Finance is the lifeblood of every business. Funds are required to begin, grow and sustain a business. Though the founding team mainly does funds management, CEO/COO/CXO/CFO, accounting professionals take care of the accounting process. Read on to find out the best hands to manage your business accounts.
Traditional working methods
Businesses have been employing accounting professionals and building accounting departments in-house for ages. Employees used to serve for long periods, such as 10, 20 or even 30 years in a single organisation. We would also find people working with the same organisation throughout their life.
But the scenario is not the same anymore. If a member of your accounting department is on leave, the work will suffer.
Depending upon the nature of your business and the number of accounting professionals required to carry out the day-to-day activities, you will have to hire additional team members for stand-by.
When any of your employees who handles accounting processes is relieved from your firm, handing over to the new joinee will be time-consuming. Recruiting, building and sustaining a thriving accounts team is constant work.
With changing times, businesses have to adapt to new ways of working. The right way to handle your account books is to outsource the bookkeeping to accounting firms. Companies that have adopted this practice witnessed tremendous growth and positive change in reducing costs, finding loopholes and fixing them.
Three signs that hint you to outsource the bookkeeping of your business
If you notice any of the below-mentioned three signs in your business, you know it is time to outsource bookkeeping.
1. You are scaling your business.
2. Your business needs accounting experts 24/7
3. You are managing the accounts of your firm.
1. You are scaling your business
Scaling a business requires extensive planning, analysis, coordination and execution. When you increase the number of products, services or employees in your organisation, the existing team and your customers must adapt to change. It is human nature to require a certain amount of time to accept and adapt to change completely.
New employees have to blend with the team and the process when they join your organisation. Being in the leadership role, you will have to manage these tasks and monitor the smooth flow of the business. If you invest your time, energy and money in your accounting department, priorities will change. In such a scenario, it is best to outsourcing bookkeeping services.
2. Your business needs accounting experts 24/7
If the nature or size of your business requires constant maintenance of accounts, you will need to have a finance team that is working 24/7. To facilitate this, traditionally, the business hired many accounting professionals. The purpose was to ensure that the work was not hindered in the absence of a few team members for any reason.
Such an arrangement proves to be an expensive affair. Companies that are in the e-commerce industry or companies that have clients in different countries must have well-maintained and up-to-date accounts. Minute errors can result in heavy financial and reputational loss or even law suites.
When you are in this or a similar boat, it is time to check for outsourcing firms that will cater to your bookkeeping needs. List your accounting needs, types of accounting experts required, and business needs concerning accounting. Then, find bookkeeping outsourcing firms that will fulfil your requirements.
3. You are managing the accounts of your firm
Companies that are bootstrapped, running short of funds or are early-stage start-ups thrive on multi-tasking. Founding team members or any of the leadership team members undertake bookkeeping. This is mainly to ensure the secrecy of finances in the organisation.
Unless the person handling the bookkeeping is an accounting professional, it will take a more extended period to complete the task. In addition, there are high possibilities of errors and overlooking loopholes. Formulating a strategy to reduce costs requires experts to give feedback and guidance.
When you outsource your business’s bookkeeping to an accounting firm, your business can benefit from their experience and exposure. Such outsourcing firms work with multiple companies. This helps them develop a keen eye for catching errors and fixing loopholes. Also, they draw insights from maintaining the accounts of one client and do a better job for you.
Implementing winning strategies becomes more accessible as they know what will work and what won’t, so you can avoid pitfalls. When you have an in-house accounts team, they have limited experience and exposure to do the best for your business. In addition, you will always have a professional from the outsourced firm at your service at no additional cost.
Summary
Keep a close eye on your business and consciously notice when these three signs pop up. Take the next step of outsourcing your bookkeeping so you can focus on growing your business without worrying about accounting.
