Outsourced accounting services, also known as virtual accounting, offer many benefits to help you keep your business on the right track through the inevitable ups and downs. Greater efficiency, security, and long-term cost savings, for starters.
Unfortunately, too many small businesses don’t get the help they need until they’re in financial trouble, like when their company faces an audit. At that point, it’s like trying to mop the floor while the water faucet is running and the sink is overflowing.
Here are ten reasons you should make this worthwhile investment for your business before the need for help becomes an emergency.
10 Benefits of Outsourced Accounting Services
1. Save time and money
You might think you can’t afford to outsource your accounting. But the reality is the cost of cleaning up a major financial mistake could be far more time-consuming and expensive than preventing it in the first place. Even worse, a single mistake could potentially lead to the failure of your business.
What about an in-house accounting department? Well, the overhead costs of an in-house team of accountants and bookkeepers can add up quickly. There’s the mandatory insurance and taxes involved with hiring employees, and the health benefits, payroll, and facility costs. Plus, there’s the time involved with hiring, training, and managing an in-house team
Outsourcing accounting tasks to a virtual team is a more straightforward, cost-effective solution for many small businesses. By outsourcing, you can save time and money, not to mention a lot of peace of mind.
2. Streamline your operations
Efficiency is the name of the game when your business is rapidly growing. We all want to get more done faster.
Managing your accounting functions can be time-consuming on top of the day-to-day tasks of running a business. Rather than chasing after unpaid invoices or manually issuing checks, you can automate these processes so you barely even have to think about them. An online bill payment platform like Bill.com can help streamline your Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable.
3. Real-time access to financial data
Remember life before the cloud? It was a flurry of paperwork, staplers, calculators, file folders, and filing cabinets. And if you lost a single piece of paper, you’re basically flat out of luck.
Cloud accounting software has transformed finance and accounting for businesses of all sizes. Real-time financial data is available at the touch of a button — virtually anytime, anywhere.
4. Reliable and accurate financial records
It’s easy to fall behind with balancing the books for a small or mid-sized business. Outdated financial records can mean you’re stuck playing a guessing game regarding the financial health of your business.
Having consistently accurate and up-to-date financial records can be a total game-changer for your business. You can have greater confidence in your numbers and make well-informed business decisions about the future. Even better, you can quickly identify and address any issues that could negatively impact your cash flow.
Having consistently accurate and up-to-date financial records can be a total game-changer for your business.
5. Reduce risk for your business
Big and small businesses need to maintain proper internal controls to protect against fraud, theft, and basic human error.
By outsourcing your accounting and bookkeeping services, you have a clear separation of duties and greater oversight to help mitigate any risks.
However, when your business is lean on resources and has just a few people filling multiple roles, this can mean less oversight and greater risk. Without proper risk management, your business could end up in a heap of trouble with the IRS while wrecking your credibility with customers and investors.
By outsourcing your accounting and bookkeeping services, you have a clear separation of duties and greater oversight to help mitigate any risks.
6. Get support from bonafide financial experts
You can’t be an expert in everything, no matter how hard you try (sorry). You shouldn’t have to juggle the responsibilities of running a business while trying to be a financial wizard at the same time.
A team of experienced virtual accountants can handle all the ins and outs of your company’s finances with very little oversight.
7. Be better prepared for tax season
If you find yourself scrambling at tax time to organize your financial records, track your expenses, and calculate your overall earnings, you’re doing it wrong.
When an outsourced accounting service maintains your finances consistently throughout the year, tax season takes on a whole new meaning. You might even be surprised at how smoothly filing your taxes can go.
8. Stay on track with payroll
The success of your business relies heavily on the happiness and well-being of the people behind it. To maintain a happy and healthy workplace, you must always take care of your employees and pay them on time.
An outsourced accounting team can help your company issue accurate, on-time paychecks to your employees and ensure you stay on top of your payroll taxes throughout the year.
9. Breathe easier in times of crisis
There will always be external factors beyond your control that might negatively impact your business. Financial downturns, natural disasters, global pandemics – and sometimes all of the above, all at once (we’re looking at you, 2020).
Having the rock-solid support of a financial accounting team is never more important than in times of crisis. The unpredictability of life and business is just another reason why maintaining accurate, up-to-date records is so critical.
For example, when our clients at FusePhase suddenly needed to apply for financial assistance due to the COVID-19 crisis, we were able to prepare and submit their applications quickly because their finances were already in order.
10 . Focus more on growing your business
The ability to focus on growing your business is perhaps the most important benefit of all. When the day-to-day accounting and bookkeeping tasks aren’t needlessly sucking up your time and energy, you and your staff can focus more on improving your core business.
Also, if your outsourced accounting firm offers the added support of an Operational CFO, you can have greater financial insights that will inform your overall business strategy. The guidance of an Operational CFO can be a critical asset when it comes to forecasting and budgeting through every stage of your business.
Read more: Controller vs. CFO: What’s the Difference?
Summary: Why outsource your accounting?
In short, outsourcing your accounting means having financial experts’ critical support and guidance whenever you need it.
With a knowledgeable and reliable team backed by cloud accounting software, you never have to guess about the financial health of your business.
Ready to try it out?
FusePhase is a virtual accounting team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We do far more than push numbers around – we work with our clients to ensure they have a better understanding of what their numbers mean to their business.
Reach out to us today if you’d like to learn how we could work together!