When to Outsource Your Bookkeeping

So you’ve started your own business, and you’re investing as much time and resource into making it a success. But are you neglecting the day-to-day duties of keeping your finances in good condition?

Maybe you should be looking to outsource the bookkeeping?

For any startup, the key to keeping the dream alive is a realistic budget, some hard work and a resilient approach to the challenges ahead! We can get so caught up in exciting new ventures that often we can neglect some of the less exciting housekeeping duties, the bookkeeping.

Depending on how organised and knowledgeable you are, maybe it isn’t such an arduous task to keep on top of. But there will still come a time when you need to consider the benefit of buying yourself a few extra hours here and there, to do what you enjoy most, be it growing your business or being more present with your loved ones.

So, when do you get your own bookkeeper? Is it worth it? How do you value the need for one? How much should you spend? All these questions are best thought up sooner rather than later, so here are a few things to keep in mind first:

Step one. Tally up those minutes!

Consider all time spent on anything bookkeeping related, from the point of having a receipt in your hand to getting it into your bookkeeping system, and anything in between – organising receipts, clearing emails, naming files.

A good concept of how much time you’re spending per month will be the foundation to calculating how beneficial a bookkeeper can be.

Step two. Forget about bookkeeping (hoorah)!

Instead, spend some time thinking about what your strengths are… Do you have a talent for creating engaging content? Are you gifted in the art of sales? Is customer service your passion?

The key to any successful venture is to stick to your strengths, and outsource areas you’re not so strong at. So be honest. Now is not the time to be learning new skills which don’t add value to your business. Focus on what you’re good at.

How much would you charge for your time? What is your time worth?

With key strengths identified, and a good concept of how much spare time you can gain, you’ll be able to paint a good picture of how valuable you are to your business and in which fields.

By keeping this in mind you’ll be able to visualise key areas of how those extra few hours a month will help you generate more income.

Hopefully these key concepts will help you realise that a bookkeeper can be invaluable to your business. Not just because of the skillsets they can bring, but because of the limitless potential they can free up in yourself. There is no limit to what YOU can achieve!

If you’re able to reinvest time gained back into your business – or anything else you feel is important for that matter – the benefits of a good bookkeeper will always outweigh the costs.