Launching a startup business is not for the fainthearted. For one, there are many aspects and components to prepare and consider to get your business off the ground. While it’s understandable to focus on developing your products and services, it can be easy to overlook the importance of handling your finances. However, a business needs to manage all its financial documents and records to ensure smooth business operations.
Even if you know the basics or even the nuts and bolts of accounting and bookkeeping, the truth is, you may no longer afford the time to perform all the financial tasks on your own. And in some cases, hiring another employee to perform them can be costly, which is perhaps why many startup businesses opt to outsource this service to a third-party bookkeeping service provider.
Suppose you’re planning to hire a bookkeeper, but you’re wondering whether or not such a service is best for your startup business. In such a case, here are a few reasons why hiring a bookkeeper can be to your advantage:
1. Have Experts Handle Your Finances
Managing your finances takes expertise and special skills to make it more organized. For the average employee, looking at all the financial records can sometimes be overwhelming. And over time, they may feel lost on how to record everything and keep the financial statements accurate. This is when a bookkeeper should come in.
A bookkeeper can oversee, organize, and record the financial transactions of your business. Their skills have been developed over time, so they’re already well-versed in proceeding with the bookkeeping tasks without wasting so much time. And considering their exposure in the industry, they’ve already experienced various hurdles and issues regarding bookkeeping, so you can rest assured they can resolve similar issues in your operations. On the other hand, a complex financial problem may require your internal team a couple of days to troubleshoot, but your hired bookkeeper may only do so in a couple of hours.
In addition, they possess the expertise to handle these issues more effectively. They understand the business trends and challenges your industry faces and can help you deal with those challenges. Moreover, they can share best practices with you and share updated information that they may have acquired from other clients.
2. Make Audits Easier
Audits are necessary for your business to ensure accuracy and instigate credibility among your business partners or potential investors. If your startup business is still looking to expand and earn more seed money, you need to present your financial statements to the key prospects. And when your financial data are recorded well, it can be easier to audit and check all your finances.
Auditing your accounts can be much easier if they are organized, timely, and constantly updated. Your bookkeeper can perform auditing tasks with no trouble and delays. Any errors will float to the surface, and the report will be completed quickly.
As you boost your credibility, your chances of acquiring additional investments for your startup business can also increase since investors are likely to trust you and appreciate how transparent and organized your financial data and records are.
3. Keep Well-Maintained And Updated Financial Records
By hiring a reliable bookkeeper, you can also ensure that your financial records are up to date and properly maintained. It makes it easier for you as the CEO to measure the next step to take as you see how you’re financially capable and performing. Also, your bookkeeper can help ensure you’re aware of any discrepancies between your books and your business accounts, ensuring problems are resolved as soon as possible.
While it may be necessary to wait for the accountant or auditor to finish their reports before receiving official financial statements, the balance sheet can provide you with information about your account’s current status. This can help you as the manager or owner make the necessary decisions for your startup business.
4. Cost-Effective
Bookkeeping services are far more cost-effective than hiring an accountant or employing a finance team for your startup. On the other hand, doing your own bookkeeping and finances will require more time from you, eventually resulting in losing opportunities and money in the long run. Moreover, if you spend your time doing your own bookkeeping, you may lose the chance to perform other more crucial business tasks that rake in more money.
When your bookkeeper does your bookkeeping, your schedule can get freed up, allowing you to focus on identifying potential opportunities. You can also seek advice and support from your beekeeper to assist you in whether these opportunities are profitable for your startup business.
5. Law Compliance
Your financial statements are not only required to make your business operations smooth, but it’s also necessary to comply with the laws. When hiring a bookkeeper, they will stay updated on any recent legal changes and ensure that all your accounts and books comply with them. You can rely on the bookkeeper to rectify any mistakes they make because they hold themselves accountable. You can just sit back and wait for your accounting books to be prepared before the deadline.
Also, when it comes to your taxes, a bookkeeper can take care of the filing and the payment without delays and errors. Your business can stay compliant with relevant laws with the help of a bookkeeper.
6. Have a Different Set Of Eyes To Review Your Business Operations
When you’re super focused on your goals and implementations, it can be hard sometimes to accept and reflect that some of your business implementations and strategies may not be as effective. Having a bookkeeper work with you can give you another set of eyes to review your startup operations. They can provide tips, advice, assessments, and other details necessary for your growth and improvement.
In addition, they can back up all their recommendations and advice through the financial data they generated. They can present accurate numbers and show you any forecast should you push through with the strategy you’re planning to implement.
7. Time-Efficient
It is likely that you have many responsibilities as a business owner. When you bookkeep on your own, you lose the time to provide more focus on other things that actually matter more for your startup. You could be caught up with sorting receipts, tracking payments, managing payroll, and preparing financial data that the other business tasks are already taking the back seat. Unfortunately, this will only result in a loss of business opportunities.
Bookkeepers handle these tasks, so you do not have to. Moreover, if you aren’t a bookkeeping expert, it will probably take you longer to perform these tasks than it would take a professional. Take into account the time you spend managing your books during a typical week. You’ll be surprised at how much time it can actually eat up. You can use the time you usually spend on bookkeeping to do other things and think of more strategies to diversify and grow your small business.
Conclusion
A detailed bookkeeper is beneficial to any startup company. While you need to invest initially for this service, you’ll learn that their benefits actually outweigh their costs. With all the reasons stated above, you can fully understand why hiring a bookkeeper for your finances is more effective.
