Why Every Company is Looking for Professional Bookkeeping Services
Having worked with numerous business owners in various industries across the globe, we can tell you exactly why every company is looking for professional bookkeeping services.
Simply put: because doing your own bookkeeping is a pain in the you-know-what. And there’s scientific evidence to prove it!
A TD Bank survey of more than 500 small business owners revealed that bookkeeping was their least favorite task.
It’s no surprise then that business owners are eager to offload this loathsome task onto someone else. It’s similar to the way that most of us would gladly hire a housekeeper if we could comfortably afford to do so. Bookkeeping is the business chore that no one wants to do but everyone has to do; a necessary evil, if you will. Fortunately for you, hiring a professional bookkeeping service is much more affordable than hiring a full-time housekeeper.
If you’re interested in using a professional bookkeeping service but have questions about how it works, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll cover five of our most frequently asked questions, which are:
- What is a Professional Bookkeeping Service?
- Why Would You Hire a Professional Bookkeeper?
- What Will a Professional Bookkeeping Service Do?
- What Does a Professional Bookkeeper Cost?
- What Should You Consider When Hiring Professional Bookkeepers?
We’ll be answering these questions in the order they are listed, so feel to skip ahead if you like.
What is a Professional Bookkeeping Service?
A professional bookkeeping service will track, record, and organize all of your company’s financial transactions for you. Keeping this information accurate and up-to-date is important for two reasons: 1) it allows you to assess how well your business is performing from a fiscal standpoint, and 2) it makes filing your taxes a whole heck of a lot easier.
Why Would You Hire a Professional Bookkeeper?
Hiring a professional bookkeeper comes with a multitude of benefits. In this section, we’ll focus on the four main advantages: it saves you time, it saves you money, it results in less stress, and you’ll receive expert guidance. We’ll go over each of these points in more detail below.
1. Saves Time
As a business owner, time is one of your most valuable assets, and if you’re currently managing your own bookkeeping, chances are you’re wasting way too much of your precious time on it.
According to Invensis Technologies, when you outsource your bookkeeping, you can expect to save a minimum of 4-20 hours per month. That’s because a professional bookkeeper with years of experience and training can get the job done in a fraction of the time it would take you to do it yourself.
Imagine for a moment what you could do with an extra 10 hours per month. Would you reallocate that time and put it towards marketing? Would you focus more on product development? Or perhaps you would spend more time with your family. Think of all the possibilities!
2. Saves Money
Believe it or not, paying for a professional bookkeeping service like ours ends up saving you money in the long-run. Here’s why.
For starters, if you don’t have a background in accounting, you’re probably making a lot of costly mistakes, one of the most common of which is miscategorizing expenses.
When you miscategorize expenses, you lose out on tax breaks—and we’re not talking nickels and dimes here! We’ve seen business owners lose out on hundreds (sometimes thousands!) of dollars in tax deductions simply because they didn’t know how to categorize expenses.
Another costly mistake is falling behind. While it may seem harmless, it’s anything but.
Falling behind on your bookkeeping prevents you from spotting and fixing discrepancies as they occur. You also risk running into cash flow issues.
Let’s say, for example, that you’re losing money on a product to the tune of -$1.00 per item sold.
If you sold 200 of these items per month, you lost $200. If you do your bookkeeping on a monthly basis, you can quickly spot this issue and fix it.
On the other hand, if you’ve fallen behind on your bookkeeping, chances are you won’t even notice such a nominal loss. Let’s say you’ve got a six month backlog and sold 1,200 of these items during that time frame. Now you’re out $1,200.
And then there’s the time = money factor. As we mentioned previously, most business owners spend way too much time on their bookkeeping, which makes for an inefficient use of resources. If your time as the CEO of your company is worth $75 per hour and you’re spending 10 hours a month on bookkeeping, that equates to $750 per month. That’s a far cry from the $199/mo flat-rate fee we charge small businesses.
3. Less Stress
Did you know that attempting to do your own bookkeeping without the proper knowledge or experience leads to anxiety, migraines, and increased blood pressure?
This isn’t an official study, by the way. We’re just going off of what our clients have told us.
No, but seriously: if you want complete peace of mind, hire a bookkeeper. You’ll thank us later.
4. Expert Guidance
Wouldn’t it be nice to have a financial guru at your side to help guide you along your entrepreneurial journey? Well, that’s kind of what your bookkeeper is like.
Having been trained in business finance, your bookkeeper can help you identify the factors that drive company growth (key performance indicators) and set up ways to measure and monitor those elements. And that’s not all. Your bookkeeper can also help you address recurring financial issues, like mounting debt or poor cash flow.
What Will a Professional Bookkeeping Service Do?
One of the benefits of outsourcing your bookkeeping to an accounting firm like ours is that you get access to an expanded list of services, which include:
- Ongoing monthly bookkeeping (or weekly if you prefer)
- Catching up your books in full if you’ve fallen behind
- Payroll management
- Tax filing
- Consulting
Basically, we’re an all-in-one solution, whereas if you hire an in-house bookkeeper he or she will strictly do bookkeeping without any of the extra services we offer.
What Does a Professional Bookkeeper Cost?
Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all answer here, given that cost is dependent on several variables. Some of the factors that go into calculating cost include type of business entity, number of accounts, volume of transactions, type of transactions, and level of involvement on your end.
Another major factor to consider is how the bookkeeper charges.
An in-house bookkeeper, for instance, is typically compensated on either an hourly or salary basis. You may also be expected to offer standard employee benefits, like paid time off, health insurance, and a 401(k).
If you decide to outsource your bookkeeping to an accounting firm, you’ll save on many of the costs you would incur with an in-house employee. However, make sure you shop around to find the best possible deal. Some firms charge by the hour and some charge on a weekly or monthly basis. Others rope you in with low pricing for the first three months, only to ramp up the charges once that time has expired.
Another thing you need to be aware of is fees. It’s not uncommon to be charged an initiation and cancellation fee, particularly with firms that deal in contracts.
Sound complicated? That’s because it is. At CapForge, we make it easy for you by offering flat-rate monthly pricing with no hidden fees and NO CONTRACTS. Contact us for a custom quote.
What Should You Consider When Hiring Professional Bookkeepers?
Just like no two people are alike, the same holds true for bookkeepers. Below is a list of things you should consider when hiring a professional bookkeeper:
- What kind of business do you operate? Look for someone who has worked with others in your industry.
- What type of services do you need? If you need help with taxes and payroll, search for someone who can also provide those services.
- What sort of relationship are you seeking? Do you want a trainer, an adviser, or a doer?
- Do you want face-to-face communication, or are you fine with a remote service?
- What software do you use? If you’re devoted to a particular type of software, you’ll want to find a bookkeeper that is well-versed in using it.
- What are previous and current clients saying? Always read reviews.
Conclusion
And now you know why every company is looking for professional bookkeeping services!
One thing worth noting: if you just launched your company and don’t have any revenue coming in yet, it’s not really necessary to hire a professional bookkeeper until you start making sales. If, on the other hand, you’re an established business and want to know more about our professional bookkeeping services, we’d be more than happy to provide you with a free consultation (no pressure, no obligation). You can contact us by email at info@capforge.com or by phone at (858) 633-3573.
