Bookkeeping in-house could be stunting your growth

Your company is rife with potential. It’s built on a great model, is well positioned against the competition, and is poised for growth. The last thing you want to do is squander all that opportunity due to an unforced error. That is why you should consider outsourcing your bookkeeping, stat.

You may be a wiz with numbers, or worried about spending money on an area that isn’t a profit center. But even so, there are a host of compelling reasons to look into taking your bookkeeping needs elsewhere. Accounting can be boring work, but it’s also really important to your company’s financial success. It’s time-consuming and you can’t afford to have it done poorly. At the same time, great accounting talent can be quite expensive to hire. That’s where outsourcing comes in. More than one-third of all businesses outsource their accounting work, and for good reasons.

The bottom line is the bottom line

Obviously, the most important thing is that your bookkeeping is done skillfully and accurately. But top accounting talent can be quite expensive. However, outsourcing your bookkeeping can offer significant cost savings for companies while maintaining a high level of quality. Especially when using offshore suppliers, you can find highly skilled accounting talent while simultaneously reducing the amount you’re spending on it. Labor costs are generally cheaper when outsourcing, and the talent pool you can pick from is far larger than you’d be able to access locally. Your business will also spend less on salaries, benefits, office space, equipment, and hiring costs when compared to the overhead expenses associated with hiring an in-house bookkeeper or maintaining an on-site accounting team.

Skills to pay the bills

In addition to the direct savings from lower costs, outsourcing bookkeeping also gives companies the opportunity to access people with more specialized accounting skills. Most outsourcing companies invest in specialized training for their bookkeeping talent, and they have access to a global talent pool rather than just a local one. This means that they’re likely to be highly skilled, efficient, and helpful to any business. They also tend to stay updated on the latest regulations and best practices in the field, ensuring accurate financial reporting and compliance with tax laws. Their expertise can help companies avoid costly errors and penalties while maintaining financial transparency. That in turn can make your company more profitable and can lead to new ways to make your business more efficient. While low costs are great, saving money on a larger scale is even better.

One of the hardest parts of expanding a business is finding ways to scale up or down efficiently in response to changing business and economic conditions. Achieving this kind of flexibility allows companies to be more ambitious while simultaneously taking fewer real risks. Outsourced or offshore bookkeepers can easily scale their services based on the company’s needs, accommodating growth without the need for additional recruitment, and allowing workforce reductions as needed without the difficulties associated with traditional staffing and training.

Bookkeeping is time-consuming and requires a serious commitment to accuracy. And chances are it’s not your (or anyone on your team’s) primary skill set. That means every second that you or your team members spend on bookkeeping is time that could be better spent on your core business functions. You know, the things that actually bring in the money. Outsourcing your bookkeeping allows you to focus on the things you’re really good at, and that are key to your success while ensuring that your books are getting the attention they deserve from a pro. They’ll handle the routine financial drudgery, such as data entry, reconciliations, and reporting, freeing up your valuable time for decision-making, strategy development, and business growth. You wouldn’t let them do your job, so why would you want to do theirs?

Efficiency isn’t just about getting things done quickly. It’s about getting things done as quickly as possible while also avoid mistakes or being wasteful of materials, energy, efforts, or money while performing a task. In a way, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste. Outsourcing your bookkeeping makes it more efficient, and more importantly, it lets your company be more efficient. A skilled professional can do your bookkeeping in a fraction of the time it would take you or your people to do it because that’s what they do.

Been there done that The best outsourced accounting professionals are well-versed in a variety of financial situations your business may at some point face. They can help you comply with financial regulations, accounting standards, and tax laws you may not even have known about. This reduces the risk of mistakes, penalties, and non-compliance issues that might otherwise have become a problem for you. They also may have additional perspective by having dealt with finance issues in other countries and may be able to provide useful insights if you’re seeking to expand globally.

In addition to accuracy, two of the most important things when it comes to your company’s finances are security and confidentiality. A skilled bookkeeper will be familiar with appropriate procedures to prioritize data security and the confidentiality of your company’s finances. They are trained to implement stringent security protocols, use data encryption, and protect your business’s information from prying eyes.

No one likes dealing with taxes. And corporate taxes are even worse. One of the benefits of outsourcing your bookkeeping is the way it simplifies tax preparation and maintaining compliance. Instead of scrambling to get your taxes in order each year, your offshore expert will be keeping tabs on things and making sure your records are all prepared and filed properly. That kind of peace of mind is priceless.

While people often talk about using your gut when you make decisions, the best business decisions are also backed by numbers and data. And an outsourced bookkeeper can help you get the numbers you need to make the right choices for your business. They don’t just keep your finances in order, they manage large pools of data that can lead to greater financial intelligence about your business. They can find inefficiencies in sourcing, manufacturing, or sales and distribution. They can help determine which customers or clients you should be investing more time and money in (and just as importantly, they can help you figure out which ones you shouldn’t). They can even help you analyze whether you need (and can afford) new staff in other departments.

Outsourcing bookkeeping tasks to third-party companies or staff can save as much as 80% over hiring an in-house bookkeeper. And it can protect and enhance your business in ways you probably hadn’t thought of while setting the stage for more growth.