Most small and medium-sized businesses have been looking for efficient ways to save their financial resources since they’re already running short on them due to everything happening since the start of 2020.
As a small business owner looking for methods to save costs, you must take advantage of all available cost-saving strategies. Outsourcing a virtual bookkeeping service is one way to maximize efficiency while saving money.
Since virtual bookkeeping services have been shown to be more cost-effective than having an internal accounting team, businesses have recently begun to adopt them.
There are a number of problems with in-house bookkeeping. One obvious issue, though, is the high cost of adding a new bookkeeper to your team. Fortunately, shifting bookkeeping off-site can significantly reduce many of these costs and, in some situations, completely eliminate them.
Before going any further into the savings that come with outsourcing virtual bookkeeping services, let’s first talk about what they actually are.
What is virtual bookkeeping?
As you might have guessed, virtual bookkeeping refers to bookkeeping services provided online rather than by full-time staff members employed by the business. Businesses can benefit from remote bookkeeper without having to worry about the extra expenses that typically come with it.
How can virtual bookkeeping services save money for your business?
There are a number of ways that outsourced remote bookkeeping can relieve you of the time-consuming, expensive, and labor-intensive processes associated with hiring an internal person to do bookkeeping tasks. The following are our top 5 that you should consider.
- Virtual bookkeeping will help you skip the expensive hiring processes
Even if you find a bookkeeper with a meager monthly salary, the hiring process may end up costing you a lot of money.
In some industries, the hiring process may even end up costing $5,000 or more in most situations.
The cost of employing a new employee is affected by some factors, including:
- Advertising fees
- Recruiter fees
- Potential travel expenses
- Sign-on bonuses
- Referral bonuses
Obviously, these additional costs vary from business to business, and not all of them must have these when hiring someone for in-house work.
Conversely, virtual bookkeeping does not really involve a hiring process. Although it takes some research to ensure your company chooses the best remote bookkeeper, it is far less expensive than hiring a new employee.
- The total cost of virtual bookkeeping vs. an in-house employee
It can be expensive to hire a full-time bookkeeper, and we don’t just mean in terms of salary. Regardless of the role for which you are hiring, there are a number of extra costs that come along with hiring a full-time employee, including:
- Employee benefits
- Additional training
- Potential relocation costs
- Office space
- Vacation pay
Even online bookkeeping services are, of course, not free. While you must pay a certain charge for the service, you certainly will not pay all the extra costs associated with hiring a full-time employee.
- Virtual bookkeeping can help you boost productivity
Any internal bookkeeper you hire will require time off for vacation or sick days. One way or another, they will require paid time off. These situations are 100% unavoidable. Even worse, if your bookkeeper is out of the office for several weeks, your books will go unattended. In the long term, it may cost you more money if your books are neglected for long periods.
On the other hand, shifting your bookkeeping off-site will guarantee that your bookkeeping tasks are constantly updated. Bookkeeping firms don’t need vacation days since they have teams of qualified experts handling these tasks for you.
- Using virtual bookkeeping improves operational efficiency.
Even if you have some accounting or bookkeeping knowledge, it might be challenging to determine whether the bookkeeper you hired is the best candidate for the position. And figuring this out can be a bit difficult. Companies occasionally make poor hires, even after thorough interviews and lengthy conversations with candidates. A significant number of businesses have reported that poor hires have cost them up to $25,000.
Undoubtedly, it is likewise possible to select the wrong virtual bookkeeping firm. However, choosing a reliable virtual bookkeeping service can help you avoid many of the issues connected with hiring the wrong in-house bookkeeper. This can be done by using everything from internet reviews to referrals.
- Using virtual bookkeeping helps your business scale accordingly
A bookkeeper will cost you as per industry standards, regardless of how many customers you have or how much your company makes. Even if your company is going through a difficult period or you operate a seasonal business, you cannot expect your employee to work elsewhere. At the same time, you focus on attracting new clients. Do you continue to pay them salary even though they aren’t working during your off-season? Obviously, no.
Since many virtual bookkeeping firms offer various service tiers catered to various business sizes, you only pay for what you actually require. And if your business operates on a seasonal basis, you don’t have to worry about retaining someone on staff during those slow seasons.
Get the Right Virtual Bookkeeping Firm and Save Yourself the Stress
There are numerous virtual bookkeeping firms out there, all of whom claim to offer the best service. And choosing one out can be a challenging undertaking.
With the Edge Capital bookkeeping service, you are guaranteed that your books will be managed effectively and that you are always kept informed, with the ability to access your data on a secure server.
Final Thoughts
It’s no secret that businesses are looking for methods to save costs wherever possible. There are some situations where cost-cutting is beneficial, and there are others where it might not be the best choice.
The beautiful thing about using virtual bookkeeping is that you’ll not only save money but also get a highly effective solution to manage your books, payroll, financial statements and P & L and ensure they’re constantly up to date.
Virtual bookkeeping services are an excellent choice for you, no matter the size of your business or the industry you operate in.