Proper bookkeeping is very important to maintain the consistent growth rate of the company. As a matter of fact, it is the bookkeeping department that discloses the actual status of the organization in the market.
Graham and Doddsville - Issue 1 - Winter 2006 (1).pdf
Bookkeeping - Why it should be outsourced
1. Bookkeeping - Why it should be outsourced?
Proper bookkeeping is very important to maintain the consistent growth rate of
the company. As a matter of fact, it is the bookkeeping department that discloses
the actual status of the organization in the market. With genuine bookkeeping
help, you not only avail a good resource for the functioning of your statistical
data, but it also gives you valuable advice for better execution of your finances
whenever required.
It takes time to look after your own books. Trying to understand the accounting
software programs can be a frustrating experience for some small business
owners, in spite of the fact that most of the new ones are now very user-friendly
such as Simply Accounting.
There are two forms of seeking bookkeeping help. One is manual and the other is
computerized. Mainly small companies with less workforce and low number of
transactions take the assistance of manual accountancy. On the other hand, big
organizations with huge data, information transfer mostly opt for the
computerized bookkeeping.
A lot of small business operations are just too small to justify the employment of
a full-time bookkeeper. The bookkeeping function is merged with a variety of
office procedures as well as receptionist duties. The problem with this
arrangement is that the bookkeeping is not completed accurately. The employee
is distracted from the input process and quite often errors are made. These
omissions end up costing money during the year-end accounting process when
the accounting firm is preparing financial statements and tax returns. There is
also the danger of incorrect allocation of disbursements which may be overlooked
by the accountant and could result in tax re-assessments.
The turnover of staff makes it very expensive for a small business owner to repeat
the training process of bookkeeping staff. Also, the owner does not have the
bookkeeping skills to carry out the actual training. The lack of bookkeeping skills
by the owner makes it very difficult to supervise the bookkeeper's work.
The level of expertise in a bookkeeping firm can be greater than the skill level of
an employee thus affording a more valuable overview of the small business
bookkeeping system. There is a greater chance that better bookkeeping
procedures will be put in place thus resulting in more accurate reporting.
2. There can be significant cost savings by outsourcing your bookkeeping to a
competent bookkeeping service. A small business owner may only need a few
hours of bookkeeping support thus bringing down the bookkeeping fee to the
$200 per month range. This amount is no way near the thousands of dollars per
month for a full-time employee. The payroll costs alone would exceed the $200
per month.
The disadvantage of outsourcing means that the small business owner has to wait
for the designated date to get his or her bookkeeping up to date. Also, the original
receipts have to be organized for the bookkeeper and sometimes delivered to an
off-site location. The receipts not being available can be inconvenient when
needed by the small business owner. In some cases a system of scanning the
receipts and setting authorization for the bookkeeping firm to review banking
transactions online can expedite the receipt delivery process.
Bookkeeping in Australia is very often ignored by the small business owner
and not kept on a current basis, thus causing late filing of sales tax reports and
resulting in the late filing penalties. The hiring of a bookkeeping firm can avoid
this problem. Every small business owner should carefully review his or her
bookkeeping needs and decide on the best course of action.