How to Save Time by Outsourcing Bookkeeping Services

A few years back, a colleague did an exercise where she wrote down all the things she did during the day. (This sounds horrifying in many ways.) She did this for about a week and, being the boss that she is, was confident she knew how her time would be divided: most of it on scaling her business, a little on the admin. On day seven, I’m sure you can already guess the twist–she was very, very wrong. And this isn’t just an isolated anecdote – Plum Consulting conducted an extensive study showing that on average, small business owners spend over 120 days each year on administrative work. Further, bookkeeping tasks made up an entire quarter of that time. Outsourcing bookkeeping services might feel risky if you are on the brink of growing your business to the next level but here’s three reasons why this still applies to you:

Reason #1: Bookkeepers Know More Than You.

Not about everything! But about financial reports, bookkeeping, and the dreaded tax audits? Almost certainly. And while a good business owner knows all the elements of their business, a great business owner knows when it’s time to learn from someone else or outsource it completely. Whether you’re looking for someone with knowledge about QuickBooks for advertising agencies or local bookkeeping services for your small business – finding someone who can read your financial reports and help you understand them is essential to finding the weak points in your business and make them better.

Reason #2: Many Bookkeepers Offer a Variety of Services.

Many bookkeepers are now completely digital. This means that rather than having an in-house bookkeeper who you pay $60,000+ a year plus benefits, you have the option to have a bookkeeping firm who can take on those tasks, virtually. And even if your budget can’t afford outsourcing bookkeeping services on a monthly basis because your business is small, some bookkeepers will provide DIY training so you can save on cost but still get the support your business needs to thrive. Lastly, if your books are in rough shape (hey, no judgement!), the right bookkeeping firm will be able to “clean-up” your books to get you where you need to be. The point is, finding a bookkeeper to add to your team that can help you get and stay on track, is easier than ever. 

Reason #3: Time is Money.

Forgive the cliche on this one, but the truth is that our hours add up to our wealth. SCORE showed in a study that 58% of small business owners spend over an entire week of full-time work in a year just prepping finances for taxes with 40% spending over TWO whole weeks on it! Imagine what you could get done with two extra weeks for your business. That’s a lot of marketing, networking, branding, growing, and selling that you could (and should!) be doing.

It can be difficult to let someone assist with those parts of your business but there are questions you can ask and articles you can read to help guide you and give you the peace of mind you need. Plus, you can keep meeting with different bookkeepers until you find the best fit for you! There’s a reason that over 50% of small business owners say that the biggest piece of advice they could give to new entrepreneurs is to create a solid business and financial plan–get a strong system and team in place and you’ve got the resources and time to level up!