Private businesses of all sizes can benefit from outsourced bookkeeping services. Smaller companies may worry that hiring outsourced bookkeepers will adversely affect their revenue, while many larger private companies hire full-time bookkeepers to manage their cash flow. However, outsourcing is a cost-effective solution for private businesses of all sizes.
Outsourced bookkeeping frees up your business’ time and money while ensuring your books are accurate and complete. Learn when you should outsource your bookkeeping and accounting, what services are covered, and how the outsourcing process works.
When Outsourcing Your Books Makes Sense
Businesses like yours have several options when it comes to bookkeeping. You can hire an in-house bookkeeper, use bookkeeping and accounting software, or outsource your bookkeeping. Outsourcing makes sense when it offers your business a cost-effective and flexible approach to accounting.
While it may be tempting to use bookkeeping software in-house, doing so could increase the risk of human error. This also means occupying your, or another employee’s, time on this task instead of working on growing your business. Even the most conscientious and well-trained worker can make a mistake when entering information or simply fall behind due to their other responsibilities.
Outsourcing allows you to rely on a professional. You will not have to learn to use software or worry about missing or inaccurate information. Instead, you can focus on sales and increasing revenue. Outsourced accounting and bookkeeping allows you to feel confident about your financial records, especially at tax time.
Outsourced services are also more cost-effective than hiring a full-time. You will be paying only for the time and services rendered instead of a full-time salary and benefits.
Outsourced bookkeeping gives you flexibility. You can customize your outsourced services and adapt them as your business changes over time. It is a financially savvy option that software and in-house bookkeepers do not have the capacity to provide.
What Does Outsourced Bookkeeping Include?
Before deciding to outsource, ensure the provider covers all the services you may need. You might want your service to handle accounting, bookkeeping, tax filing, and staff training in accounting software.
Outsourced bookkeeping services are often far more comprehensive than just accurate data recording and bank statement reconciliation. Some, like Windes, offer advisory services for more strategic financial planning such as forecasting or preparing for a merger.
Here are a few key areas where an outsourcing service can help your business:
Importing and organizing financial information
An outsourced bookkeeping service can import your financial information from your business’ payroll records, invoices, credit card statements, and bank statements. Your bookkeeper organizes and verifies this data to account for all transactions.
Keeping all financials up to date
Manage and track bills and income accurately. A bookkeeping service can keep track of your accounts payable and accounts receivable on an ongoing basis to ensure you always have an updated financial picture of how your company is performing.
Providing financial statements
Your outsourced bookkeeper can provide accurate financial statements on a monthly or quarterly basis so you can assess where and how your money is being spent. This may include cash flow statements, statements of profit and loss, or a balance sheet.
You can also have those financial statements, or other aspects of your bookkeeping services, explained in easy-to-understand terms so you can make the best financial decisions for your company.
Developing financial reports
The financial information in the reports you hand over to investors, the IRS, or others must be accurate and complete. Outsourced bookkeeping services use the financial information gathered and organized to develop a strong financial report for your business.
How the Process Works
The process of outsourcing your bookkeeping is simple. Once you understand the bookkeeping services you need, you’ll choose an outsourcing firm or an independent bookkeeper. If you choose a bookkeeping firm, they may use people, software, or a combination of the two to handle your financial tracking.
At Windes, we use a hybrid model so our clients can benefit from technology while getting personalized service. You’ll have an account manager in charge of importing, connecting, and organizing the financial accounts and any software that your business is already using, such as QuickBooks. This makes it easy to pull financial data and keep records up to date.
Our bookkeeping staff is responsible for day-to-day cash management, including reporting cash status to supervisors. We also ensure accurate transactions by interacting with your payroll, operations, tax, and inventory personnel using programs like Bill.com for accounts receivable and payable.
We record transactions, prepare records, and keep an accurate ledger needed for a timely month-end close. Our staff is overseen by an accounting supervisor who develops and reviews reports for accuracy.
Cost of Outsourcing Your Bookkeeping
The cost of outsourcing your bookkeeping depends on several factors, including the size of your business and the complexity of your transactions. A higher volume or dollar amount of transactions or support for multiple entities results in higher bookkeeping costs. It also depends on whether your business uses cash or accrual accounting.
You can expect costs to increase as you use more services, such as the frequency of receiving financial reports, the number of connected accounts, or the amount of support you request. Rates of bookkeeping services also depend on whether your company uses software to perform these functions automatically or has people trained to carry out these tasks manually.
You will pay more if your business uses supplementary features such as inventory management or accounts receivable and payable services. In general, the more services you need to use and the more complex your financial situation is, the higher fees you can expect to pay for outsourced bookkeeping services.
How Windes Can Help Grow Your Business
If your business’ financial records are not up to date and dealing with taxes has become a huge worry, or you struggle to track your cash flow, you can benefit from outsourcing your bookkeeping. Windes has your business covered with a full range of outsourced bookkeeping services in Los Angeles, Orange County, and beyond. We’re a leading accounting firm with over nine decades of providing valuable business solutions.
Our team of accounting supervisors, managers, and staff accountants is skilled in bookkeeping and payroll services. We understand the benefits of using experienced staff and the latest software for timely and accurate bookkeeping. Contact us today for a customized plan that fits your specific needs.