In the majority of instances, businesses which choose not to invest in hiring an in-house or remote bookkeeper, and opt not to invest in accounting software (or in some cases, opt to pay for neither), choose outsourced bookkeeping instead. Helping them to keep costs down while still reaping all the benefits of a dedicated bookkeeper, it can prove a lifeline for a wide range of businesses, especially if you’re an entrepreneur with a small startup.
Knowing whether you should outsource your bookkeeping needs will depend upon a variety of factors, and you’ll need to carefully examine each of them before making a decision. But should you decide to take the plunge and opt for outsourcing – while the exact steps involved will depend on the requirements of your particular business – there will be certain steps typically involved when you do so:
- Getting to know your current systems
When you begin working with an outsourced bookkeeper, the first thing they will do before anything else, is to spend time getting to understand the software and tools that you’re already using to record and store all of your financial transactions. Once they’ve done that, they will begin setting up a series of integrations to enable them to carry on using your existing systems to process all of the bookkeeping for you.
- Reconciliation
Next, your outsourced bookkeeper will begin working with the software that they spent time connecting with initially, and will start to record all financial transactions before putting them into categories and organizing them efficiently. Concurrently, they will also carry out a reconciliation process to make sure everything balances and that there aren’t any discrepancies.
- Keeping you updated
You choose the frequency at which you would like to receive financial statements and all other communications from your outsourced bookkeeper, and if you would like to receive financial statements once a month, for example, you can arrange for this. Monthly statements will help you get a better understanding of where your business stands financially, in comparison to where you want it to be.
You can of course reach out to your outsourced bookkeeper whenever you need to, and can schedule regular telephone or video chat conversations as and when needed.
If you have any questions or doubts regarding bookkeeping, then the bookkeeper is available to you. This helps you work alongside the bookkeeper so you, your team, and the bookkeeper are on the same page.
Once your outsourced bookkeeper has familiarized themself with your existing bookkeeping software and tools, they’ll waste no time getting to work, doing everything you would expect from an in-house bookkeeper, but minus the salary and associated benefits you would have to pay them!