You shouldn’t be the one doing it all when it comes to your business. And you definitely can only go so far in handling your own business finances.
With a bookkeeper on your team, you gain a partner who offers financial advice, provides you accurate financial reporting, and helps with your cash flow management, saving you time and money while also giving you peace of mind that everything financial is documented and executed correctly.
The Role of A Bookkeeper In A Small Business
Whether you’re a billionaire tycoon or a small business run from a home office, managing your bottom line is the difference between success and failure.
Every business has needs that are unique to them and their industry, and having excellent bookkeeping systems and people in place can help reach your business’s short- and long-term goals faster.
For a small business, bookkeepers reveal opportunities for long-term savings, provide objective financial advice, have the time and dedicated attention to detail to make sure no errors are made or nothing is looked over, and priceless peace of mind.
Why Can't I Handle Bookkeeping Myself?
While a business owner can – of course – choose to manage many of the tasks a bookkeeper does, it often takes too many hours that you could otherwise dedicate to strategic plans and relationship-building.
You need to focus on where you excel and if accounting isn’t it, you’ll likely neglect it or spend precious hours trying to figure out how to do it. And we’ll venture that fumbling through calculating your own cash flow isn’t why you started your business.
Outsourcing your bookkeeping frees up valuable time that can be put into growing your company and provides you with full-time accounting knowledge – without the full-time price tag.
Remember only you can do the things in your business that you’re best at. And when you hire someone who is an expert in their field, you can trust them to do the tasks they’re best at.
How Much Does A Bookkeeper Cost and How Much Money Could A Bookkeeper Save Me?
Fewer things will prove as costly as poor money management for your small business.
Hiring a virtual bookkeeper will allow you to save more while getting the maximum value for your business. And it’s no shock that virtual bookkeeping services are far more cost-effective than having a salaried bookkeeper.
We list all of the ins and outs of just how much a bookkeeper costs in this blog, but we’ll save you a step and recap here.
Full-Time In-House Bookkeeping Costs
On average, a full-time in-house bookkeeper’s annual salary is roughly $45,000 but unless you actually need full-time bookkeeping – and we’re guessing you don’t … yet – you’re paying for more hours than you need.
Then, overhead costs add an additional 20 percent on top of an employee’s base salary and include …
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- Payroll Taxes
- Medical/Benefits
- Retirement Plans
- Vacation/Sick Days
- Placing Ads
- Screening Interviews
- Testing and Training
Outsourced Bookkeeping Costs
On average, outsourced bookkeeping services cost anywhere between $500 to $2,500 a month for small and medium businesses depending on the hours you need each month.
Even at the top of the range – $2,500 per month – it would cost your business $30,000 a year. And BONUS! Outsourced bookkeeping comes with none of the a la carte overhead expenses.
What Are The Other Benefits of Hiring a Bookkeeper?
Besides the costs and time savings, there are other peace-of-mind benefits from hiring a bookkeeper.
You gain flexibility. Virtual bookkeeping services have experienced, trained bookkeepers who will manage your bookkeeping on your schedule – without worrying about the bottom-line impact of paying a full-time salary, sick days, holidays and benefits.
You get an accurate financial report. When you’re juggling it on your own, bookkeeping can often take a back seat – but it can’t afford to. Virtual bookkeeping services can provide updated financial reporting in real-time so once tax season rears its head, your accounting is ready to go.
You obtain objective financial advice. With a third-party involved, you get an unbiased, expert opinion on the financial health of your business. And with that perspective, you can make informed business decisions to impact the health and vitality of your business.
A Real-Life Example
Our client, Tamara Gollob, hired a bookkeeper for her business when she admittedly struggled with “trying to find an accountant to speak my language and to explain things to me in common language.”
Here are some highlights of her Client Success Story.
“I wanted a better footprint of the business financially: Where were we spending money? Where were we making money? Where were we losing money?”
“I needed someone to run those reports and keep on track of what was going on. So I started with that.”
Enter BELAY Bookkeeper Kalee Richardson.
“Kalee [provided] a super easy transition,” Tamara says. “It’s been just a piece of cake from the beginning.”
Kalee and Tamara started by tackling basic financial tasks.
“We have a weekly phone call, which I love,” Tamara says. “It includes immediate asks of ‘What was this charge for?’ ‘What was that charge for?’ so we can categorize things properly and get everything tidied up.”
“She started running P&L reports for me, and we use a special rent software that has a lot of reports in it. She was able to go into that system and run reports to determine which products give us the most profit.”
“She’s now [also] taking care of outstanding receivables. She’s been following up with those clients, making sure they got the invoice and charging them a late fee. That really helps my salespeople.”
“As a business owner, [you gain] success [by] the people you hire. If you’re not good at something, you need to find somebody who is excellent at it,” Tamara said.
“Your business will thrive because someone is doing their job effortlessly because they’re knowledgeable.”
“I see the results, I see the rewards, and I see the benefits immediately.”
You can experience the same relief that Tamara did by getting started today. You shouldn’t be doing it all, so why are you?