Feeling overwhelmed with financial and accounting tasks? Have you ever wondered when it’s time to outsource some of your bookkeeping?
As a small business owner, one of the most important decisions you can make is whether to keep your accounting in-house, or to outsource it to a specialist.
When you are just starting out, it seems cost-effective and wise to keep track of your finances yourself, but as your business grows these tasks become time-consuming and take away from areas which would benefit from your more direct involvement. Get anything wrong, and you can find yourself in hot water! Tax laws aren’t the only things to worry about getting right; accurate spending management to avoid running out of cash is a major reason to outsource to a professional service.
It may seem counterintuitive to add to your list of expenses, but once you understand the perks of outsourcing, you’ll wonder what took you so long.
There are lots of benefits to outsourcing accounting functions, specifically for employment, management, and cost concerns. The reduced exposure to non-compliance, fewer expenses for a team and office space, as well as reduced risk of employee fraud or human error make outsourcing a tremendously valuable service. And then there is the question of time–yours and your employees. Time is money, and if you’re feeling spread too thin, it’s time to invest in some help to free up some of this important asset.
And really, don’t you want to take advantage of expertise within your field? Peace of mind is priceless, and quick and accurate help is worth its weight in gold. Ensuring adherence to the most recent compliance and regulatory standards, and making sure the correct forms are submitted, as well as quickly unifying your data and reports and making sure you can set and stick to a reasonable budget are some of the assets that outsourcing can bring.
Here are some indications that it’s the right time to outsource your accounting:
When You Want to Simplify Payroll
This is perhaps the most obvious reason to outsource, but it’s still important to list. Are you feeling stressed out or overworked when it comes to accounting tasks? Heed the signs of overwhelm and think seriously about how outsourcing will help to offload more complicated and time-consuming tasks so you can ease your workload.
- Put an end to payroll which gets more complicated as your business grows
- Track your time carefully and transfer it seamlessly to payroll with specialized software designed to make these tasks accurate and simple
- Auto-generated reports save time and allow for an easy overview at any time
- Ensure correct and timely compensation for your employees with automated data
- Save hours every week on complex financial tasks
- Make your team mobile, supporting flexibility and on-the-go reporting
- Protect yourself from tax problems and customer disputes by outsourcing
When your firm is not progressing
Are you putting in an enormous amount of time and energy, but not yet seeing financial rewards? If your firm is not growing the way you had projected, it’s time to outsource. This is a sign that something isn’t working, and you’re probably spending most of your time on accounting to try to reverse direction. Take a breath and research some help.
- Doing it all yourself is a guaranteed method of failure. Don’t be too proud to search out some help
- The small investment in outsourcing can turn your business around, quickly
- Be honest about whether or not your firm is stagnant, and halt the process before it’s too late
- Help your team to redirect their focus to other parts of the business which may be neglected and need some help, like a solid growth strategy
- Stress can quickly lead to human error in accounting, which can be catastrophic
When Your Firm is Progressing Quickly / You Want to Scale Rapidly
Of course you may be lucky enough to be in a position where your business growth is progressing very fast! It can be hard to keep up with increased demands and more complicated data. These same issues are applicable for when you want to scale rapidly, too.
- Hiring professionals is expensive when your growth is too rapid to accurately handle. Invest in a trusted software which can easily take on all of your extra workload without additional expenses for time or expertise
- Give yourself additional help during busier times when the work suddenly comes in fast and en masse
- Many online platforms allow for greater teamwork. Supervise and input data together, from anywhere, on a multitude of devices
- Store and file data automatically
- Gain the ability and time to take on more work
- Increase your resources without costly hiring
When You Need More Time
For many of the above reasons, the importance of time cannot be overstated. It is an essential need, both for growing your firm and spending the hours necessary on each task within, and to conserve for the well-being of all of the staff (especially at tax time!).
- Make a pros and cons list for outsourcing to illustrate how its implementation will help you
- Consider what you can do with the hours saved on accounting tasks that can be taken over for you and your team members
- Decide how you can best use this new time: more meetings, networking, relationship-building, budgeting and goal-setting?
- Think carefully about how outsourcing will affect your customers. How easy will it be for them to pay their invoices online, for example, or how you will be contributing to their peace of mind by safely storing their most personal data in a cloud-based platform
- Is it really better to continue to spend your hard-earned time on these jobs if you don’t really have the necessary skills, or is it better to outsource to a platform that can perform the same tasks in less time and with fewer costs?
When You Need More Privacy
When financial information is being handled, much like security, privacy is imperative. Your customers trust you with their most sensitive data, and it is up to you to provide a safe platform in which to store this information. Your own internal financial information also requires absolute confidentiality.
- Outsourcing to a cloud-based service is an excellent way to protect and safely store data
- An automated service means an impersonal aid–no chance of tampering of records by an untrustworthy employee
- Sensitive financial and personal information is stored in such a way that only those authorized have access to its files
- Firewalls and security information are embedded and constantly updated, automatically, onto the systems that handle your data
There is no exactly “right” time that every accounting practice should outsource some of their bookkeeping tasks. But the sooner the better is generally the case. Losing financial documents or misfiling them, human errors that can cause calamity, and miscalculations can all be immediately avoided. You will save money and time by outsourcing, and you will gain comfort in knowing that these tasks are being completed by a secure system.
Reap the maximum benefits by researching the accounting assistance that works best for your business. Carefully look into reviews and backgrounds of the services you are thinking of, as well as their security practices and reputation.
Act now, and see these benefits for yourself. Try Invoice Tracker with a free, 30 -day trial. Add this software on to your current accounting software, and watch your firm grow. No credit card required.
