Should I employ an in-house bookkeeper or outsource the work?
Congratulations! You have a successful business and have seen significant growth and healthy profits from all your hard work. You worked those long hours, perhaps over the weekends, sacrificing family time and even some ‘You’ time in order to achieve your dream of running your own business. It wasn’t easy, but you did it!
You’ve since taken on some staff to help you because let’s face it you can’t do everything on your own. They are experienced and help you meet your targets. You are a business owner and you have numerous things you need to juggle.
So far you have managed to do the bookkeeping yourself, but now you need to focus on sustaining your business growth and let your staff do what they are good at, therefore you need to get someone else to do the books.
So, should you employ a bookkeeper or could you outsource the work? Let’s look at the factors to consider for both: –
Employ a bookkeeper
You could argue that you already have employees so what difference does it make to have another one? True, but you would have to employ some staff with specific skills depending on the nature of your business. For example, if you run an IT business, a catering business, a garage, a lettings company, and so on, you need to employ experienced staff to work to your standards, following your rules and guidelines because that’s what makes your business the success it is. Also, some business processes are more easily outsourced than others. Activities like Bookkeeping and Accounting, Sales and Marketing, Human Relations and Office Cleaning are easily primed for outsourcing and are more cost effective than employing someone in house to do these tasks.
If you decide to employ a bookkeeper you need to consider the cost implication of keeping an employee – financial and non-financial. You’ll need to provide appropriate working space and most likely would have to provide some training. But what if you have no idea how to train someone how to do bookkeeping correctly?
Keeping the bookkeeping in-house means all the paperwork remains in-house and you have instant access to any document you may need. But with the advances in technology these days this is not really an issue.
Outsource bookkeeping
There are a number of benefits with outsourcing bookkeeping as ultimately it allows for the most flexibility.
If an employee falls ill you’ll still have to pay them, unlike outsourcing where you don’t bother about such commitments. If the employee goes on holiday, you’ll have to pay them and also look for someone to do the job during this period of absence. But if you outsource this job, you won’t have to bother about such costs.
One problem with having an in-house person is that it may require specialised software and equipment. Using an outsourced bookkeeper means you do not need to provide them with this because they already have it, cutting costs.
Another issue with an in-house bookkeeper is that it may be hard to keep up if your business grows. This could result in having to bring in more employees, thus having to train them, show the new system and so forth. With an outsourced bookkeeper, they are more likely to be able to adapt to your needs.
Entrepreneurs have long seen outsourcing as a strategy reserved for big business, but technology has made it a more accessible tool for small businesses – and for some small firms, outsourcing has made a powerful impact on their growth, productivity and bottom lines.
Summary
The decision whether to employ or outsource rests squarely on your shoulders. It’s an important decision you’ll have to make. As a business owner, you’ll decide on what suits your circumstance and the type of business you run.
Whatever you decide, make sure your bookkeeper is experienced and qualified. A good bookkeeper will ensure your business records are kept up to date to keep you track of your business performance.
If you are looking to outsource your bookkeeping, contact Neeta Patel at Rosemary Bookkeeping:
Tel: 01604 422314
Email neetapatel@rosemarybooks.co.uk
