According to Glassdoor , current listings in high cost of living cities like New York or L. A full-time bookkeeper handles the day-to-day accounting functions for your office. Keeping your books in order and up-to-date is the foundation of the financial strength of your business.
Hiring a full-time bookkeeper in this situation could be the right answer for you. You can expect a full charge bookkeeper to run operations associated with paying bills, billing clients, managing time-sheets and payroll, and processing financial statements at month end.
As a business owner , you will still need to look over the end results to guarantee accuracy. A key benefit of Outsourcing is it gives you the ability to customize the services you receive to your bookkeeping needs. If your business is moving into a growth stage, you need to consider graduating to full accrual based accounting, with financial and management reports that help you scale. Typically you will need this level of financial management not only for yourself but for your key stake holders including banks, investors and advisors.
If either part-time or in-house bookkeeping is not the ideal solution, switching to outsourced bookkeeping or accounting could be your best option. Many businesses are concerned about switching over to outsourcing, not understanding how the pieces fit together with this model. As with any full-time employee, the biggest drawback of a full-time in-house bookkeeper tends to be the overall associated cost. Perhaps the most cost-efficient option for bookkeeping for a small business is hiring a third-party firm that specializes in outsourced bookkeeping solutions.
There is a number of key advantages to outsourcing your bookkeeping, including lesser costs, greater value for every dollar spent, and other tangible business-related factors. One of the biggest advantages of outsourcing your bookkeeping is the cost. Using outside firms to handle your bookkeeping is similar to hiring an in-house bookkeeper to handle basic bookkeeping responsibilities without the added overhead cost of carrying employees on your payroll.
This is highly beneficial to companies entering a growth stage without having to provide additional office space or pay salary benefits. Another key benefit to outsourcing bookkeeping to a professional CPA firm is the level of expertise received. Without significant prior experience in bookkeeping, it is impossible for a business owner to gauge the expertise level and capabilities of an in-house bookkeeper. They know how to hire the best talent to handle the workload efficiently and have a system of internal checks and balances to make sure clients receive the best possible service.
This eliminates the need for interviewing and taking a chance on an individual who might end up being poorly-equipped to handle key finance-related activities at a company. Firms offering outsourced bookkeeping services tend to also be flexible to make sure their solutions fit your specific needs. These firms specialize in bookkeeping and accounting, so their specialists will likely be more experienced and provide greater expertise than hiring an in-house bookkeeper.
The biggest disadvantages cited of using an outsourced bookkeeping firm include: lack of direct access to the person handling the books, lack of immediate visibility into daily activities, and inability to efficiently integrate your bookkeeping with other departments such as sales, operations, etc. These are often the primary reasons for why larger companies use in-house accounting teams. Not every business has the same bookkeeping needs as others, and their needs will likely change as the company experiences growth.
Keep in mind that this is often not binding — meaning it might take a lot longer than they think it will, which means your costs would be a lot higher than the quote. If your books are more complex than initially estimated, or if unexpected issues arise in your books that need extra attention, your monthly bookkeeping cost might spike considerably. The level of review and interaction with your bookkeeping team can also vary by provider. Make sure to ask about anything important to you, so that both you and your provider can know what to expect.
Is a traditional firm right for you? If you want your books to be taken care of without direct management by you, outsourcing is the way to go. Like traditional bookkeepers, online bookkeeping services like Pilot employ a number of professional bookkeepers to provide their clients with books service. Quoted rates at online providers offer the advantage of predictable costs, avoiding unexpectedly high hourly fees. Is online bookkeeping service right for you? Like a traditional firm, an online provider puts your books in expert hands, without requiring you to spend time on direct oversight.
If you want to have your books handled by a professional with regular, predictable costs, consider working with an online provider. For businesses with more complex structures or more than a handful of monthly transactions, this can end up being significantly more cost-effective than the hourly-cost variance of a traditional firm.
More importantly Jason is patient and he listens. I am very good at killing stuff, not so much at the financial aspect of my business. At first, I was concerned about choosing the right finance specialist to help my company and myself, personally with our taxes.
He is extremely knowledgeable, patient, and … clearly explains everything we need to do. Jason is a very knowledgeable, detail-oriented and very professional accountant who is a tremendous asset to any organization that engages his services. He always wants to do the right thing, does not hesitate to give candid advice, and is willing to help. Work with Jason if you want a hyper-dependable accountant and want your books … to be well maintained.
Jason has unique ability to educate his clients and transmit that knowledge, so it is easily understood and put into action. Finance Pal is very affordable for what they do and I get a lot for my money.
They are large so they have a lot of resources to get things done in a timely way. My experience with them has been great and I like their staff. Finance Pal does all our accounting and bookkeeping … services from managing our Xero accounting software account to reconciling bank statements to doing our tax returns.
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