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Five signs your business is ready for outsourced Accounting services

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Alex, Staff Writer

Thursday, 20 May 2021

Accountant

Most small businesses start by managing their own accounts, in an attempt to keep costs down. This usually works well at the beginning. However, there usually comes a time when businesses realize that they can no longer manage their accounts, and they need to outsource their accounting.

What does an Accountant do?

An accountant is a professional who takes responsibility for maintaining and interpreting financial records. They can be employed directly by a large organization or work for several different individual clients.

The role of an accountant can include:

  • Creating and maintaining financial reports

  • Preparing tax returns and ensuring that the correct taxes are paid on time

  • Conducting forecasting assessments and risk analyses

  • Ensuring financial best practice

  • Providing guidance on cost reduction, profit maximization, and revenue enhancement

What is the difference between an Accountant and a Bookkeeper?

Many people wonder what the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant is. The key difference is that a bookkeeper records financial transactions, whilst an accountant is responsible for interpreting that financial information.

Every accountant is qualified to perform bookkeeping, but not every bookkeeper can perform accounting.

What is outsourced Accounting?

Outsourced accounting is when a business pays a third-party provider to carry out their accounting tasks, freeing them up to focus on other matters within the business.

Some of these tasks include:

  • Payroll
  • Financial reporting
  • Preparing tax returns
  • Controlling income and expenditure
  • Creating financial statements
  • Creating business plans
  • Reviewing employee timesheets
  • Audit support
  • Statutory compliance
  • Credit card reconciliation
  • Bank reconciliation

Benefits of outsourced accounting services

Accountant

Any small business owner will understand the importance of monitoring the performance of their business, but finding the time to do so isn't always easy. Without clear visibility of your financial situation, you will struggle to plan for the future.

You should be focusing on growing your business, attracting and retaining long term clients, and providing a great service. Here are just a few of the ways your business could benefit from outsourced accounting services:

Reduce the cost of hiring

Having an in-house accounting department comes with the added cost of hiring and training new employees. Outsourcing your accounting eliminates those costs. Not to mention that you won't waste time having to hire and train employees, leaving you with more time to grow your business.

Gives you more time to grow your business

While you may be capable of doing your accounting, it's a time-consuming process, not to mention complex! As a small business owner, your time would be better spent on improving your service and building customer trust and loyalty. Leave the accounting to the experts and spend more time on what matters most.

Flexibility

When you're a growing business, it can be difficult to predict how often you'll need accounting services. The great thing about outsourcing your accounting services is that you have the flexibility to scale the service up or down depending on your accounting needs, without having to waste money on in-house accounting when you don't need it.

Expert accountants

Outsourcing your accounting services means your finances will be managed by a professional with a high level of expertise and experience. While you may think of yourself as having a flair for numbers, you'll never have the level of knowledge that an accountant has, not to mention that they'll be handling your accounts in an objective and unbiased way, which can lead to greater results.

FAQ: How much does an Accountant cost?

If you want to hire an accountant but are confused about costs, read our handy price guide for a detailed overview of how much an accountant costs in America.

When should you hire an Accountant?

Accounting

At some point, you’re likely to realize that you need to hire an accountant for your business. But when will that be?

Here are five signs that your business is in need of outsourced accounting services.

1. Your business is growing

Seeing your business grow is possibly the most exciting part of being a small business owner. However, this also usually means that you’ll need to reassess which tasks you can manage in-house and which you’ll need to outsource.

As your business grows, you’ll find that money is going out and coming in far faster than it was before. You’ll need to keep on top of these transactions to make sure that your business is going in the right direction. This can be difficult to manage unless you’re a qualified accountant.

An accountant will ensure that your transactions are recorded properly and your accounts are balanced. They’ll also manage your financial reporting including preparing your financial statements and filing your taxes.

If your business is growing faster than it ever has before, getting outsourced accounting services will save you time and energy, leaving you free to focus on what’s important to your business.

2. You think you might be paying too much tax

If you’re looking at your tax bill and wondering why it’s so high, it’s probably time to outsource your accounting. It’s easy to make a mistake when you’re filing your taxes which could lead to your tax bill being far steeper than it should be. 

It might be that you’re forgetting some expenses or entering some of the information incorrectly. It could also be that there are tax savings that you could make in other areas, such as by writing off obsolete inventory or bad debt.

A good accountant will investigate why your tax bill is so high and help you to avoid excess bills in the future. They’ll also identify where further tax savings can be made in the future, helping to save you money where possible.

3. Numbers aren’t your thing

Finances can be confusing, especially when it comes to taxes. Whilst some people have a natural flair for numbers, they certainly aren’t for everyone.

If keeping track of your finances is causing you stress, it might be time to bring in a professional. Your accountant will take your financial tasks out of your hands so that you can focus on what matters to your business. They’ll be able to tell you what tax breaks you could take advantage of whilst keeping on top of your turnover and creating the necessary reports.

4. You’re starting a new business

Starting a new business is exciting, but it also comes with inherent risk, especially if there will be some initial outlay. You need to establish whether your idea is profitable before you begin spending money.

By outsourcing your accounting, your expert will be able to help you with whatever administrative task involved with growing your business, including deciding on the right structure for your business. They’ll also be able to talk you through the start-up costs of beginning your business and create revenue forecasts to help you to understand how profitable your business is likely to be.

5. Your workload is becoming unmanageable

Managing your finances can be time-consuming. If you realize that accounting is taking over your life and you’re struggling to find the time to manage your accounts, it’s probably time to outsource to an accountant.

Hiring an accountant can give you back some of that family time that you’ve been having to sacrifice to complete your accounts, as well as freeing you up in business hours to focus on what’s important to your business.

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