Sat Nov 28, 2020 | Alan Lefkowitz | Bookkeeping Services, Business, Virtual Accounting Services
Three Questions to Ask Before Hiring A Virtual Bookkeeper
Virtual bookkeeper services are a popular and cost-effective strategy for managing your business’s accounting. Here’s how to get started and hire the right company.
Bookkeepers manage vital aspects of a business’s finances. However, hiring a full-time professional is impractical for many small businesses. Even large companies may only need seasonal bookkeeping and accounting services around tax time or to handle a particular project.
A virtual, part-time bookkeeper can be an intelligent accounting decision. However, navigating all the online bookkeeping, accounting companies, and individual contractors out there can be a headache for a small business owner.
If you’re interested in getting started, here are a few questions to bear in mind as you consider online bookkeeping services to ensure that your team is adding someone trustworthy and professional before you hand over your books, credit cards, and financial data.
Question 1: Does my business need a virtual bookkeeper?
An online bookkeeping professional can do everything an on-site worker would do except shoot the breeze in the break room. You might consider virtual bookkeeping to help with business tasks, including, but not limited to:
- Entering transactions into your accounting system
- Reconciling credit card and bank accounts
- Overseeing accounts receivable and accounts payable
- Administering payroll
- Tracking monthly expenses and cash flow
Accounting technology automatically tracks a lot of financial data, and most accounting systems store the information in a system that a bookkeeper can access remotely. Therefore, many accountants in the industry now work remotely so they can stay busy, gain experience in a variety of systems, and assist additional clients.
Small business owners often don’t need the services of a dedicated staff bookkeeper. Online bookkeeping companies like CFO Strategies can provide affordable virtual bookkeeper services on a per-month basis to help your accounting team during crunch time.
If your accounting knowledge ends at estimating sales tax and you still aren’t quite sure what QuickBooks or Bench is, let us help you find a professional to manage your company’s money.
Question 2: What should I look for when selecting virtual bookkeeping services?
You want to find a bookkeeper who’s familiar with your industry and the systems your business uses. A bookkeeping and accounting firm like CFO Strategies may be an excellent choice to tailor services based on your company’s needs.
A car dealership, a cardiology practice, and a contracting firm may all use different accounting software. A firm like CFO Strategies can provide bookkeeping services from professionals with industry experience using your accounting software.
If your business uses Indinero or Bench, you’ll want a pro who’s fluent with those programs. If your company uses QuickBooks online, you’ll want to hire someone who is QuickBooks-certified.
As employees, bookkeepers traditionally have a very high turnover rate. Working with a bookkeeping service ensures a professional relationship with another business. Even if your accountant takes another position, a company like CFO Strategies can assure continuity so that your company doesn’t have to go through the vetting process repeatedly.
Question 3: How much should my business pay for remote bookkeeping services?
That answer, of course, depends on what bookkeeping and accounting services you require. To give you a reference point: recent figures show that a bookkeeper earns, on average, about $60,000 per year. The number will vary based on an individual’s location, experience, and duties.
Don’t also forget to include additional costs such as insurance and other benefits. A company in a metropolitan area with a high cost of living may expect to pay considerably more.
Outsourced accounting is a viable solution if a full-time employee’s salary is too steep. You’ll only pay the agreed-upon fee, and the person will not be on your payroll as a regular employee needing insurance, retirement contributions, etc.
Small business owners should talk to prospective virtual bookkeepers upfront about whether to pay per hour of work or settle on a per-month fee to keep a virtual contractor on their bench. An on-call worker may cost more per hour but could be able to log onto a mobile accounting app during off-hours to help with a burning issue.
It’s helpful to discuss what exact services you require, your project deadlines, and how to handle emergencies on either side of the arrangement. CFO Strategies has experience in these relationships and can help companies decide the best way to proceed and anticipate potential issues.
Contact CFO Strategies for Your Bookkeeping Needs
We are a full-service bookkeeping and accounting outfit. We have provided services to businesses in a wide variety of industries. CFO Strategies also works with clients in the nonprofit sector.
We can take on full-time responsibilities, but we usually contract on a part-time basis, and we’re happy to provide services tailored to small businesses. Our experienced staff can manage routine tasks or help with more specialized work, such as performing clean-ups on books in disarray.
Let us help you find a certified public accountant to track your cash flow and manage your monthly expenses and balance sheet. Our team members are comfortable working with various accounting software.
Our team looks forward to discussing ways to help your business become even more successful.
You may need additional support if your business is growing or facing complex accounting challenges. CFO Strategies also provides part-time controller or chief financial officer services to help your business with financial reporting and strategic growth.
We hope you’ll read testimonials from our clients to hear what a difference our services at CFO Strategies have made for their businesses.
Please call us at CFO Strategies today at (855) 732-7861 or contact us here to schedule an initial consultation.