106: Outsourcing Your Bookkeeping Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle, A Solopreneur
106: Outsourcing Your Bookkeeping Whether You Are Starting A Business Or Side Hustle, A Solopreneur, Entrepreneur, Mompreneur, Freelancer, Bookkeeper, Virtual Assistant, Business Owner, Or Self-Employed
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do everything in your business. When you finish each project, you love that feeling of accomplishment. But when you start to fall behind or know you are not doing something as well as you should, you may start wondering if it is something you should continue doing. This is true when you are doing your own bookkeeping for your business, and in today’s podcast episode, I’ll help you decide if outsourcing your bookkeeping is something you should be thinking about for your business. You really want to think through your options, and when it comes to bookkeeping, you are fortunate that it doesn’t always have to be all or nothing. If you have been wondering if outsourcing your bookkeeping is the direction you should be taking in your business, I’ll help you understand how you can improve your bookkeeping processes, the top reasons most business owners outsource their bookkeeping, and the advantages you’ll see if you decide that outsourcing is best for you and your business. It doesn’t matter if you are starting a business or side hustle, you’re a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, you need to make sure that you are taking control of and understanding your business finances, and if you are unable to keep up with your bookkeeping, it is time to make some important decisions for your business. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
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Show Notes:
There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do everything in your business. When you finish each project, you love that feeling of accomplishment. But when you start to fall behind or know you are not doing something as well as you should, you may start wondering if it is something you should continue doing. This is true when you are doing your own bookkeeping for your business, and in today’s podcast episode, I’ll help you decide if outsourcing your bookkeeping is something you should be thinking about for your business. You really want to think through your options, and when it comes to bookkeeping, you are fortunate that it doesn’t always have to be all or nothing. If you have been wondering if outsourcing your bookkeeping is the direction you should be taking in your business, I’ll help you understand how you can improve your bookkeeping processes, the top reasons most business owners outsource their bookkeeping, and the advantages you’ll see if you decide that outsourcing is best for you and your business. It doesn’t matter if you are starting a business or side hustle, you’re a self-employed individual, a solopreneur, entrepreneur, mompreneur, freelancer, small business owner, a remote, virtual, online, or in-house bookkeeper, or a virtual assistant or VA, you need to make sure that you are taking control of and understanding your business finances, and if you are unable to keep up with your bookkeeping, it is time to make some important decisions for your business. These tips are essential whether you are using a computerized software system like QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, or FreshBooks for your business finances; or doing your bookkeeping manually with an Excel spreadsheet or even a Google Document…
Welcome Back…Bookkeeping is one of those necessary tasks that need to get done, and it doesn’t matter what kind of business you have or which product or service you provide. You need to have this financial information at the very least so that you can file your tax return every year. This financial information is so valuable, yet so many business owners don’t take advantage of having it in real-time, backing their decisions and solidifying their reasons, but instead blindly making decisions and hoping for the best.
There’s nothing wrong with a business owner doing their own bookkeeping, but there may be times when you want to take a second look to see if it is in your best interest to continue doing it. Many business owners will do their own bookkeeping when they first start their business. They have more time to devote to their bookkeeping since other areas of their business are not demanding as much of their time, they may be excited about seeing the sales come in, and they more than likely have fewer transactions which makes it more manageable and easier for them to stay up to date. When your business grows, you may find the time you used to have to do your bookkeeping starts to dwindle, and you spend less and less time on your business finances.
Today, I want to address the thoughts you might be having when you are wondering if you should continue to do your bookkeeping or if you should begin to look into outsourcing it. This is a decision you want to think through clearly. Your ultimate goal is to ensure that you have accurate and reliable financial information about your business.
Let’s start with some of the major signs you may need to outsource your bookkeeping. The first is time. If you find that your bookkeeping is taking up too much of your valuable time, or you are just not devoting or prioritizing your time to make sure your bookkeeping is up to date, this may be a significant reason to look into outsourcing your bookkeeping, and outsourcing will free up more of your time to put back into your business. Next is if you know your bookkeeping is behind and it needs to be caught up. You may feel overwhelmed with the daily tasks, and you might be putting off your reconciliations. When this happens, you’ll find yourself with feelings of uncertainty, and you are unsure about not only your financial status but you are also hesitant about making business decisions due to the lack of financial knowledge. You may also find you are unable to file your tax return on time, or you need to file an extension because you need more time to get your bookkeeping up to date.
