Bookkeeping Outsourcing — How Does It Work In 2024?

When growing your accounting practice, accurate financial records cannot be understated. Proper financial records give a good impact on businesses; otherwise, the business may collapse. That’s where outsourcing bookkeeping comes into play!

Many firms hire in-house accountants to maintain proper financial records and simultaneously pursue their company goals. But employing in-house accountants cannot be the best answer to the problem. If you are looking for the best accounting services, consider outsourcing to an experienced and reputable accounting company.

Bookkeeping outsourcing services can help save money. As in-house bookkeeping service could be expensive for your practice. You can save on extra office space, training, and hiring professionals. You are sure that your bookkeeping is in the hands of skilled and reliable professionals when you choose to outsource bookkeeping services.

In addition, outsourcing firms provide financial advice to help you make sound business decisions. We get enough time to focus on other core operations of the practice. If you are an accountant tied with a lot of tasks, consider your option to outsource bookkeeping services to a reputable and compatible professional.

What is Bookkeeping?

Bookkeeping refers to systematically recording and classification of the financial data of an organization in an orderly manner. It is a record-keeping function to assist in accounting activities. The most common methods of bookkeeping are the single-entry and double-entry systems.

The main objective of bookkeeping is to maintain complete and accurate data of all the financial transactions in a systematic manner.

What is Outsourced Bookkeeping?

Outsourced bookkeeping is a service that handles day-to-day transactions, accounts payable, accounts receivable, managing financial reporting, payroll, and many other services virtually. Accounting outsourcing companies have highly skilled professionals who offer experienced teams of experts at a lower cost.

What are the benefits of bookkeeping outsourcing?

Following are the benefits of bookkeeping outsourcing:

Whether you hire an in-house professional team or outsource to an outside firm, the quality of professionals is the top priority. Keeping bookkeeping in-house certainly has its own limitations- could potentially lead to knowledge gaps, which could lead to issues in the long run, thus requiring external help. On the contrary, outsourcing firms have experts who are always under training and are closer to evolving technology.

For startups, cost becomes a significant factor. Outsourcing bookkeeping services can be cost-effective. There is no hassle of hiring, training a bookkeeper, and paying a salary. In-house bookkeeping makes it mandatory to look after all these expenses. But with outsourcing, you only pay for the services that you require.

As a business owner, it frees up your time and looks for the opportunities to grow. And it also allows you to spend time with your family or do what you love!

When you outsource bookkeeping, you gain access to cutting-edge technology and expertise. The use of cloud technology allows businesses to get access to real-time information anywhere and anytime to make key business decisions. The use of technology has the added benefit of allowing clients and bookkeepers to set up meetings virtually.

Financial reporting is distinct for each business, and it depends on many factors such as monthly transactions, industry considerations, and much more. Working with an in-house bookkeeping department might be a little problematic, as they do not have the right skill set required for a month-end report that is accurate and error-free.While outsourcing these services can be fruitful, as they help avoid late or inaccurate financial reporting. They streamline the procedures for businesses. Financial reporting can be accurate and delivered on time with
outsourced accounting companies, as they have a team of experts and trained professionals.

This is another important factor to consider when choosing in-house or accounting outsourcing services. When you choose in-house bookkeeping, there are chances of fraudulent activities. Sometimes, there is a discrepancy of records which when comes to notice of the business owner, it’s too late.When it comes to outsourcing accounting services, there is a division of duties. In outsourcing firms, there are two or more professionals assigned to
keep a track record of the accounts and this ensures the records are reviewed and maintained thoroughly without any discrepancies.

Getting the work done timely, doesn’t mean compromising on the quality of work. An outsourcing firm has qualified and trained professionals in its team. They believe in building long-term relationships by delivering the highest quality of work delivered is their primary goal.

Outsourcing bookkeeping can help you in the following ways:

• It reduces the risk of fraud
• It’s the most affordable choice
• Outsourced accounting services provide a higher quality of work and access to expertise.
• It helps save you time and maximize your profits

How do outsourcing bookkeeping services work?

Bookkeeping can be a tedious and stressful task. This includes accounts payable, accounts receivables, logging expenditures and receipts, and tracking profits and loss.You can either hire an in-house bookkeeper to perform the task which can be relatively an expensive affair. Or you may outsource bookkeeping services in the hands of the expert who will perform the tasks by telecommuting electronically.Once you have finalized a reputed outsourced company you wish to outsource to, you must communicate with them online. A dedicated

account manager will then deliver your accounting documents and reports to you electronically spending on the specified contract.

First and foremost, you need to grant access to your client’s financial information such as bank and credit card statements, payroll, tax documents, online bill pay, receipts, and everything related to your business finances.

Next, you need to set mutual expectations such as what you want him to work on every day? What information do you want when the month ends? How often you want to communicate and other such important questions to ensure both of you are on the same page.

Lastly, communication is key. So you need to communicate your goals and how you want them to process the bookkeeping function. In what form you need financial reporting, what software are they going to use?

Conclusion:

Outsourcing offshore accounting services can be the best-suited option for your practice. It is more efficient and reliable than the in-house department. Some still prefer to have a dedicated in-house bookkeeper who sits and goes through everything on a daily basis. But at the end of the day, it’s your call on how you want to run your practice.

It is essential to put your focus on growing your practice and attracting new clients, meeting the needs of your clients and maintaining good relationships, and leaving the burden of dealing with your client’s business finances to an outsourced bookkeeping service.

Originally published at https://outbooks.com.au on March 11, 2021.