8 benefits of hiring a virtual bookkeeper

Every business has 3 basic ingredients: time, work and money.  If you’re like me you’re looking to make your job a little easier and save on time and money; all while maximizing revenue.   This means that you have to make sure every process of the business is handled efficiently and very department does its part in moving your company in the right direction for growth.

That said, one of the tasks that put a real demand on a business or an organization is accounting.  While many businesses want to keep their bookkeeping in-house, and most often it is the business owner themselves doing the extra work to keep the books.  As your business grow and you have even less time outsourcing accounting work to a virtual or remote bookkeeper can help tremendously.

What is a virtual bookkeeping service?

A virtual bookkeeping service allows a business or organization to outsource accounting services rather than in-house hiring an employee.  The virtual bookkeeper works remotely using modern technology to complete accounting tasks for their client.  A computerized technology is used by the virtual accountant to review and update statements, post financial transactions and reconcile accounts for the business.

Special Note: Use VPN services provided by a company like NordVPN to protect your data when sending sensitive files to any outside your company’s internal network.

How does it work?

The business grants the virtual accountant access to its servers, financial accounts, and software.  Using this access, the virtual bookkeeper can log into the business’ server as though he was onsite, install the necessary software and then work as per the agreement through telecommuting.

What are the benefits?

Every business requires bookkeeping services; whether it is a small business or a multinational company. The standard way to go about this problem is to hire an in-house personnel to undertake accounting tasks. While this is good, outsourcing a bookkeeper proves to be much more beneficial than employing someone in-house. This is because of the following reasons;

Cutting costs

When it comes to cutting costs, virtual accountants will definitely help you cut costs at various levels. First, having staff is costly. You will need to have office equipment, space, supplies, and software expenses to procure. This makes having an in-house accountant an expensive venture. Having an employee also means that you have to think about payroll taxes, health insurance, employee benefits and keeping abreast with the ever-changing legal requirements (which is an expense by itself because you need to pay for legal advice). By sourcing remotely you are sure you will not have to think about these expenses and processes.

You will save time

Time is a valuable resource for any business. Time is money they say. The thing is, you need time to focus on what you are good at. You don’t need to waste precious hours trying to figure out about accounting while you could be doing something else that would bring growth to the business.

Better tools

It is most likely that a virtual bookkeeper will have better accounting tools than you would provide to an in-house accountant. Not only will you have your financials handled by top-of-the-line software but also that it will be at a reasonable cost.

Expertise and experience

When you relegate your financials to a remote bookkeeper, you get the opportunity to take advantage of expertise and experience that would otherwise be outside your financial muscle if you were to employ someone. Outsourcing means that you get to have the best services any time.

With the expertise comes fewer mistakes. While it is true that no one is perfect, the truth is that a professional accountant with experience and expertise is prone to make mistakes much less often. In the event a mistake would happen, be sure it will be identified and rectified in no time. The thing is, the virtual accountant has a reputation to keep because of the clientele base involved. An individual has nothing much to lose since much of what they are doing is subsistence anyway.

Audit and tax ready financials

If you want auditors, banking institutions and the IRS happy then outsourced professional bookkeeping services is your best bet. With such services, there is usually minimum concern as to the integrity of the books or the accuracy of the financial data.

Whether you want to furnish a bank with your financial statements, share information with the IRS or answer satisfactorily to investor or auditor review, you will always be ready.

Scalability

The accounting needs of your business will definitely change exponentially as the business grows. Soon enough you will need more than you need now. If your business is classified as a small business then you will realize that soon you will need a full suite of bookkeeping services. Hiring an outsourced bookkeeper will ensure that the needs are scaled because they have the capacity for both oversight and full-service rendering without having to change or hire additional staff.

Privacy

If there is one thing that needs protection in a business is its internal financial records. This is something that any business owner needs to keep as private and as secure as possible. It is not every day that you will find someone who will do a good job, uphold confidentiality and stick with the company long enough. It is likely that the in-house guy knows your financial health better than most people and will be more likely to exit for greener pastures. A virtual accountant with strong credibility and client referrals can be trusted with financial records.

Peace of mind

You need the assurance and the confidence that your financials are being handled by an expert with a proven track record. What better way to get excellence and integrity than to source for the best possible virtual accountant that your business or organization can afford?

Final word

The think about hiring a virtual bookkeeper is to ensure that you do your homework well. You need to do a thorough background check and avoid the danger of relegating your financials to some faceless companies on the internet. Do not necessarily go for cheap, look for quality services that will ensure you have return on your investment. Whether you just need to keep tabs on your cash flow, to present a financial statement to a financial institution or do your due diligence with the IRS, you will find a virtual bookkeeper a much more viable solution for your organizations accounting needs.