What areas of your business do you add the most value to? Often, your time is wasted in certain areas of your business. But it’s difficult right? You need to wear so many different hats – marketing, customer services, HR, business processes just to name a few.
Just like delegating work to your employees who have a specific skill set, certain business tasks are better suited to external providers who specialise in that particular niche. Bookkeeping services, accountants and marketing services rank among the most outsourced business processes.
There are some common reasons why businesses might need to hire a bookkeeper. Here are the top 08 reasons!
1. More Focus on Core Business Tasks with Bookkeeping NZ
General managers, entrepreneurs and business owners shouldn’t be spending time managing debtors and creditors, invoicing or reconciling bank transactions.
Learning how to manage such things efficiently takes time, which is a limited resourcep for you. That’s not to say you’ve got more important things to do, because that’s not entirely true.
You do, however, have numerous other, equally important tasks to spend your time on. These tasks generally have more influence over the day-to-day business operations and performance.
To summarise, stick to what you are good at, what you know. Leave the finances to the bean counters.
2. Better IRD Compliance with Bookkeeping NZ
As business owners, we have many obligations. NZ tax compliance is one of these obligations. Other business compliances include, payday filing, GST returns and FBT. All of these returns need to be completed accurately and on time.
It’s also important to note the regulatory landscape is constantly changing, so an expert can help keep your business up to date and out of any trouble. You’re also required to keep your payroll compliant. Many good bookkeepers offer both bookkeeping and payroll services. Accountsdept even offers a payroll auditing service to check payroll compliance.
3. Improved Cash Flow with Bookkeeping NZ
Your business’s cash flow is vital to keep your business afloat. It’s not related to revenue and profit either, so can be easily mismanaged. An important job a professional bookkeeper can do for you is to keep on top of debtors for you. They do this by automating client reminders to pay outstanding invoices.
They’ll reduce bad debts and save you a whole lot of time. Bookkeepers can look at the bigger picture for you from a different perspective. This means they’ll be able to tell you what areas of the business need attention from a financial point of view. Can you put a price on that?
4. Reduce Costs with Bookkeeping NZ
By hiring a bookkeeper you’ll save money. Wondering how? Here’s how it works. Firstly, your time is money at the end of the day, and they’ll save you plenty of that. You’ll also avoid the hassle and unnecessary cost of employing an in-house bookkeeper by outsourcing bookkeeping services.
Bookkeepers will prepare financial statements and have your revenue, expenses and GST sorted for your accountant to complete your end-of-year financials. A good bookkeeper will save your accountant lots of time, meaning they’ll cost less. Some accountants do bookkeeping work at accounting rates, so avoid this!
Let’s take another scenario, say you now have extra time to spend on marketing. You increase your weekly leads by doing so and convert a few into sales. How much extra profit will that bring in? I bet it would pay for the cost of your bookkeeper and a whole lot more!
5. Grow your Business faster with Bookkeeping NZ
Most often, business owners want to grow their business over time. We’ve already discussed how many hats you need to wear. Well, if you want to grow your business, prepare to add to your hat collection!
When a business grows, processes need to change, more employees are recruited and more space and hardware is required. It can be costly, stressful and you often need to learn new management skills.
Outsourcing bookkeeping, as well as other non-core business processes is a way to keep you from being consumed during business growth. In fact, they’ll lighten the load and guide you through this new terrain. They’ll offer expert advice which you can use to your advantage.
6. Be an Entrepreneur, not a Technician with Bookkeeping NZ
A common trap business owners fall into is becoming a technician. This means you rely on a certain skill you have to generate revenue. You might be a great plumber, website designer or accountant. Technicians work in their business, not on the business.
Ever heard the saying “Can’t see the wood for the trees”? This can be applied to technicians. They have their head down, focused on getting jobs or projects completed, and lose sight of where their business is heading.
Hiring a bookkeeper will give you time to work on better processes and perhaps recruit staff that can assist you with these important core tasks. Looking at the bigger picture, setting goals, and strategising will help improve your businesses’ performance. In the long term, this will make you more money. It’ll also give you a better work/life balance.
7. A Bookkeeper gets the most from your Accounting Software
If you were given the fastest rally car in the world and entered a race against a group of experienced drivers on a highly technical track, would you win? Nope. Compare this to having Xero accounting software and not being able to use it to its full potential.
Bookkeepers will use all of its functionality and be able to produce very insightful business reports covering important metrics. This gives you an overview of your business’s financial performance and enables you to make informed decisions based on actual data.
8. Better Lifestyle using Bookkeeping Services
Is your business your life? Does it define you? It shouldn’t! This is not a life coach article by any means, but we all know we benefit mentally from eating well, exercising and socialising with family and friends. Our productivity increases with a better balance and a clearer mind.
More hours at work don’t always equate to getting more done. It’s quality over quantity. Not having to manage your books means more time on core business tasks, and more time with the ones you love, and even some time for yourself.
