesses, decisions about expanding your product line, increasing service options, buying equipment, or hiring new staff often come down to a clear understanding of your financials. With a virtual bookkeeper, your financials will be up-to-date, giving you a concise picture of your overhead costs, current inventory expenses, sales, and debt payments. Additionally, at tax time, your financials will have the information necessary for filing your taxes and fulfilling any reporting requirements. Still, there are more benefits for your business beyond keeping the transactions in your accounting software current. Here are 9 of the benefits that should play a role in your decision to hire a virtual bookkeeper.
9 Benefits of a Bookkeeper You Should Consider Before Hiring
When making a decision to outsource your financials, you have to determine if the return on investment is worth the added expense. For many small business owners and startups, having a virtual bookkeeper means enjoying the benefits of an experienced bookkeeper or accountant without the addition to your payroll. Instead, when you use outsourcing options, you can use capital to expand your business in other ways, including additional production staff or growing your sales team.
Still, you might think that you are handling the financials, even if it is just one task that tends to get bumped to the end of the week or the end of the month. The problem is that when you are ready to apply for loans or expand your credit lines, you are now under pressure to catch up on all those transactions. It can end up being a nightmare!
Hiring a virtual bookkeeper can be a wonderful way to maintain all aspects of your business without adding to the neverending to-do list. Not to mention, you no longer have to worry whether your financials are up to date before you meet with a new investor. That means you can tap into more growth opportunities for your business. Let’s dive into a few more of the benefits of having a bookkeeper.
Benefit #1: Removes the Work From Your Plate
Imagine the end of a long day of answering phone calls, managing the crisis of the moment, and working with your team on production, sales, and administrative tasks. Now you have to sit down and record all the transactions of the day. Working with a virtual bookkeeper can take that task off your plate, giving you more time to devote to other tasks and lightening your workload in the process.
Benefit #2: Keeps Your Records Straight
Ever caught a mistake while recording transactions or reconciling your bank statements? Errors are easy to make, and they can wreak havoc on your financials. One of the benefits of having a bookkeeper is that someone is focused solely on your finances, so they are looking through the transactions and keeping an eye out for potential errors. Their work can end up saving you thousands. Plus, your bookkeeper is trained to make fewer errors, and they are more likely to spot problems right away.
Benefit #3: Gives You Clearer Insights Into Your Business
When you get your bank statements and credit card bills, you have hundreds of transactions to sort through and categorize. Your bookkeeper can make sure that every cost has been recorded and categorized correctly, thus helping you to identify trends in your expenses, as well as making sure you are staying on budget. If items are billed to your clients, your bookkeeper makes sure all those transactions are grouped so your billing is accurate. With knowledge comes the power to make strategic decisions for your business because of your insights into your financial health.
Benefit #4: Answers Bookkeeping Questions You Have
Another benefit to having a bookkeeper is you can tap into their financial expertise with your questions, helping you to determine the best ways to invest in your business long-term. They can also point out potential tax benefits, which can assist in reducing your tax liability.
Benefit #5: Works With Your CPA to File Taxes
Now that tax time is here, your bookkeeper can connect with your CPA, seamlessly making sure that your quarterly tax payments are made on time and that your taxes are filed promptly. Plus, your bookkeeper can make sure everything is organized for your CPA, saving them time and your business money.
Benefit #6: Gives You Extra Peace of Mind
If you didn’t train in finance, it can be easy to make mistakes and question whether you have everything recorded properly. The benefits of having a bookkeeper mean you have an experienced set of eyes that can give you the peace of mind to know your financials are accurate and reflect the current state of your business.
Benefit #7: Meets Government Regulations
Running a business also means complying with current federal, state, and local laws and regulations. When you work with a bookkeeper, it gives you an experienced individual who is familiar with these regulations. Having your business in compliance can keep you from incurring fees and penalties for non-compliance.
Benefit #8: Helps You Learn About Bookkeeping
Do you have questions about your financial statements, unsure of what they are telling you about your business and its financial health? They assist you in going through your startup costs, making sure they are in line with your industry. Their knowledge can give you a greater insight into what the numbers mean for your business.
Benefit #9: Prepares You For An Eventual Business Sale
Although every business owner wants to see their hard work grow and thrive, eventually, you might be ready to sell and move on to the next great idea or startup. A benefit of having a bookkeeper is that you can get an accurate idea of the value of your business before you consider selling it. With accurate financials, you know whether your business is viable and would attract a buyer in the industry. No matter what your exit strategy is, your bookkeeper can give you the financial information to understand whether your business is profitable or not.
Clearly, there are plenty of benefits to having a bookkeeper. The question is how to find the right one. Today, you have more options than ever, thanks to virtual bookkeeping services that focus on the needs of small businesses, startups, and e-commerce, such as AccountsBalance.
What Is AccountsBalance?
AccountsBalance provides bookkeeping services for e-commerce, startups, and small businesses. We take the time to get to know your business, giving you access to our expertise. Additionally, we dive into the details so we know how to handle all your different transactions as part of your bookkeeping. Our team is dedicated to providing top-level support, accurate responses, and resources to help your business thrive.
In Summary
The benefits of hiring a bookkeeper are extensive, especially for small businesses and e-commerce. When you hire a virtual bookkeeper, you give yourself access to the best expertise, as well as accounting software platforms, making it easy to share information with investors, underwriters, or your CPA. If you are ready to take your business to the next level, then it is the right time to hire a bookkeeper!
