Every entrepreneur reaches a point whereby they have to decide whether to seek additional help with their business or to invest their money elsewhere. The ability to make wise investments will determine the long term viability of your business. Taking this into account, one of the best investments you can make is in an accountant or bookkeeper. The decision to hire a freelancer or bring someone in on a full time basis depends on your needs (more on that later).
Some entrepreneurs make the mistake of getting help when it is “too late”. As their business grows quickly, their time becomes more valuable, and administrative duties should be kept to a minimum. Moreover, some entrepreneurs think that they can do it all on their own. Saying this, the decision to bring in an accountant or bookkeeper on a full time basis has to work for your business.
Notably, an entrepreneur at the beginning stages is unlikely to process many transactions As a result, it is worth doing it on their own. On the other hand, a rapidly growing business is likely to have more complex needs with regard to accounting. As a result, it is in their best interest to invest in an accountant or bookkeeper.
Accounting tools
We are lucky in the sense that there are many online tools which make entrepreneurship more streamlined. Web software such as Freshbooks and Quickbooks enable you to automate parts of your bookkeeping. However, each business is different, tax laws change and new opportunities arise. The role of the accountant is to make sure that your business meets all tax rules and is able to lower taxes using legal loopholes.
Despite the fact that there are a range of tools available, there are many benefits to having a freelancer or full time staff member who understands your business.
Is it time?
There are certain steps you should take in order to determine whether it makes sense to bring an accountant or bookkeeper in house.
With regard to costs, you can expect to pay a good accountant or bookkeeper $50 – $75 an hour, or a full time salary of $35,000 to $40,000. Notably, there are additional costs of bringing an accountant or bookkeeper in house. You will need to think about the costs of benefits, office costs etc. However, apps such as Slack enable you to cut costs by having full time employees work remotely.
Generally speaking, it makes sense to hire a full time bookkeeper if they allocate 35%+ of their working time to your business.
If your business is growing at a stratospheric pace, it is worth hiring for the future. One of the bottlenecks to growth is a lack of talent. Hiring the right people to support you is smart. Your time is limited; therefore, it makes sense to leverage the time and knowledge of others in order to grow your business.
Here are some other advantages of having a bookkeeper or accountant:
- The employee is able to better tailor their advice to your business. When hiring people on an “as needed” basis they won’t always be available. Moreover, it is much more challenging to build a relationship and establish trust.
- You are able to free up your time in order to use it on other parts of your business, and/or spend more time with loved ones.
- The accountant or bookkeeper is able to grow with your business, and this improves the efficiency of your business.
In conclusion, adding an accountant or bookkeeper to your business could be a wise investment. The good ones would add multiples of value to your business. However, make sure you take the time to conduct thorough research before hiring. You should consider reaching out to contacts or people in your industry in order to find out who they use.
Accounts and Legal provides accounting services to small and medium sized businesses with entrepreneurial aspirations. And aims to do it in a way that translates into growth. Their Commercial Managers typically have an industry specialism, so you can be sure you are dealing with someone who understands your business and your industry. www.accountsandlegal.co.uk