Are Professional Bookkeeping Services Essential For My Business?

As your business has grown, you’ve probably added staff to improve efficiency and profits. But are you still slogging through your own bookkeeping? Perhaps it’s time to consider adding professional bookkeeping services to your business strategy.

At Fisher Bookkeeping, we appreciate the work involved with running your own company. We offer bookkeeping services throughout the country and have offices in Portland, OR, and Lexington, KY.

When you outsource your bookkeeping, you are free to focus on the things you do best in your business. Contact us today to learn how our services can make your whole operation run more smoothly.  

What Does a Bookkeeper Do?

Bookkeepers keep your financial information organized. Anything from receipts to payroll to invoices due can fall under the umbrella of bookkeeping. 

Your bookkeeper will record, organize, and reconcile transactions. Let’s break that down a bit: 

• Recording Financial Transactions: This may involve a whole lot of little pieces of paper for items such as receipts, notes, and statements. Now, though, it’s more likely to rely on an electronic trail rather than a paper trail.
• Organizing Your Financial Data: Every dollar in your business belongs in a category. Your bookkeeper will make sure your revenue and expenses records are accurate and consistent with accounting best practices.
• Reconciling Transactions: Professional bookkeeping services can ensure that all of your transactions match your bank and employee statements. Having an independent bookkeeper reconcile your accounts will help to prevent employee fraud. 

If you have a box full of receipts, your bookkeeper can help you develop a more efficient process. They have many software options to pull information from electronic sources, such as bank accounts and point-of-sale systems. Rather than inputting each entry from a receipt, a bookkeeper can verify transactions and organize them into the appropriate categories.

An experienced bookkeeper can pinpoint inefficient and redundant pieces of your financial system to help you increase your profit.

 Professional bookkeepers also handle accounts payable and receivable, saving you time and keeping your money flowing.

Professional Bookkeeping Services Make Your Business Run More Smoothly

A dedicated bookkeeper can save you time and money. Here are some of the most critical ways that professional bookkeeping services can improve your operation.

They Let You Use Your Time More Efficiently

If you have been growing your business from the ground up, you probably started out wearing all the hats. As your company grows, many of those tasks, like bookkeeping and payroll, become more time-consuming. 

A bigger staff and more revenue generally bring more work on the administrative side. Your time is valuable, and it’s best spent on the tasks only you can accomplish.

They Save You Money

Hiring professional bookkeeping services could be less expensive than managing your finances without help. 

Consider the following questions if you’re unsure about the cost savings:

• How long does it take you to process your financials each month? 
• How much money can you earn in that time doing what you’re a genius at doing?
• What would it cost to have a professional bookkeeping service do it for you?

Be realistic and honest about how long it takes you to do your own books. And don’t forget to account for the distractions that are inevitable when you fill all the roles in your company. More than 25% of entrepreneurs spend at least 100 hours on their taxes each year. 

One. Hundred. Hours.

It’s almost a certainty that you will come out ahead when you hire help. 

Freeing up time to earn money isn’t the only perk to hiring a bookkeeping firm. When you add professional bookkeeping services to your business process, you’ll have access to regular reports showing your financial picture. Balance sheets and profit-and-loss statements make getting a loan or doing your taxes much easier.

They Are Professionals

You wouldn’t hire an amateur to repair your computer or serve your clients. That wouldn’t be a good use of your resources, and it would likely cost you more money in the long run. 

So why would you leave your bookkeeping needs in the hands of an amateur? 

The odds are that you are not a professionally-trained bookkeeper. If you attempt to manage your finances without experience and expertise, you will get frustrating results. And you also may inadvertently be missing some legal requirements in your bookkeeping.

Even if you are trained in finance or accounting, it’s essential that you focus on what makes you money. An accountant who now runs a coaching business should be coaching to bring in revenue. Their business financial details become a distraction from income-producing activities.

When Should I Add Professional Bookkeeping Services?

If you only have a few transactions per day and no staff, you may choose to manage your books on your own. 

But if you’re growing or are on the fence about outsourcing, consider some of these red flag situations:

• Trying to do everything is stopping you from doing the things that make your business successful.
• Your bookkeeping has fallen behind because you’re too busy trying to fill all the roles and keep the revenue flowing in.
• Your system is unorganized, and you aren’t sure how to fix it. 
• You have too much information slipping through the cracks to know how profitable your business is.
• You feel anxious about your financials.
• Trying to catch up at the end of the tax year gives you an ulcer.

A dedicated bookkeeper can simplify your recordkeeping process and alleviate a lot of stress. And through scheduled meetings with your bookkeeper, you’ll have a clear picture of your company’s money. The confidence and peace of mind that come with this knowledge are priceless.

How Do I Trust a Bookkeeping Service with My Money?

We understand that it’s difficult to hand over tasks you’ve always completed on your own. Your business is your baby and means everything to you. And finances are inherently personal. 

As with all new relationships, it will take time to establish trust and get comfortable delegating tasks. But once you have a working relationship, you’ll wonder how you ever got by without the support. 

Here are some ways to help you feel more secure in the partnership:

• Ask for referrals from other professionals in your network.
• Schedule monthly or quarterly meetings with your bookkeeping service to go over your accounts and reports.
• Ask any questions as they come up. Generally, the more you feel connected with the process, the more confident you will feel in the result.

The Fisher Bookkeeping Team Can Help Your Bottom Line

If you are ready to hand off some financial tasks and focus on other work, reach out to Fisher Bookkeeping. We can help clean up your books, optimize workflows, get you ready for tax time, and much more. Contact us today for a free consultation.