Does anyone like to do their own taxes? My guess is that the answer is largely “No.” Even if you have not chosen to outsource your bookkeeping, you probably decided long ago to hire an accountant for your taxes.
How about sending out invoices or paying bills? Do you like doing that? Or creating an annual budget… or doing payroll? Have you ever considered delegating those responsibilities?
What if I said you never have to do these ever again?
It takes much time to keep your own records, not to mention that it can get boring, tedious, and sometimes confusing. Fortunately, there are bookkeeping services that can do all of these jobs as well as take care of all your company’s financial needs.
Outsource your Bookkeeping – Where to start?
Managing Accounts Payable
Accounts payable are records of money you owe to others and good place to start when you decide to outsource your bookkeeping. Your bookkeeper will keep track of how much you have paid and still owe. They will even write checks and mail the payments if you want. Bookkeeping services make it so much easier to keep track of your cash. They insure sure your vendors get paid and manage your cash balance..
The one decision you will need to make is how to get your bills to your bookkeeper. You want to make good use of your time. The best way is to keep an envelope where you gather all the bills each week and your bookkeeper has them picked up by their staff or courier service.
If you are somewhat of a controlling business owner, you might want to keep a record of what you send over. If you can relinquish some of that control, ask your bookkeeper to scan each bill and attach it to the transaction in QuickBooks Online or put it in a shared file in Google Drive, Dropbox or EverNote.
Taking care of Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable are records of the money owed to you. Too many times we hear that small business owners d0n’t have enough money because they have not invoiced their clients. A bookkeeper can manage these by keeping track of all the sales you make. They will then make sure you get paid by your customers by sending out invoices on a regular basis. They will also call customers who haven’t paid by their due date to get your money for you.
The challenge in delegating your invoicing comes when you have very diverse invoices and you are not tracking your work in your accounting program. A good professional will help you come up with a system where you can outsource your bookkeeping processes.
Payroll
If you have employees, bookkeepers calculate your weekly or bi-weekly payroll and either cut the checks or pay your employees through auto deposit. They also make sure the correct amount in taxes is taken out of each employee’s checks as well as file all of your employee related taxes.
When you do your own payroll, it takes a good amount of time out of your day. That’s why you should let your bookkeeping service handle that: to save some time in your busy schedule as well as take the pressure off you to stay up to date with state and federal employee regulations.
Taxes
These can be such a pain to do on your own, plus they are often confusing! It is much easier to have an accountant help you, if only to avoid having the IRS (Internal Revenue Service, or the US government branch that collects taxes) audit your business. Nobody wants to be audited, so why not avoid mistakes in your taxes by having a professional do them? Your accountant does all the hard work and all you have to do is sign where they tell you to do so. You will save so much time and not get in trouble with the IRS.
Bookkeeping vs. Accounting – Which do I need to hire?
Bookkeepers record financial transactions in chronological order on a regular basis. Because accounting software automates many of the processes, most bookkeepers will classify and summarize financial data in financial reports. Accomplished, trained professionals have graduated from accredited college programs and keep up with changes in accounting practices and regulations.
An accountant takes this information and interprets, analyzes, and summarizes the financial data in order to not only do your taxes but to provide good information that helps you make solid business decisions. Accountants also need additional education, including a bachelor’s or advanced degree. Accountants who have passed the required tests become a CPA.
First Steps
Why create more work for yourself in your already busy schedule?
- Outsource your bookkeeping for your ongoing financial control.
- Hire an accounting service for your taxes.
- Spend less time crunching numbers and more time doing what you love.
Accountants and bookkeepers are trained for these jobs and they know the best ways to save you money. Once tax season comes around, your bookkeeper can provide your accountant with your records. You’ll be grateful for these two professionals as they save you time and stress by preparing your taxes for you!
If you need more clarity in anything I have mentioned above, 
At In The Black Accounting, our #1 priority is to give you the tools that you need to run your business in a format that you understand. If you don’t understand your financial statements we can give you other reports that are more meaningful to you. If you have a question that we can help you with, call, email, text, smoke signal our team!!
