Outsourcing Your Small Business Bookkeeping

Many small business owners find it time-consuming and frustrating to deal with the bookkeeping that is a necessary evil when owning and growing a business. I have found several common complaints from small business owners.

COMMON COMPLAINTS:
•    It’s time consuming
•    I don’t really understand it
•    How do I know I am getting full tax advantages?
•    My business is so small I am not “worth” anyone’s time to help me
•    I’m so behind and unorganized no one else will be able to make sense of this
•    It’s hard to trust someone else, what if they try to “clean me out”?
So where do you start on what can seem to be so overwhelming?
If you decide to outsource your bookkeeping there are several things you should keep in mind in order to choose the right person to assist you.

TOP TEN GUIDELINES FOR CHOOSING THE RIGHT BOOKKEEPER:

  1. Most importantly: do they have a bookkeeping / accounting background? Personally, I believe that real-world experience is the best teacher.
  2. Assure that the bookkeeper you chose has worked with your entity structure before. For example: working with bookkeeping on S-Corps is different than an LLC.
  3. If you have employees assure they have working experience with Payroll. There are many deadlines associated with Federal and State requirements and missing a deadline can be quite costly in both fines and penalties assessed by government agencies.
  4. If they run into something they cannot do, what resources do they utilize and have access to make sure YOUR books are kept properly?
  5. What software packages are they proficient in?
  6. Are they familiar with your industry or at least the type of accounting used in your day to day business?
  7. How do we coordinate the transfer of documents/data back and forth?
  8. How does that person protect the privacy of your data?
  9. Are they willing to do a trial period?
  10. Equally as important as #1 be sure to check the references of the person

As you discuss this list with a potential bookkeeper make notes of their responses, which will make it easier for you if you are interviewing more than one candidate.
Once you have outsourced your bookkeeping keep in mind there will be at least a month or two that you will need to communicate frequently and clearly with your new “partner”. Every company has a different way of operating that will always take a short period of time for a new bookkeeper to get accustomed to. Have patience during this time. The rewards and freedom you feel from the reduced anxiety and frustration of keeping your own books will truly be worth it!