A different way to look at whether you should work with a bookkeeper
Over the years, there’s been a few times where we’ve heard businesses not want to use bookkeeping services as it’s not something they want to spend money on.
We understand that can be a valid concern, but there are a few ways to look at this when you’re thinking about using bookkeeping services.
So first of all the most common and obvious way of looking at it is the straight up cost of using a bookkeeper, whether that’s hourly rate, package or employment costs. You have a cost and you can look at your budget or P&L and see exactly how it fits in. However, there’s a bit more to it than that…
Yes, there’s a cost there that you can see, however, it’s also very likely that a bookkeeper will save you money in some areas and probably make you money in others and it’s these numbers you should also factor into your budget and planning. For example, say you’re always so busy running your business you struggle to get your VAT return in, or perhaps your self-assessment and you regularly have fines or interest to pay on late bills. A bookkeeper can ensure that you get these returns in on time, saving you any penalties for late filing. Bookkeepers can also make money for your business too. Working with your financial data on a daily basis, a bookkeeper can provide a lot of financial insights that will allow you to make informed decisions on your business, maximising your revenue and growth, and making the business more money.
Another way to look at this is to think about what your time is worth, what’s your hourly rate? If you’re currently doing all your own bookkeeping when you could be creating or working on your business strategy then it’s not just the cost of the bookkeeper that you should be thinking about but the cost of your time being taken up by a task that you shouldn’t really be doing. Say you spend 5 hours a week doing the bookkeeping for your business, couldn’t that 5 hours be better spent working on the core strategy or product for your business?
This is why we say that you should think carefully about hiring a bookkeeper and not just consider the direct cost. There are many more examples that we could give, for many types of business and we’d be happy to discuss your particular area if you’re thinking of hiring a bookkeeper.