Why hire a bookkeeper when software can do the work

After working 10 to 12 hour days in operations, including bookkeeping, balancing books, payroll, accounts payable and accounts receivable; would you be better off hiring a professional accountant or bookkeeper?
​
The benefits of software programs seem obvious with an appearance of more control, low cost, and privacy. Relying on software or a DIY solution might be against your best interests for financing, selling a business, audits and making excellent business decisions.

Love

I was once sitting with a banker who said, “I love banking, numbers, and everything financial, but if you start talking about anything to do with marketing or sales, I zone out in 30 seconds.” She was adamant about how she felt and was very happy to hire professionals who live (and love) marketing and sales.

The same is true about accounting, bookkeeping, and financial records. The emotional labor needed to struggle through the most basic of tasks impacts your business, health, relationships and can limit your success. Procrastination is expected when it comes to activities which are unappealing and difficult. Regardless of the size and power of your software, accuracy is not optional, and timeliness of receipts and payments impacts cash flow... software does not compensate for procrastination or shortcuts.  

In this case, the decision is easy… talk to a professional today to free you from the burden of bookkeeping and accounting.

Complexity

Is it better to outsource to a professional accountant or bookkeeper vs. maintaining the books and records with an in-house person?  There is a different time table for on-boarding an employee for bookkeeping. They must be oriented, ‘trained’ to follow company policies and protocols. They might need to get familiar with your systems and processes. An hourly staff person might approach the job more as a cog than a linchpin, and marginal performance will not lead to a simple “you're fired” without conferring with human resources.

If you hire a professional whose business is accounting, they can hit the ground running. They already know the questions to ask and anticipate needs before you are aware of them. The on-boarding process is much quicker, and their expertise (and team) can enable you to improve your operation. If a professional’s services are marginal, you are the customer, and they are more responsive to your needs. If not, the issue of changing has less to do with human resources questions and more to do with success.

If your company is well versed in hiring, on-boarding, training and managing bookkeepers, then it might be a good option. In the new world of technology where information is exchanged in the cloud, web meetings can happen with no travel time; it makes sense to hire a professional accounting firm.  

Software vs Wisdom

Time invested in bookkeeping activities is an expense but the biggest expense is the loss (or gain) from what wisdom offers. Questions about accruals, capitalization, employee benefits, share-holders’ benefits, legal requirements for filing, payroll taxes, social security, tips, what increases the risk of audits (this is especially important) are but a few concerns where costs (or opportunities) are high. Software can tell you where to enter numbers and your interpretation may not be accurate (though may appear to be common sense).

Your accountant will observe trends and patterns and let you know if they suspect theft, embezzlement, over-payment of taxes and suggest how you can improve cash flow.
​
Software will not offer predictions regarding potential financial problems. An excellent accountant keeps their finger on the pulse of economic trends, regulations and market conditions. A business can experience financial problems for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to:

• Changing market conditions
• Shrinking revenue and/or profits
• Lack of proper cost control
• Poor company leadership
• Flawed business strategy
• The introduction of a new product or service by a competitor
• Failure to adapt to new technology in the industry

Financial reports offer insights but the right conclusion is not always obvious if you have a limited viewpoint or experience. Regardless of who does the work, there is still a cost. While keypunching basic information into an accounting software system can seem simple on the surface, it still requires time, patience, persistence, discipline and accuracy.

The ASP team makes every effort to ensure there are more benefits when hiring a team of experts versus using a DIY solution or hiring someone in-house. 

If you believe the emotional labor is too high or hiring new staff is not a viable option, please contact Eric here. We can save you a trip and meet you at your business to provide a solution that is perfect to meet your specific needs.

Image source: Wikimedia