Everything You Need to Know About Outsourced Bookkeeping

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This article is not intended to provide tax, legal, or investment advice, and BooksTime does not provide any services in these areas. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon for tax, legal, or investment purposes. BooksTime is not responsible for your compliance or noncompliance with any laws or regulations. If the chosen accounting company meets these criteria, there is no need to doubt the quality of the accounting support.

You’re looking at a total annual salary cost of $235,000, not including benefits and overhead. In contrast, an outsourced bookkeeping service provides you with access to all these experts under one umbrella, often at a fraction of the cost. Consider the overhead costs—office space, utilities, and equipment—which can add up to $5,000 to $10,000 per year for an in-house bookkeeper.

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  • An outsourced bookkeeper tracks your day-to-day business operations and takes care of essential financial statements and reports.
  • These are popular with small businesses because the bookkeeping services come in packages based on your needs.
  • They can also help you evaluate what you’re doing well (and not so well) in your business.

He will then go to setting up integrations so that he can continue working on the systems that you use and handle all the bookkeeping tasks on your behalf. If you’re considering outsourcing your bookkeeping, this guide will provide you with everything you need to know. We’ll cover the benefits of outsourcing, how to find a reputable bookkeeping service, and what to expect when working with a bookkeeper.

What Is Outsourced Bookkeeping?

And on the accounting software front, Bookkeeper360 syncs with both Xero and QuickBooks Online. The Essential plan ($249 a month if billed annually or $299 billed monthly) focuses on bookkeeping only, giving you access to a dedicated team that performs monthly bookkeeping services. The Premium plan ($399 a month if billed annually or $499 billed monthly) adds tax advising services, end-of-year tax filing, and financial strategy planning.

We connect with your bank accounts, credit cards, and merchant providers to automatically import transactions and update your financial reporting. If you need to chat about your finances, you can reach out to your personal bookkeeping team by message or schedule a phone call all within the Bench platform. You even get access to our tax professionals, who can advise you on minimizing your tax bill. Virtual and outsourced bookkeeping and accounting services are a happy medium between do-it-yourself software and pricey in-house bookkeeping.

Why outsource your bookkeeping?

Then the outsourced bookkeeping firm will work with your business to understand your needs and goals. Next, they’ll provide a report detailing your financial performance every month or quarter. You’ll then have the opportunity to make any necessary changes before receiving the next report—and so on. If there’s ever something you’d like clarified or don’t understand, you can contact them for help.

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For example, if you need to save a copy of a document separately from other files you may put it in its own password-protected folder inside your document management software. The downside is that outsourcing means your business’s financial information is being viewed by someone else, which you may or may not be comfortable with. Aside from that, you days inventory on hand also have to consider what you might pay to hire an accountant on a full-time or part-time basis. In terms of the advantages of doing so, letting someone else handle your accounting means you have one less thing to worry about. Instead of crunching numbers, you’ll be free to focus on other tasks that are necessary to run or scale your business.

Outsourcing Accounting Services for Small Businesses

If a local bookkeeper is managing your books and you have a complex business with many employees and revenue streams, it’s probably going to take more than a few hours a month. If you hire a bookkeeper that has an office or business location near you, that would be considered a local bookkeeper. Local bookkeepers usually charge by the hour and it tends to be expensive. With the time saved, you can focus on the tasks that excite you most as a business owner. Although bookkeeping it’s extremely important to the health and success of a business, it is not necessarily a task that most entrepreneurs enjoy doing.

Businesses can have access to qualified individuals with a technical understanding of accounting concepts and practices by entering into the world of outsourced bookkeeping. This knowledge can assist in streamlining financial operations and reducing the risk of errors and anomalies. Furthermore, bookkeeping outsourcing is a cost-effective alternative that eliminates the need for an in-house accounting team and allows firms to pay for the services they demand.

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Outsourcing can also provide you with valuable insights into your business finances, helping you make informed decisions about your spending and investment. You’ll gain a better understanding of your balance sheet and cash flows, ensuring a better grasp of your core business needs. For example, if you have a complex financial situation, you can choose a service that specializes in bookkeeping for businesses like yours. In contrast, an in-house bookkeeper may not have the same level of expertise.