The Training Drain
Every business would love to save money on bookkeeping. But how do you make that happen? Taking the outsourced route will open up potential savings and keep the quality of your records as high as possible.
Key Takeaways
- Competition in this market keeps rates competitive
- Businesses don’t have to pay full-time staff in an accounting department
- Working with a proven provider is the best path
- Always talk directly to potential contractors to understand their services
- Outsourcing can be blended with in-house help for good results
Saving money isn’t the only reason to use outsourced bookkeeping services, but it certainly is a good place to start. When you see the rates that are available from professional outsourced accounting and bookkeeping services like Swiftbooks, you’ll start to wonder why you have been paying for in house bookkeeping for so long. Between the savings and the reliability of this service, it’s an easy choice to make the switch.
We’d like to use this post to help you understand the rates associated with outsourcing bookkeeping work to a contractor like Swiftbooks. Of course, if you’d like to get more information directly from our team, reach out today to schedule a call and we can get started right away. As one of the leading remote bookkeeping firms offering accounting services to small businesses, Swiftbooks is a partner worthy of this important role.
What Factors Impact the Cost of Outsourced Bookkeeping Rates?
If you have never before outsourced bookkeeping services, you might be a little confused about what you’ll pay and why. When hiring an employee, it’s straightforward (albeit expensive) to figure out how much they’ll be paid. You agree on a salary or hourly rate, along with any benefits that might be provided, and off you go. When you opt to make the switch to outsourcing bookkeeping instead, you’ll be happy to find that things are going to get more affordable, but you need to get your mind around how the service will be billed.
While all bookkeeping services will handle their billing a bit differently, the key point to keep in mind is that you are going to pay by the services that you select and how much work is required for the company to deliver those services. So, for example, you could choose to have only basic bookkeeping tasks managed by this remote accounting department, such as dealing with customer invoices and processing accounts payable. In that case, you probably wouldn’t need an in house bookkeeper any longer, since the day-to-day work would be done remotely. However, you might continue to employ an accountant for some other tasks like preparing financial statements, dealing with taxes, and more.
Another way to approach this process would be to outsource all aspects of your accounting department to a remote service. You wouldn’t have an accounting team on site at all, as everything would be done remotely by a contractor. With this approach, you wind up paying more, of course, but the billing format doesn’t really change. You just pay for the services that you select, and there is nothing else to worry about (no benefits, overtime, etc.). The key to outsourcing accounting services and not being surprised by the rates is to have an open and honest discussion with any contractor that you may hire for the task.
Can Small Businesses Afford Outsourced Bookkeeping Services?
In a word, yes. Small businesses can absolutely afford to work with professional bookkeepers on an outsourced basis. In fact, this is a tremendously cost-effective solution for most small business owners, as it is far less expensive than using in house bookkeepers to get the some job done.
As you already know, bookkeeping is far more than just paying bills, as all transactions need to be recorded correctly. Proper accounting function requires all movement of money within your business to be tracked accurately, but that is a task that is a little harder to manage than it might seem at first. As your business progresses, you might think about hiring a full time bookkeeper, only to find that such a luxury is outside of your budget at the moment. So, instead, you just keep doing everything yourself, falling a little further behind each day.
To turn around the question at the top of this section, it might be better to ask if you can afford not to use outsourced bookkeeping services in your business. When you take this step and remove bookkeeping from the list of things that you or someone on your team has to do, significant time will be opened up and the accuracy of the books should improve at the same time.
How to Find the Best Outsourced Accounting Prices
We’ve already established that virtual bookkeepers offer great value to business owners and are a great choice for a range of small businesses. With that said, there are plenty of companies out there vying for your business, and a range of prices are going to be offered. The cost of outsourcing will vary depending on your needs and the company you work with, but it’s always going to be a better solution than paying a full time bookkeeper to do the work.
So, how do you find the best prices and the best services? Use the ideas below.
Talk to Bookkeeping Services Companies Directly
There is simply nothing quite like having a direct conversation with a contractor to get on the same page and work out a deal that is fair for everyone. If you take the time to do a call with a company that you are considering, you’ll be able to hear directly from them on what their rates look like, what services they offer, and how they can put together a package that makes sense for your needs.
Blend Outsourcing with an In House Bookkeeper
You don’t have to make an all-or-nothing decision with regard to using outsourced bookkeeping services. You can easily blend a combination of outsourcing and an in-house employee to get the right results for your needs. If you already have a bookkeeper on your team, the best approach might be to keep that person and augment their work with the help of a company that can fill in the gaps, save money, and move your business forward.
Trust a Proven Professional Services Provider
There might not be anything more important in your business than making sure the money is handled correctly. With that in mind, this is not a job that you want to trust to an inexperienced or unproven accounting firm. Instead, only go with a partner that you know is up to the challenge, has served other companies well previously, and will deliver the kinds of results you deserve. A proven entity in this industry is going to be able to offer you the best overall value, as they will know how to blend fair pricing with accurate and reliable performance in a way that a new business simply won’t be able to match.
Choose Your Outsourced Bookkeeping Firm Today
With cost savings waiting on the table to be realized, and many other benefits for the average business owner to enjoy, waiting any longer to use the bookkeeping services offered by Swiftbooks would be a mistake. We are excited to have the opportunity to serve you, so get in touch today and let’s schedule a call to talk more about your needs. The right outsourced bookkeeper can transform your business and Swiftbooks is up to the challenge!
