Have you thought about hiring someone to do the bookkeeping for your business but you just can’t decide if it would be worth the money? I get a lot of clients who have done their own bookkeeping for months, or even years, before calling me and they say they wish they’d called sooner. So what are some of the benefits of hiring an independent or freelance bookkeeper?
Time. A lot of business owners spend several hours each month trying to get transactions entered into their accounting system. Even more business owners start out thinking they’re going to do the bookkeeping themselves but then find they don’t have the time to enter anything into their accounting system and they have no information about how the business is doing. While a bookkeeper may charge a pretty hefty hourly rate, remember that bookkeepers do this for a living so something that takes you several hours a month to complete may only take a bookkeeper a couple of hours a month to complete. That makes the overall cost reasonable. Imagine getting all of that time back to spend on what you do best-growing and managing your business!
Information. The more information you or your bookkeeper tracks in your accounting system, the more information you’ll be able to get out of it. Having a regular bookkeeper can allow you to look at financial reports on a monthly or quarterly basis. You’ll be able to see where your money is being spent and who you’re making the most money from at a glance. Better information means better decision making and should help you grow your business.
Expertise. I talk to many clients who have attempted to do their own bookkeeping but didn’t get any training so they’re really guessing what to do. A good bookkeeper knows how to properly record your income and expenses…and help you clean up improperly recorded items. Bookkeepers do this for a living and should have had some type of accounting training so they know how to handle both the everyday transactions generated from running a business as well as those things that only occur occasionally. And, having a bookkeeper means having someone who can answer most of your accounting questions and help you decide how possible changes to your business can impact your finances.
Peace of mind. Even if you have employees who enter information into your accounting system, having a bookkeeper reconcile your bank and credit card statements provides a level of separation and helps deter or detect fraud from your employees as well as spotting bank errors. Bookkeepers can also assist with compliance issues such as filing sales tax returns and 1099 forms.
Only you can decide if it’s worth the investment for your business. Many bookkeepers offer free consultations so it doesn’t hurt to reach out and see what one has to say!