What are the Pros and Cons of Hiring a Bookkeeper?

oleh admin008 | Feb 6, 2020 | Bookkeeping

Derek has been in business for over 20 years, outsourcing for over seven years, and has lived in Manila, Philippines – the world’s outsourcing capital – for over three years. He has worked and lived in five countries and has traveled through dozens more. Having been in various businesses since 17 years old, Derek is a fully committed entrepreneur. He has founded and bootstrapped two 8-figure businesses and enjoyed fantastic successes and his fair share of challenges.

• As a result, understanding cash flow and measuring business health can be difficult.
• People get sick, go on holiday, or need to take time off for other reasons.
• There is research to support that those that stay on top of their books grow faster.
• Choosing a freelance bookkeeper is the most affordable option if your finances are simple and you’re okay with your bookkeeper not being available all the time.

Cameron McCool writes for Bench, the online bookkeeping service that pairs you with a dedicated bookkeeping team and elegant software to do your books for you. When a bookkeeper is experienced with businesses in your industry, they understand common expenses—and can let you know which business expenses are tax deductible. If you’re unsure whether you’re ready to https://www.bookstime.com/, consider these major benefits and how they can positively affect your work days and business success. It makes a lot of sense to hire a bookkeeper when your financials are overwhelming. I think that hiring a professional bookkeeper can boost the productivity of your business. Whether you’re considering outsourcing to a bookkeeper or hiring one to boost your skills, remember that working with a bookkeeper is an investment.

– How well do you know my industry?

Hire a bookkeeper and that administrative burden is shared by someone else. Because of this though, you’ll have to trust them and their work. Not having complete visibility and control over your books can feel uncomfortable. Someone else is analysing your business and managing its finances. You’ll always have the final say on any significant business decisions, but if you hire a bookkeeper, then you’re handing over some control. You’re placing your trust in a stranger who you may only have spoken to over the phone. When you first hire a bookkeeper, there may be hidden costs that you weren’t aware of.

Legal matters shouldn’t be handled by anyone other than a lawyer, and bookkeeping shouldn’t be handled by anyone other than a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping practices vary between industries, so look for a track record relevant to your line of work. A bookkeeper who has worked only with fashion retailers, for instance, may not have the knowledge and hire a bookkeeper experience to do an equally good job for an air-conditioning company. In other words, the relevance of a candidate’s experience is often more important than the duration of experience. Although much modern bookkeeping is done online and thus facilitates remote work, it can be smart to have occasional in-person meetings with your bookkeeper.

If your DIY bookkeeping takes up more time than you can afford

This could take many shapes, but one example is when you start hiring your own internal finance people. We find that a lot of accounting firms describe themselves as generalists.

Know how your business is doing, drive growth, and inspire your team. To reiterate an earlier point, there’s nothing wrong with DIY bookkeeping. If you enjoy doing it and don’t feel as if it takes too much focus away from your other responsibilities, all the power to you. That’s not to mention the time you’d have to spend fixing the damn thing in the first place.

What should you pay bookkeepers?

This lets them avoid the kinds of service gaps that may crop up with an individual freelancer. A bookkeeping firm may charge either an hourly or monthly rate. How much you’re charged will depend—as it does with a freelance bookkeeper—on how much time it takes for someone to do your books, and whether you have catch-up bookkeeping to be completed. Our online bookkeeping services will take care of all your invoicing needs. Record all the financial transactions of your business and categorize them accurately with our outsourced accounting services.