Owning a small business and managing the day-to-day operations can be stressful enough without having to keep up with the different bookkeeping tasks. The financial operations of your business is at the core of making decisions that can help or hurt your business. Not only daily operations, but tax-related tasks could be costly. You want to have the most accurate information at those times. While it may seem like another cost in your business, there is assistance available when you hire bookkeeping and accounting services to manage your books for you. First, consider the services that these companies offer for your business and how they can add benefits all around.
What Services Can I Expect With a Bookkeeping and Accounting Service?
When you hire a bookkeeping and accounting service, you can expect a few services and operations to be handled by the accounting team. They will address the following services:
- Tax Planning
- Bookkeeping
- Audits
Tax Planning
Filing your taxes annually for a small business can be cumbersome and take up too much time on your own time. Having your taxes completed without errors is something that can be achieved with a professional accounting team. They have the time and ability to review and assess your taxes each year to make sure that you are filing appropriately.
Bookkeeping
Know exactly who and what you owe, as well as what is owed to you when you have your bookkeeping done professionally. This keeps a clear pathway for success and minimum confusion in times of uncertainty. Everything from payroll to expenses is covered when you outsource your bookkeeping services. Expect your bookkeeper to maintain the following:
- Expenses and Purchases
- Sales
- Cash Flow
- Payroll
- Employee Taxes
- Manage Bank Statements
These bookkeepers manage every dollar that comes in an out to your business to make sure that each is accounted for and all accounts are balanced. Should there be any discrepancies, they are able to find and tend to them accordingly.
Audits
The IRS is not the only one who can audit your taxes and your books. When you hire a bookkeeping and accounting service, they will prepare all of your accounts and books for audits that are made by banks if you have applied for a loan or investors looking to take your small business to the next level.
Benefits of Hiring a Bookkeeping and Accounting Service
While you do have to cover the cost of these services when you outsource, there are significant benefits to consider. The overall success of your small business and your ability to move forward in a competing economy begins with the cash flow and having balanced bank accounts. There are several reasons why you should consider hiring a bookkeeping service.
1. Maintain Clients
When you outsource your bookkeeping tasks, you can spend more time maintain your current clients and generate more leads. The time that bookkeeping tasks take up can keep you away from your business and managing operations for hours at the time. This is especially true for new business owners who are learning some of these tasks for the first time. If you are spending too much time on these tasks, you could take away from your clients, causing them to spend their time and business elsewhere.
2. No Stress Regarding Errors
When you attempt to handle these tasks yourself or hire employees that are under qualified, there is room for error in these bookkeeping and accounting services. The wrong error or too many errors can cost you your business. When you outsource these tasks, they are being completed by professionals in their field and have experience managing these tasks as a career.
3. Quality Enhancement
Because you are able to spend more time with your clients and working on projects, the quality of your work and services enhance. You are no stressed by the need to oversee and have these bookkeeping tasks completed, so your attention and focus is solely on your work. This increased quality will return clients back to your business, encouraging sustainability. Your customer service is also enhanced because of your providing undivided attention to your clients. Like your productivity, you will have time for service and provide better service to your customers.
4. Increase Your Business Value
Because you are able to spend more time working and focusing on your clients, your profits will start to increase significantly. This means that your business value will also increase, making you more profitable overall. High business value attracts more customers and leads, further increasing the value and continuing a trend. Bookkeeping and accounting services will be a catalyst to this value.
5. Reducing Your Workload
Many small businesses continue to be successful when managing their own bookkeeping and accounting services because they are working more. After owners have worked for the business, they are spending additional hours working on the accounting and bookkeeping side attempting to balance books and stay ahead of their finances. This additional workload can affect your health and personal relationships due to excess stress.
6. Encourage a Positive Workplace
When you are stressed as the business owner, the lack of accounting services can further amplify this stress. This can put a strain on employees in the workplace, making the environment toxic with unnecessary stress. Reducing these unnecessary tasks alleviates the stress in the office and allows you and your employees to have a smaller workload where productivity and service can be enhanced.
7. Know Your Business Cycles
The cost of outsourcing is significantly less than hiring within for the tasks. When you outsource these tasks to an agency, you are minimizing the need for a salary or two within your business. This also means reducing benefits costs and payroll taxes that you carry with additional employees.
Outsource to the Tax Professionals
After you have started outsourcing your bookkeeping to another firm, you will start to develop business cycles that are unique to your services and products. This team will outline when your business picks up and slows down, allowing you to manage your profit margin with staffing reduced or increased during these different cycles of the year.
