Online businesses deal with unique challenges but can be incredibly rewarding and profitable. But how can you know if your business is financially healthy? It starts by getting your bookkeeping up-to-date and maintaining its accuracy. With that in mind, you might be ready to hire a bookkeeper or online bookkeeping service. Let’s dive into how outsourcing your bookkeeping can benefit you. Let’s start with the benefits of working with outsourced bookkeeping services for your online business.
What can a bookkeeper do for my online business?
Bookkeeping provides accurate financials, which can be used to determine how financially healthy your business is while also giving you critical data to make decisions about how much inventory to hold, growing your product line, or whether you can accelerate the growth of your business. Without an understanding of how much capital you have available or how your business is spending money, you lack a clear picture of what is possible or even if your business model is profitable. You can also find ways to reduce costs or even determine what opportunities to pursue based on the capital available.
Determining the budget for your next year, how much inventory to purchase based on sales, knowing how much you owe in taxes, and planning for the next fiscal year require accurate financial information to make the best decisions. Tracking every transaction of your online business can be challenging, especially with multiple orders coming in throughout the day and all the other aspects of the business that you need to manage. By hiring a bookkeeper, you tap into a qualified expert who can meet the needs of your business by keeping your financial house in order. Clearly, there are plenty of benefits for your online business to have a bookkeeper. But with all the different services out there, it can be challenging to determine which one is right for you. Let’s check out the best bookkeeping services currently available for online businesses.
Best 10+ Outsourced Bookkeeping Services for Online Business
1. Bench
Best for: Freelancers and small businesses
Pricing: Starts at $299 a month, offers free month
Description: Bench provides online bookkeeping services for freelancers and small businesses, including online businesses. They provide basic bookkeeping services, but you can tap into additional services with different monthly tiers. They also offer a wide variety of options to provide optimal support if you have any questions or concerns.
2. QuickBooks Live
Best for: Freelancers, online businesses, small and medium-sized businesses
Pricing: $500 cleanup/setup fee, then $200 to $400 per month, depending on your pricing tier
Description: Quickbooks Live provides a dedicated bookkeeper who is vetted and certified. Having a dedicated bookkeeper means you can enjoy continuity while also having an Accurate Books Guarantee. It is simple to use but can take some time for you to understand and utilize all the options available with your subscription.
3. Bookkeeper.com
Best for: Small businesses looking for assistance with various business tasks
Pricing: Starts at $285 a month, allowing for up to 125 transactions a month, but offers tiers for more transactions
Description: Bookkeeper.com provides typical bookkeeping tasks but also offers general business consulting, payroll, strategic and tax planning, document storage, expense management, and monthly performance reports. The only challenge for online businesses is the number of transactions allowed, which can require you to move up to a more expensive tier.
4. Merritt Bookkeeping
Best for: Small businesses looking for bookkeeping services without any tax or consulting services
Pricing: Starting at $190 per month
Description: Merritt Bookkeeping provides professional remote outsourced bookkeeping services located in the U.S. The price is low because it only focuses on the essentials of bookkeeping, such as recording transactions and accounting. There is no software learning curve since there is a client portal linking to summary reports, and catch-up bookkeeping is available.
5. EcomBalance
Best for: Online businesses
Pricing: Starts at $399 a month
Description: With eCommerce expertise, all of outsourced bookkeeping services, EcomBalance bookkeepers specialize in working with these types of businesses. With strong processes in place, EcomBalance provides a quality foundation for the financial accuracy and efficiency of your business. They take the time to get to know your business and become an integral part of your team.
6. Pilot
Best for: Small to medium-sized businesses
Pricing: Starts at $399 per month
Description: Pilot is a cloud-based accounting solution assisting businesses with financial reporting and cash flow analysis. It offers key features, including accounts payable/receivable, bookkeeping, data export, expense calculations, invoice volume, ledger, and reimbursements utilizing an accrual-based bookkeeping tool that also provides insights for your online business. You can also connect your existing services, and it integrates your existing services to automate data collection.
7. 1-800Accountant
Best for: Best for small businesses
Pricing: Four packages are available and are paid annually
Description: 1-800Accountant offers accounting, bookkeeping, and LLC services to online businesses but also offers tax assistance. They specialize in startups and focus on providing a full-service accounting experience for their clients.
8. AccountsBalance
Best for: Online businesses, small businesses
Pricing: Starts at $299 per month
Description: AccountsBalance offers quality outsourced bookkeeping services and specializes in online businesses. With strong and consistent processes in place, they make sure your monthly financials are accurate and up-to-date, thus giving you the best picture of your financial health.
9. Bookkeeper360
Best for: Designed for small and medium-sized businesses
Pricing: Custom pricing based upon your business needs
Description: Bookkeeper360 provides a dedicated account manager who works with you to create a service strategy for your business. While it offers three different pricing plans, you can build a custom package. They also offer additional resources for payroll, taxes, and HR. Plus, it is compatible with Xero and Quickbooks accounting systems.
10. Paro
Best for: Fast-growing or larger businesses
Pricing: Based upon the contract for services
Description: Paro specializes in matching businesses with highly-vetted financial experts. They serve as a platform that allows you to find the right fit for your business, be it a permanent hire or a freelancer as part of their recruiting and hiring process.
11. FinancePal
Best for: Small businesses
Pricing: Customized pricing
Description: FinancePal is known for offering customizable and affordable bookkeeping services. Clients are assigned a dedicated financial team of certified public accountants and tax practitioners, allowing you to work with individuals who are familiar with your business and its needs. Its virtual support costs less than hiring a full-time in-house accountant.
12. Xendoo
Best for: Small businesses
Pricing: Starts at $399 per month
Description: Overall, Xendoo provides a variety of financial services and technology. Its services are personalized to meet your business needs. There are multiple features available, including monthly reports, assistance with tax filing, payroll, accrual accounting, CPA services, and catch-up bookkeeping. The platform also integrates a wide variety of technology and strategies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I consider when hiring a bookkeeper online?
You should know what you need before hiring your online bookkeeper to be sure you get the right match. Also, do your research to ensure the credentials and expertise fits your business.
How much do bookkeeping services cost?
The costs will depend on the platform and its pricing tiers. You can also include additional options which will impact your pricing.
Can I do my own bookkeeping?
Yes, you can, but without expertise, as your business grows, you risk making costly mistakes.
What’s different between a freelance bookkeeper and these bookkeeping companies? Freelance bookkeepers charge an hourly rate based upon their expertise. Bookkeeping companies typically charge a flat rate for specific services on an annual or monthly basis.
What Is AccountsBalance?
AccountsBalance is a monthly bookkeeping service specialized for agencies & SAAS companies.
We take monthly bookkeeping off your plate and deliver you your financial statements by the 15th or 20th of each month.
You’ll have your Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement ready for analysis each month so you and your business partners can make better business decisions.
Interested in learning more? Schedule a call with our CEO, Nathan Hirsch.
And here’s some free resources:
In Summary
Finding the right online bookkeeping service for your business will depend largely on your budget and what specific services you need. However, it is important to do your research and compare services to ensure your bookkeeping needs are met. With the right processes in place, your business will have the right foundation for growth and expansion as part of the world of eCommerce.
