Now that you’ve set up your business and have everything rolling except your books. It would be tempting to try saving a few dollars by swinging your axe at keeping the books relevant. As adventurous as it may sound, it requires a prescribed set of skills. Also, if things go awry, you may end up spending more than what you would have on a bookkeeper.
So how do you tailor the bookkeeping services to your requirements with optimal pricing? There are a multitude of variables that need to be accounted for before deciding upon the type of bookkeeping service you may require. Variables like company size and lifecycle, number of monthly transactions, number of employees and how payroll is processed, number of expense accounts, credit cards, invoices to send out, bills to pay, number of balances sheets to reconcile will help you understand if you require a full-time bookkeeper or if a part-time gig would suffice.
In the early stages, most small businesses are chiefly concerned with compliance – paying bills, getting paid, recording transactions, ensuring payroll accuracy and following state and federal regulations. However, over time they start putting more emphasis on the need for timely, accurate financial reports and intelligence. At this juncture, the business will demand more advanced bookkeeping services as the need to make more data-driven decisions will increase.
So, the first question you need to ask yourself is whether you just need compliance – basic bookkeeping – or if you’re ready to upgrade to advanced bookkeeping that will help you drive increased profits improved cash flow and growth. Since both require very different levels of effort and skillset as you can imagine, the cost for advanced bookkeeping services is much higher.
Role of a Bookkeeper in a Small Business:
The pivotal role of bookkeepers is maintaining your books closely every day. They generally do all data entry into accounting ledgers or software.
Bookkeepers focus on recording the financial transactions of a business through maintaining records, tracking transactions, and creating financial reports. Also, if need be, they also take part in other activities such as
• Entering, Coding and Paying Bills
• Creating and Sending Customer Invoices
• Collecting Past Due Accounts Receivable
• Reconciling Bank and Credit Card Accounts
• Maintaining Vendors for Accounts Payable and Clients for Accounts Receivable
Primarily, there are three choices at your disposal. And knowing how they cater to the various needs of a business will help you cut your coat according to the cloth.
1. Full-time bookkeeping services:
According to Glassdoor, listings in cities with a high cost of living show that full-time bookkeepers charge as much as $70,000, excluding the perks, health insurance, paid vacations, and overhead involved. A full-time bookkeeper will handle the day-to-day accounting functions for your office. Although, keeping your books in order and up-to-date is the foundation of the financial strength of any business, for a small or medium business spending $70K on bookkeeping would be practically pointless.
2. Part-time bookkeeping services:
The rates of part-time bookkeepers vary widely. A rough estimate for internal part-time bookkeepers averages at around $20/hour largely based on the job description and location. Part-time bookkeepers usually perform basic bookkeeping duties that would require supervision. If you’re one who can manage your job and do some accounting each month but need an extra hand, a part-time bookkeeper would be ideal. They can undertake tasks like inputting receipts and tracking employee timesheets, accounts receivable, and accounts payable.
3. Outsourced bookkeeping services:
Outsourcing bookkeeping services is one of the most popular options for small and medium businesses these days. Just as in the case of hiring an internal bookkeeper, defining their roles and functions in a granular way will be key. You’ll have to decide upon the functions you would like to outsource and the functions you’d like to retain. The average price of outsourcing your bookkeeping varies between $500 to $2,500 a month depending on the number of transactions and complexity of services required. A key benefit of Outsourcing is it gives you the ability to customize the services you receive to your bookkeeping needs.
With the unfair degree of skepticism associated with bookkeeping, many businesses are concerned about switching over to outsourcing, not understanding how the pieces stitched together. But with today’s advancements in technology, outsourcing has never been easier and safer. Outsourcing can provide advanced and less costly bookkeeping services than a typical in-house bookkeeper.
Outsourcing comes with another added advantage. Besides effective cost-cutting, it also enables freeing up resources to take care of other operational roles. Outsource and free up your good employees to help focus on growth!
Velan Bookkeeping services:
We at Velan are equipped with skilled accountants possessing over a minimum of 7 years of experience in the domain of bookkeeping. Available round the clock at your disposal, we cater to services with the utmost sensitivity and sensibility that the work demands. With encomiums and testimonials speaking for themselves, one needn’t think twice before calling us. Our s bookkeeping services price is highly competitive and guarantee international standards in terms of delivery. We cost less than an in-house accountant’s salary exclusive of his paid vacations, incentives, and bonuses. Some of the services we provide are listed below:
a. Bank Reconciliation
b. Statement of Assets and Liabilities
c. Accounts Receivable and Payable
d. P & L Statements
e. Payroll Services
f. Tax Preparation
Call us today!!! And give your business the head start that it deserves!