The vast majority of people that start small-and medium-sized businesses do that for the opportunity to do what they do best, whether it is fixing vehicles as a mechanic, creating garden art as a landscaper, or even building websites as a graphic designer.
What most small business owners discover, however, is that besides doing the task that they love full-time, they also have numerous other jobs that they must attend to part-time, which range from marketing to bookkeeping.
If you aren’t particularly experienced in handling such tasks, it can be easy to put them on the back burner, and this may harm your business, particularly when it comes to bookkeeping. After all, while doing the work might be great, not being paid in time is not so great.
Fortunately, remote bookkeeping has come to remedy the situation. It is a service that provides small-and medium-sized businesses with a dedicated remote bookkeeper that’s always available to handle this challenging task.
You can just imagine the freedom of having an experienced bookkeeper ready to help you take care of all your financial tasks every month, thus offering you peace of mind that only comes with knowing that your finances and books are properly organized, accurate, and up-to-date.
The following is a breakdown of all the things that you should know about virtual bookkeeping services.
Is Remote Bookkeeping the Right Option for You?
Research reveals that remote bookkeeping is an attractive option for small businesses that would rather have a more convenient option when it comes to managing their books, even those that already use intuitive accounting tools such as QuickBooks Online.
Remote bookkeeping customers have some similar characteristics that they are looking for, which include:
Organized
Cash flow is one of the most important ways to measure how healthy your business is and is depicted in the month-end financial reports. It is one of the key services that remote bookkeepers provide that small business owners greatly appreciate.
Trustworthy
Trust is obviously an important consideration. After all, handing over your finances to an accountant that you barely know or don’t know at all might sound risky. You want to ensure that you only deal with an honest, ethical, and dependable professional. Hiring an accountant without being first confident in their abilities can be worrisome, so knowing that your provider has been vetted by a third-party service can give you peace of mind.
Consistent
The main benefit of using virtual bookkeepers is that you get to save precious time. Unfortunately, that can be eroded rather quickly if you constantly have to explain the ins and outs of your individual needs. For instance, perhaps some customers use credit cards to pay every month while others prefer using e-checks.
It is the reason why on-demand customers usually request that their bookkeeper get to know them and understand the unique details of their business and industry at large, along with their personal preferences when it comes to communication and invoicing to ensure that they are always on the same page.
Your virtual bookkeeper will get to know your industry and business and customize your setup accordingly. It means that there will be no need to constantly explain your needs.
On-Demand Assistance
If you have questions but don’t know where to turn, you can always connect with a virtual bookkeeper via video chat or message to receive personalized help.
Professional Certification
Tax laws are becoming increasingly complex and small business owners are regularly turning to their accountants for advice regarding what they are allowed to legally deduct. You obviously want to maximize on your tax savings, but this should never be at the expense of operating outside the law, which is why it is so important to work with an accounting professional or bookkeeper that’s familiar with the current tax laws.
Convenience
Perhaps, rather than doing your own books, you have been contracting with somebody locally to help out and you have probably realized just how frustrating it can be. Having to schedule an appointment, and then waiting until they are available. Then, when the appointment time finally rolls around, you come to the realization that it isn’t convenient for you any more since you are in the middle of a massive project.
Better Organization
Your business operations will be much smoother if you get your income statements, chart of accounts, and balance sheet organized, which will help you to understand the performance of your business better.
Month-End Close
You probably already use the saying “Another (birthday/vacation/fill-in-the-blank) in the books.” That’s actually accounting lingo and it refers to the “month-end books” that all small business owners need to refer to when determining how healthy their businesses are. If you choose UpToDate Bookkeeping, you can rest assured that your books will be reviewed and closed every month.
Year-End Report
You can finally breathe easy as you start wrangling your taxes. Your virtual bookkeeper will compile a year-end report for your business to help you when it comes to preparing your tax return.
So, are you looking forward to having more time in your day? Relief from the fear that your books could be wrong? A better picture of your business through regular financial statements?
Find out today just how virtual bookkeeping can help your business.