It's no secret why many startups opt for in-house bookkeeping. Doing the bookkeeping yourself saves money, and cash-strapped startups need every dollar they can get. 

In-house bookkeeping may feel doable during the early stages. However, as your startup expands, so will the paperwork. Outsourcing a bookkeeper saves time and makes sure you file your transactions correctly. 

Is a bookkeeper worth the expense? We'll share some reasons why your startup should outsource bookkeeping.


The Bookkeeper Scales with Your Business

Bookkeepers can only perform work if you provide them with transactions. A slow month of business equates to less bookkeeping activity. Outsourced bookkeepers don't bloat your salary payouts due to relative inactivity. You only pay these bookkeepers when you use their services, and that can be scaled to suit your needs.

Outsourcing companies can provide additional bookkeeping help as your company expands. Some startups have too many transactions and paperwork for a lone bookkeeper. When you outscource your bookkeeping to a team, you can enlist several bookkeepers to assist you for a few weeks during the busy season. As things slow down again, you can return to normal spending levels for your bookkeeping.


Teams Have More Expertise Than In-House Part-Time Bookkeepers

Some startups opt to pay less money for their bookkeeper by employing a part-time bookkeeper in-house. Bookkeeping teams provide more cumulative expertise than part-time contract bookkeepers. Paying more for the expertise of a team will increase your confidence going into tax season and reduce hassles.

An outsourced bookkeeping service doesn't let just anyone join their team. Bookkeeping services vet their bookkeepers to ensure they can fulfill their roles. No one vets a part-time bookkeeper for you, except you, and as a founder, your time is limited in this regard.

Further, you have invested your time in the part-time hire without seeing performance results until after a month or more. If a part-time bookkeeper isn't successful, now you have to offboard that person and find someone else to take on the role, adding inefficiency to your busy schedule.

Outsourcing companies can pair you up with bookkeepers that have the most experience in your particular industry, and can even rotate a specialist bookkeeper in if the need arises.


A Team Is More Available Than an Individual Bookkeeper

Part-timers may not respond to your email in a timely manner. They have other jobs and priorities that supersede your interests. Bookkeeping is likely a side gig for them, or they're balancing the needs of several clients.

Startups with part-time bookkeepers may get frustrated due to a lack of communication. A part-time bookkeeper is an individual who is your only point of contact regarding your books. If this person is unavailable for a period of time, it can leave you with essential questions going unanswered

An outsourcing company's bookkeepers solely focus on bookkeeping. Their bookkeepers are more available to you when you need them. While a part-time in-house bookkeeper can't be available 24/7, with an outsourcing company, bookkeepers can step-in on an as-needed basis, providing you with short-term access to their bookkeeping expertise. This "substitute" bookkeeper can then update your usual bookkeeper on work that has been done, changes that have been made, or roadblocks that still need to be overcome. 

A team of outsourced bookkeepers has more bandwidth than a single part-time bookkeeper juggling other obligations.


Better Tax Prep

Tax season is a stressful time for many startup founders. They frantically gather complex financial data and attempt to navigate difficult tax laws. Any surprises can create short-term headwinds for your startup. 

Bookkeeping can become a time-sink with high opportunity cost for any startup founder, whose time is better spent elsewhere. Any bookkeeper will leave you better prepared for tax season. Someone else organizes the data throughout the year instead of you scrambling to find everything in March.

Because of that time pressure, your tax preparation may become sloppy, and you might overlook certain deductibles, for example. An outsourced bookkeeping services company knows what it takes to prepare for tax season and has the personnel to scale-up for this busy period

Better tax prep also reduces friction for your accountant, who won't have to sort paperwork or request missing information. A bookkeeping services company can make sure your tax documents are well organized and complete for use at any point in the financial information pipeline. 


Conclusion

Any bookkeeper saves you during tax season. They prepare your paperwork well in advance to your workload. They help you save money on your tax bill by itemizing transactions and finding your deductions.

Startups may feel hesitant to invest in a bookkeeper. After all, your resources are limited, and many founders rightfully feel the need to take on as many responsibilities as possible. Investing in a bookkeeper will save you time and money, leveraging your skills in other areas. Although a part-time bookkeeper is better than no bookkeeper, you'll get more expertise and access if you outsource bookkeeping to a team. 

As a startup owner, you have to focus on the business. Startup founders implement new projects, build relationships, and scale their companies. They have limited time to look through financial transaction paperwork to prepare taxes. A qualified outsourcing company can provide you with vetted expert bookkeepers. They'll handle the books while you grow your empire.

Posted 
December 17, 2022
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