Is It Time to Outsource Your Accounting, and Start Focusing on Your Business?

So you have Quickbooks, and you are ready to get your small business bookkeeping in order. But where do you start?

Software, unfortunately, doesn’t immediately run itself. It’s going to require a bit of legwork to get the numbers rolling.

In order to make sure that you’re using Quickbooks to its fullest extent, you’ll have to feed it some information, including:

1. Ensuring that your products, services, and other inventory items are entered into the system.
2. Connecting bank accounts and other financial information.
3. Importing or inputting all of your customer information.
4. Importing or inputting all of your vendor information
5. Importing or inputting all of your employee information.
6. Setting up taxes, deductions, expenses, etc. to fit with your business and your state.

From there, you’ll have a great starting place, but the software itself will still need some human help to keep it moving. Day-to-day management responsibilities include:

1. Entering transaction information.
2. Reviewing overdue accounts and making payments or requests for payment.
3. Invoicing.
4. Running payroll.
5. Updating and managing inventory.

These are just a few things you’ll have to keep up with. Though Quickbooks makes these responsibilities faster and more efficient, the software can’t do it all. If you want to spend more time working on projects, and less time working on your books, then outsourcing your accounting may be the answer.

Outsourcing Isn’t a Dirty Word

Over the years, we’ve learned to look at the term “outsourcing” as a bad thing. In some cases, on a large scale, it certainly can be a detriment to certain economies. But on the smaller level we’re talking about, outsourcing work is no different than any other paid work.

Throughout history, our ancestors knew that when a job needed to be done, it was best to find an expert. Before the age of technology, most people wouldn’t have even dreamt of trying to do their own accounting, much less attempted it. So they paid someone else to do this part of their business for them.

Up until the dawn of internet tax services, most people didn’t do their own accounting work. Large corporations hire whole teams of accountants to keep their finances in order. Smaller businesses often hired their bookkeeping out to independent accountants and analysts, which led many to dread tax season.

As businesses like TurboTax became more popular and Quickbooks became more prevalent, many small business owners began trying to take their finances into their own hands. But as much as these innovations have promised convenience, they haven’t always helped. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of small businesses fail in the first year, 30% of small business fail in the second year, and 50% of small businesses fail in the fifth year.

The leading reasons for these failures tend to be:

• Tax and regulation compliance issues
• Cashflow hurdles
• Lack of financial planning
• Expanding too fast

These are all issues directly related to bookkeeping and financial awareness, and the greatest software on earth can’t necessarily help unless it’s managed by an expert.

Peace of Mind is Possible
Today, there’s an easier way. Outsourcing your accounting work can give you more freedom, more money, and more security in knowing that your finances are in order from January through December.

You can avoid potential pitfalls by hiring a team of experts to help you navigate the world of accounting. Most small business owners aren’t even aware of the taxes and regulations their businesses may be subject to. Others may not be sure how to keep an eye on their profits and losses, or how to accurately manage their payroll. If you’re working hard on a jobsite all day, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether your contractor filed their 1099 form correctly. Let an expert help.

The only “right time” to start outsourcing your accounting is now. You don’t have to wait for a new business year; a great consultant can jump in and begin helping you at any time. You work hard to keep your business in business. Don’t lose money, sleep, or time over your business bookkeeping.

Reach out to Blue Collar Back Office today, and talk to an expert accountant about the different benefits that outsourcing your bookkeeping promises. You won’t regret it!