So, let’s talk about some of the top reasons business owners decide to outsource their bookkeeping. One of the first reasons is that it can be cost-effective. Not only do you want to think about the value of your time as a business owner that you could be saving when you outsource, but when you outsource your bookkeeping rather than hiring an in-house bookkeeper, you are also saving money on benefits, vacation, paid time off, insurance and paying for time when your employee doesn’t have enough work to do. When you outsource, you only have to pay for the services provided, and most times, you will agree on a monthly amount so that you can budget these expenses easily. When you outsource your bookkeeping, you are also gaining their expertise. An outsourced bookkeeper has the knowledge and experience of working with other businesses as well. They are able to help you create processes that are efficient so that you don’t have to waste your valuable time and money, such as utilizing computerized software systems like QuickBooks Online to reduce errors and reconcile accounts to ensure accuracy. With a system like QuickBooks Online, they can also make sure you have access to your bookkeeping data so that you are always aware of what is happening in your business. The bookkeeping system will be able to grow with you as your business grows and can adapt to any changes in your business. You’ll have access to all of your customer and vendor information if needed, and you can even generate reports yourself if you want. They can help you be aware of expenses you might need to reduce and help you receive payments on past-due customers. They can provide additional financial information so that you understand your business, such as a sales by summary report so that you can see who your largest customers are at any point in time. Their overall goal is to have everything up to date and provide you with financial statements so that you can have confidence in exactly how your business is doing.
When you outsource your bookkeeping, you get to decide which bookkeeping tasks you would like help with. You might decide that you will continue with entering your transactions, and you only want to outsource help with reconciling your accounts and generating your financial statements. This method of outsourcing works well when you still have time to do some of your bookkeeping, you want to stay in touch with the day-to-day transactions, but you want the overall confidence knowing someone has reviewed your entries and has reconciled all of your accounts for accuracy. If you decide at any point in time that you don’t want to do any of your bookkeeping, you can outsource this information in a few simple steps. You would need to give your bookkeeper access to your financial information, such as bank statements, payroll, credit card statements, and loan information for example. They would take this information and make sure all the data has been entered, reconciled, and verified for accuracy, and they then send you your up-to-date financial statements. This work can be done either locally, on-site, or remotely. Most outsourced bookkeepers will do your bookkeeping remotely, but there are some instances you may want to have someone locally so that they are able to come to your business and work onsite. Regardless of how much or how little you want your outsourced bookkeeper to do, they can help you alleviate stress at tax time by providing the information needed to your tax preparer so that your tax return is filed on time.
Whether you outsource all or parts of your bookkeeping or you decide to continue doing your own bookkeeping, your responsibility as a business owner is to make sure you have accurate and timely financial information and that you understand what your financial statements tell you about the health of your business. Make sure you ask your bookkeeper any questions you might have regarding your financial statements or get the help you need so that you can continue to generate revenues and increase the profits in your business. If you are ready to have a profitable business as a solopreneur or with a side hustle, join us in the Mastering Your Small Business Finances PROFIT LAB. To help your business be more profitable and keep more of your money in your pocket, I walk you through not only understanding your financial statements but also how you can generate more revenues. By taking control of your business finances, you can create the profitable business you are striving for. We prioritize and work on the essential tasks in your business, help you make decisions, and generate revenue while creating a work-life balance you can enjoy! Where you are right now in your business is the perfect place for you to join us, and if you are ready to start, don’t let thoughts about the perfect offer, confusion about your pricing, or the fact that you are still working for an employer stop you. By taking action in your business, you’ll achieve your goals. You can join us by going to www.FinancialAdventure.com/profit, and take advantage of our limited-time founding member pricing. Generating revenue and increasing profits requires you to have the right mindset and accountability so that you get results. This is what we do inside the Mastering Your Small Business Finances PROFIT LAB, and it’s perfect for you if you are a solopreneur or have a side hustle, and you’re ready to be more profitable in your business. As a CPA, Business Strategist, and Coach, I help business owners just like you who know it’s time to do something different because what you’ve been doing in the past isn’t getting you the results you want. We’ll make sure you understand your business finances, your next steps, and follow through with the vision you have for your business so that you can truly enjoy your business.
And, you know I’m going to ask…what’s at least one thing you will take away from this episode that will help your business succeed and grow your bottom line? If you need some accountability, join our PRIVATE Facebook community and post your action item, we’d love to support you.
