Why You Should Outsource Your Bookkeeping to Your Accountant

If you’re a small business owner in the UK, you likely handle many financial tasks yourself, including bookkeeping. But is going the DIY route best for your bottom line? There are many advantages to outsourcing your bookkeeping to your accountant. Here’s a look at the benefits:

How Can Outsourcing to Your Accountant Save You Time?

Bookkeeping is hugely time consuming, especially if finances aren’t your forte. Invoicing clients, tracking expenses, reconciling statements, recording transactions – it adds up to hours of work each week. When you engage your accountant for bookkeeping, you free up all that time for more important tasks like running your business.

Your accountant can also take over tax season preparations like financial statements, depreciation schedules, and payroll documentation. This gives you more time and mental bandwidth to focus on growing your company.

What Cost Savings Might You See?

At first glance, an accountant’s hourly rate may seem higher than doing your own books. But calculate your true hourly rate as a business owner – £50/hr? £100/hr? Does it make sense to spend hours on bookkeeping versus acquiring customers or developing products?

Outsourcing to your accountant also avoids investments like accounting software, training, and licensing. By spreading these costs across many clients, your accountant keeps prices reasonable for small businesses. Expect hourly rates from £50-150 for bookkeeping services.

How Can Your Accountant Improve Accuracy?

As a business owner, you likely lack extensive accounting expertise. DIY bookkeeping often leads to errors and issues down the road. Your accountant has years of training and stays current on evolving regulations – a huge advantage for producing accurate financials.

Leveraging your accountant’s skills reduces the risk of penalties for accounting mistakes. Their diligent work also provides confidence if you ever need to withstand a tax enquiry or investor scrutiny.

What Financial Insights Can Your Accountant Provide?

When you’re overwhelmed with daily bookkeeping, it’s impossible to see the bigger picture. Your accountant’s monthly reporting provides an objective view of your finances. They’ll flag issues like cash flow dips, profitability changes, and concerning trends for your attention.

These insights allow you to course correct as needed. Your accountant identifies problems early and provides actionable guidance to strengthen your financial position based on numbers, not hunches.

How Does Outsourcing Aid in Fraud Prevention?

Unfortunately, fraud is a real risk for growing small companies. When one person handles money in and money out, misconduct can go unnoticed – skimming cash, inflated expenses, fake vendors, etc.

Having your accountant handle bookkeeping and your Finance Manager, Director or owner approve payments adds essential checks and balances. This separation acts as an important fraud deterrent. Your accountant can also help quickly uncover any red flags if irregularities appear.

What Financial Visibility Will You Gain?

As a business leader, you need current visibility into performance to guide decisions. Shoebox accounting makes this impossible. Your accountant compiles all finances into organised books and financial statements monthly. You’ll gain clear insight into profitability, cash flow, balance sheet changes, and other key metrics.

How Will Your Accountant Advise Tax Strategies?

Come tax time, your accountant will already have your books perfectly organised with all needed documentation ready for filing. This makes tax prep fast, easy, and affordable. Even better, your accountant offers year-round tax planning and advice based on your real financial circumstances, not guesses. This allows you to legally minimise your tax liabilities.

How Do You Find the Right Accountant for Outsourced Bookkeeping?

Not every accountant excels at bookkeeping. Here are tips for choosing the right fit:

• Seek referrals from business peers who outsource bookkeeping successfully.
• Ask candidates specifically about their experience providing outsourced bookkeeping services.
• Inquire about their ongoing education and familiarity with the latest compliance rules.
• Evaluate their communication style and clarity during initial consultations.
• Assess their ability to explain financial reports and insights in understandable terms.
• Look for accountants who proactively advise tax strategies based on your books.

Key Questions to Ask Prospective Accountants

Here are some questions to ask to assess accountant candidates for outsourced bookkeeping:

Services:

• Do you provide dedicated bookkeeping services in addition to tax preparation?
• What specific tasks are included? Accounts payable/receivable? Payroll?
• How often will you provide financial reports? Can you create customised dashboards?

Qualifications:

• What accounting credentials and certifications do you hold? Are you a Chartered Accountant?
• How many years have you been practicing? How many as a dedicated bookkeeper?
• Do you have experience with my industry and business type?

Technology:

• What bookkeeping software do you regularly work in? Xero? QuickBooks Online?
• Can you automate syncing and data entry with my bank, POS, etc.?
• How do you securely back up client data and prevent unauthorised access?

Support Model:

• Will you be my primary point of contact or does a team handle my books?
• What are your response times for enquiries? How available are you by email, phone, or meetings?
• How often will we review my financial reports and performance together?

Fees & Billing:

• Do you charge hourly or offer monthly recurring rates? Are there minimums?
• What are your payment terms – retainer, prepayment, etc?
• What add-on fees apply for ad hoc advisory needs or tax planning?
• How can we streamline bookkeeping to maximise ROI?

Ready for a Better Bookkeeping Solution?

I hope this overview clearly demonstrates the benefits of leveraging your accountant for optimised bookkeeping. Their expertise allows you to reduce costs, save time, minimise tax liabilities, and gain financial clarity.

If you’re ready to focus on growth by outsourcing your bookkeeping, we’d love to help. Please reach out so we can discuss your needs and how we can collaborate seamlessly.

For more information contact Ballards LLP at 01905 794 504

Disclaimer. This article has been prepared for information purposes only. Formal professional advice is strongly recommended before making decisions on the topics discussed in this release. No responsibility for any loss to any person acting, or not acting, as a result of this release can be accepted by us, or any person affiliated with us.