Benefits of Outsourcing Accounting Services for SMBs

Second, freelancers are usually contracted workers who are hired to help balance your books, while firms are dedicated accounting companies that solely focus on that goal. Having all of your bookkeeping together throughout the year will make tax season much easier. Up-to-date reports will be provided monthly throughout the bookkeeping process, giving you a good idea of how much you’ll owe when tax season hits. Bookkeepers can also help with tax preparation and can help you navigate your tax returns. Luckily, accounting and bookkeeping don’t have to be the business owner’s responsibility anymore. It’s becoming more and more common for businesses to outsource bookkeeping to take care of the pesky task of handling financial transaction records.

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of 7 leading brands in this category. If you had to choose one reason to invest in a qualified outsourced bookkeeping service, having accurate books come tax season is it. Many accountants offer bookkeeping as part of their accounting services or are willing to get you caught up before tax season.

Merritt Bookkeeping: Best overall

All options have pros and cons that depend on what you’re looking for from your accounting service. Outsourced bookkeeping streamlines the financial management process and is much more efficient than traditional in-house bookkeeping. Doing the bookkeeping yourself is a time-consuming task, time that you most likely don’t have as a business owner. When you outsource bookkeeping, you will save valuable time that can be put back into improving your business in other ways. Plus, full-time bookkeepers are experts in the field that can generate more thorough reports and documents that take some pressure off your back once tax season hits. Bookkeeping can be a headache for big and small business owners —so much so that 46% of business owners said it was their least favorite task.

• Though the process might look different for small vs. big businesses, the steps will generally be the same.
• Setting up a small business accounting system is easier than ever.
• More comprehensive needs are generally included in accounting services, like cash management, financial projections, succession planning, fractional CFO services, and more.
• We don’t guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.
• If you need in-house support but can’t afford to hire a bookkeeper full-time, consider hiring one part-time, and increasing their hours as needed.

Then you can turn to accounting firms and tax professionals for just tax preparation, reducing your overall costs. Virtual, outsourced, and online are often used interchangeably when referring to bookkeeping and accounting. However, a virtual bookkeeper or virtual accountant can sometimes refer to accountants or CPAs who outsourced bookkeeping solutions work out of their homes and contract out their services individually. In contrast, outsourced bookkeeping and accounting nearly always refers to accountants with an accounting firm who handle your books from their own office. At LBMC, our mission is to support entrepreneurial businesses at every stage to go further.

Why Do Businesses Use Outsourced Accounting Services?

Our focus is to give you the peace-of-mind needed so you can focus on what you love about your business.

CPAs and similar organizations follow the best practices in the industry. They adhere to most standard procedures to remain high-quality service providers. At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don’t guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services. With Bench’s Catch Up Bookkeeping services, a Bench bookkeeper will work through past months of disorganized bookkeeping to bring your accounts up to date. As you evaluate different outsourced CFO options, there are several things to bear in mind to ensure you make the right choice.

How do I choose the best outsourced bookkeeping for my business?

Some companies charge by the number of accounts you need them to manage, while other companies charge based on your company’s monthly expenses. Typically, the lower your expenses (and the fewer your accounting needs), the less you’ll be charged. Ignite Spot Accounting delivers heftier reports than many other cloud accounting providers we checked out for this piece. Along with typical financial reporting (like profit and loss reports and balance sheets), you’ll get a KPI (key performance indicator) report and profitability analysis, among others. However, Ignite Spot doesn’t list its virtual accounting prices upfront.

Websites like Trustpilot, G2, and GetApp are great for comparing different services and software. That’s why it’s important to do your research, read online reviews, and ask friends what services they use. They are usually much more well-informed than certified accountants as far as taxes go. They can also help you evaluate what you’re doing well (and not so well) in your business. When you have up-to-date books thanks to your bookkeeper, filing your taxes will be a lot less stressful. Accountants and bookkeepers can help with tax prep, while it’s all a tax preparer does.