DIY bookkeeping for your small business is tempting to save costs. Here are some compelling reasons to leave this important business function to a professional.
1. You don’t have time
As an entrepreneur, think about all the things that you do in a day. Many of us frequently struggle to complete our to-do lists and feel like there are not enough hours in the day.
Bookkeeping takes an enormous amount of time, energy, and knowledge. And, it must be kept up on a regular basis, whether that is daily, weekly, or monthly.
By hiring a professional bookkeeper, you can recover that precious time, which would have been spent on bookkeeping, to focus on all those tasks that you need to complete, so that you can grow your business. You may even find that you have a little extra time left over to spend with friends and family.
2. Eliminate the fear and reduce your stress
Many people dread thinking about bookkeeping, let alone doing bookkeeping. It is a task that creates fear and stress, often because it is time consuming and daunting, and most people don’t know where to start, or afraid to make a mistake. Many people struggle with this and simply cannot get past this and manage to find ways to put it off, to do something that is, in your mind, ‘more important’, which only serves to compound you fears and stress.
Hire a Bookkeepers and leave the task of reconciling your accounts and organizing your records to an expert. Be free of that stress, enjoy the peace of mind and focus on what you do best.
3. Better allocation of time and resources
Bookkeeping is a time-consuming process. For many entrepreneurs and business people, spending time on bookkeeping means taking time away from developing their products or services, or on marketing themselves to garner some attention. Every minute spent on bookkeeping is a minute lost on marketing, team building, product development, and all the other key success factors that will help your business grow.
Hire a bookkeeper and you can allocate your precious time and resources more efficiently so that you can spend more of your time building your business. Ironically, more business means more bookkeeping—it’s a vicious circle!
4. Reduce time and extra costs at year-end
Unless you’ve had experience with it in the past, many business owners lack the necessary skill set to prepare bookkeeping records that are complete and accurate. This often leads to a great deal of extra work (and expense!) at the end of the year, for the accountant and tax preparer, to properly reconcile your records so that they can be used to prepare financial statements or tax returns.
A bookkeeper will ensure that your business’ records are ready for use by the accountant and tax preparer. In fact, bookkeepers often assist accountants and tax preparers by creating and providing records and analysis that are accurate and easily understood by the accountant or tax preparer. This in turn, helps to reduce any additional time and costs at the end of the year, when you must prepare financial statements or a tax return.
5. Accurate records lead to better financial oversight
It is a huge competitive advantage when you can make critical decisions on the fly, to correct problems before they become too big, or to take advantage of opportunities when they arise. By having up to date, accurate financial records, business owners and managers can make real time decisions that have meaningful impact on their business. This is one reason why you need to maintain your books on a regular basis, not just at year-end.
Hire a professional bookkeeper and throughout the year, bookkeepers can provide you with budgets, forecasts, detailed analysis, or provide monthly, quarterly and annual analysis of revenues, expenses, and profits. These and other critical reports help you make key decisions that directly impact your key success factors such as resources and efficiencies.
However, if you wait until the end of the year to look at your books or do some analysis, it may be too late. Opportunities may have passed you by and any problems may have compounded to be very costly and difficult to resolve.
However, if you wait until the end of the year to look at your books or do some analysis, it may be too late. Opportunities may have passed you by and problems may have compounded to be very costly and difficult to resolve.
6. Don’t forget about your remittances
A good bookkeeper is aware of the many government remittance deadlines imposed on their clients —and is also aware of the significant consequences when late filing those remittances.
Hire a bookkeeper to calculate your remittance requirements well before the deadline, and even fill out the prescribed forms that must be filed with your remittances. He or she will also ensure that you are aware of the filing deadline and the amount due, and work with you to ensure that payment is made on time and that the appropriate forms are filed.
This will save you from paying additional penalties and interest and possible scrutiny from the government.
7. Organization of records and assistance with audits
The Canada Revenue Agency, and other government agencies, may conduct audits of your company’s records, for tax and other purposes. Auditors need to be able to trace the numbers, from your tax return, back to the financial statements, back to the bookkeeping records, and ultimately, back to the receipt itself. If they cannot easily trace these numbers, they will likely assume that the amount reported is incorrect and will reassess your return.
A professional bookkeeper compiles your records, in a neat and orderly manner, and will be able to guide the auditor through the numbers to follow the trail. Without this critical assistance, many businesses often find it difficult to prove the numbers or find the receipts, which usually results in an assessment of additional taxes, penalties, and interest.
8. Tracking receivables and payables
Do you have trouble ensuring that you are collecting all your receivables, or paying your bills on time? Have you forgotten about some older accounts?
Hire a bookkeepers to assist you with tracking your accounts receivables and accounts payable. They will help to ensure that you are aware of any outstanding receivables that you should be collecting, or will give you a heads up on your payables so that you can take advantage of any discount terms offered by suppliers. These actions will help put money back into your pocket.
These are just some of the reasons why you should hire a professional bookkeeper. But if you are still not sure whether it is a good idea for you and your business, call your us for a discussion. We are always here to help you, no matter what.
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