4 signs it’s time to outsource your bookkeeping

Bookkeeping, Business - 06/01/2022

If you’re a business owner, you’ll be no stranger to bookkeeping. Managing the accounts probably wasn’t at the top of your ‘hopes and dreams’ list, but you can’t run a business without them.

If you’re struggling to stay on top of your accounts and manage a business all at once, it might be time to outsource your bookkeeping. Giving you time to focus on what you really care about. 

Here are 4 signs you should be outsourcing your accounts.

You’re spending too much time on your accounts

Yes, your accounts are a priority, and you need to carve out specific time to get them done. But they shouldn’t be the be all and end all. You shouldn’t be sacrificing time meant for other important aspects of your business trying to keep up with your accounts management. 

Trying to manage something you don’t know the ins and outs of can be time consuming. Unnecessarily so. This can cause delays in client work, decrease morale and even damage productivity. 

According to a study cited by the American Psychological Association, the mental blocks that result from repeatedly shifting between tasks can cost upwards of 40% of a person’s productive time. 

You might be spending too much time on your bookkeeping because you just don’t know how to manage it like an expert does. That’s okay – you didn’t start a business to become a bookkeeper. You started it to thrive in your area of expertise. So you should leave the accounts to an expert who’s trained to get them done quickly and efficiently.

You’re working too much

Spending too much time on one part of your business creates a domino effect very quickly. If you’re spending traditional working hours on your accounts, the other parts of the business still need to get done. 

And if you’re a small business with a small team, that leaves little room for delegation. It’s up to you to make it happen. Which means working overtime, all the time. 

Yes, long business hours are part and parcel of owning a business. But those should be spent on core functions like strategic planning, training, business development and acquisition, quality control, product development, and marketing decisions. 

What you should not be spending your late night hours on are non-core tasks like bookkeeping, even if they are necessary functions.

You’re making a lot of mistakes

Like we’ve said before, you can’t be an expert at everything. If you don’t know how to properly manage your accounts, you could be making mistakes that cause real financial harm to your business.

Accounts management needs to be completely accurate. Even the smallest mistakes can create a real wave of damage to your finances. Think about how much harm could be done with a typo. Putting a decimal point in the wrong place, for example. That could cause hundreds, even thousands of pounds worth of damage.

You’re struggling with accounting software

You may have tried to solve the problem by investing in bookkeeping software. But it’s usually just not that simple. You need to know how to use it properly. Otherwise it becomes a hindrance, not a help.

You don’t want to waste time trying to figure out how to use software that’s meant to do the opposite. By outsourcing your accounting services, you won’t have to spend your time learning the ins and outs of using unfamiliar and complex software. You can leave it with an experienced bookkeeper who already knows how to use it.

Outsourcing your bookkeeping function can give you more of your time and energy back and a deep bench of experience right out of the gate. If you’re looking for a safe pair of hands to manage your accounts, Numero can help. 

Leave the accounts to us, so you can focus on what you do best. Get in touch to find out more.