Why Hire a Bookkeeper for Your Small Business?

Many of my new clients often ask themselves, “Why should I hire a bookkeeper for my small business?” It’s a great question and one that has many possible answers.

In this article, I’ll explore the most popular reasons why a small business owner would need outside bookkeeping and accounting services.

Tax Planning and Tax Preparation

Since 1999, I’ve helped Marin County small to medium-sized businesses with their tax planning and tax preparation. Everything starts with a plan and it’s the first item of discussion with both new clients and returning clients each year.

We start discussing your next year’s tax planning right after you file the previous year’s taxes, so now is a great time for that candid conversation.

At Books In Balance, clients go through a thorough tax review that includes:

Looking for anything that will raise a red flag and trigger a possible audit.
A review of your quarterly taxes and how to lower them. Discussion on the advantages of becoming incorporated.
Goal setting based on where you want your business to be in one year and five years.

Small Business Bookkeeping is Different

When you hire a bookkeeper for your small business, try to find one with the right experience. This can be invaluable, especially if he or she has worked with companies across multiple industries, including banking, hospitality, healthcare, retail, sales, technology, and telecom.

All of my combined experience has enabled me to become an expert in cash flow management, which is one of the keys to keeping your business moving ahead in good times and bad. Cash flow management experience also helps me guide your business growth, optimize your profits, and decrease your losses. Plus, experience helps me think ahead for your business, not just put out today’s fires.

You Don’t Need to Worry About the Small Stuff (and the Bigger Stuff)

You don’t have to worry about forgetting to pay your Internet, phone, PG&E, health insurance, credit cards, magazine subscriptions, or any other types of bills when you hire a bookkeeper for your small business. Using a variety of online payment software programs, I can handle all of that for you, month after month.

Paying bills is important, but receiving payments may be more important. I can access your financial data 24/7 online to see what invoices are outstanding for 15, 30, 45, 60 days, or longer.

More Time For You to Run Your Business

If you’re busy running your business – which is your core competency – you’re probably focusing on doing whatever it takes to maintain your business and keep your clients happy. So you may not realize that an invoice has gone unpaid for 45 to 60 days. Or, more importantly, that one of your clients hasn’t paid you in three months. This could result in a $10,000 to $20,000 or higher shortfall, which can be significant for most small businesses who have payroll and quarterly tax obligations.

We’re Small Business Bookkeeping Professionals

Ever hear the expression, “You can’t see the forest for the trees?” It’s true. If you don’t hire a bookkeeper for your business, you’re likely to see the same thing every time you look at your debits and credits spreadsheet.

So you may not realize that you can enjoy significant savings if you were to upgrade your small business to newer, faster computers that would let you work more efficiently and have far less downtime. Or that you’re spending way too much for your business rent or mortgage when you can easily refinance and save hundreds or thousands every month. These are just a few examples of how your bookkeeper can save you money.

Data Entry, Reporting and Reconciling

Accounting and bookkeeping involve much more than debits and credits. If your bookkeeper isn’t providing you with updated, reconciled reports at least once a month for your business checking and credit card accounts, you may not have the financial data you need most, when you actually need it most.

The #1 Reason to Hire a Bookkeeper for a Small Business

Outsourcing provides cost savings to many organizations, including salaries, benefits, office space, technology costs and overhead. There are intangible benefits as well including reliable and timely financial reports, eliminated frustrations related to staff turnover, recruiting, performance management, and saving management’s valuable time. As your organization grows or shrinks, you can easily have your outsourced accounting adjust to your staffing needs and deal with resource management. Easily pay for what you need and only for the amount of time needed by your organization.

These are just a few of the reasons why you might consider hiring a bookkeeper for your small business. If you would like to explore how an off-site bookkeeper can help your business, give us a call.

Author
Recent Posts

Brandon Dante

Brandon, is a well-seasoned accountant and heads up the team with 25+ years of senior accounting experience. He holds an Accounting degree with a Minor in Business Administration and a Masters in Accounting. He maintains several certifications and holds various industry related licenses in tax preparation and planning. When Brandon isn't in the office, you'll find this avid dog and animal lover supporting various Bay Area - and beyond - animal charities.