In-House vs Outsource Bookkeeping Roles
There must be someone who oversees a company’s accounting functions, regardless of its size. Bookkeeping was traditionally handled internally; indeed, it is still held in-house by many companies worldwide. But has it always been the best option, and is it the best option for your company? What if you could outsource all your accounting work to a bookkeeping subcontractor – a company with the expertise to manage your company’s finances efficiently? That’s exactly what smart companies are doing today. Are you unsure about what is best for your business? Here’s a breakdown of the differences between outsourcing and in-house bookkeeping – which is better, and why – so you can make more informed business decisions.
In-house bookkeeping
The Pros
A full-time employee who knows your business: An in-house bookkeeper is normally a full-time employee. That gives them first-hand knowledge of your company and how it operates. Large corporations have the resources and enough accounting work to justify hiring a full-time bookkeeper.
The Cons
Hiring in-house is difficult: Finding a qualified and experienced bookkeeper is not easy. These people are in demand, and finding the right person takes time. If you don’t know the credentials or experience to look for, the person you end up hiring might not be able to meet your business standards or needs.
Hiring in-house is expensive: You could also hire someone without prior experience. Finding the right person for this job and then hiring, training, and onboarding them will take time and money that you may not have.
A full-time bookkeeper can be a waste of precious resources: As a startup, you may not have enough business to hire a full-time employee. Even for small businesses, hiring a part-time employee is impractical due to the minimum wage requirements.
Your bookkeeping team lacks expertise: Accounting and bookkeeping are incredibly complex tasks that require in-depth industry knowledge and experience for optimal efficiency. A tall task if you have one person or possibly even a small team to manage your business in-house.
Outsourcing Bookkeeping
The Pros
Trained professionals at your service: Dedicated outsourcing accounting or bookkeeping firms have teams of trained and experienced bookkeepers who, over the years, have worked with various businesses. When you hire a bookkeeping subcontractor, you have access to their teams and expertise.
Pay less for highly experienced services: When you outsource, you only pay for the services you avail. Employee costs such as pensions and NI, office equipment, office space, time off, and insurance are not incurred. You pay less; the individual who conducts the work for you may have much more experience than the price paid for their expertise.
A further benefit – outsourcing to a bookkeeping subcontractor allows you to scale up and use more services just-in-time, either when your business grows or if it’s scaling down during a slump.
Access to a wealth of knowledge dedicated to your business needs: Using a bookkeeping subcontractor, you can work with a company that provides financial services across industries. It brings a wealth of experience, the industry’s best practices, and specialised knowledge, ensuring you receive excellent industry-specific services. Along side that, you can be sure that your books are always up-to-date and strictly compliant.
Access to accounting tools and systems: You don’t simply pay for a professional service when you outsource. You get a team that uses advanced accounting system and tools – at no extra cost to your bottom line – to ensure your business needs are met. If you hire an in-house team, these tools and systems, and training your team to use them, will be an additional cost.
Final thoughts
Bookkeeping shouldn’t be taken lightly; from ensuring your books are straight, to the day-to-day recording of all your financial information; from filing taxes and returns to managing audits; from payroll support to managing accounts and providing insights into your business’s financial performance. There’s a lot that is involved in bookkeeping. For startups and small businesses, all this is managed on a smaller scale, but it’s still difficult to be managed by an in-house bookkeeper. Hiring a bookkeeping subcontractor ensures an expert team takes care of all your bookkeeping and accounting chores. You also get access to accounting and finance expertise and a host of cost and time-saving benefits that safeguard that your business needs are met.
Do you need a dedicated bookkeeper to oversee your company’s finances? With Penny’s Booking Services, you get more than a dedicated team to manage your bookkeeping activities. You also get a high level of experience and professionalism. Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help you.