Professional bookkeeping services can help you keep track of your finances, and they’re also helpful for bigger picture tasks like preparing business financials for lenders. This can save you money and time in the long run, while also improving the accuracy of your financial statements.
However, there comes a point when handling back office functions yourself becomes impractical. Here are seven signs that you should consider hiring a professional.
1. You’re Experiencing Rapid Growth
Rapid growth is good for business, but it can be a double-edged sword. It can increase sales volume and turnover and make your company seem more successful, but it can also result in burned-out employees, disgruntled customers, and frustrated supply chain partners. It can also create more headaches than you bargained for when it comes to balancing expenses and income, cash flow issues, and payroll.
One clear sign that your business is growing too quickly is when your team feels overwhelmed and stressed. If your team members are struggling to keep up with the pace of work and their morale is dropping, you may need to slow down and find ways to re-energize your staff.
Another sign that you’re growing too fast is when your business’s cash flow dries up even when you have sales. This can happen when you’re collecting smaller-level payments from clients while spending money on new, higher-volume orders.
A professional bookkeeper can help you re-energize your finances by implementing tools and processes that will make it easier to track sales, invoicing, and expense in and out. They can also help you streamline your business accounting system so you’re able to make better decisions for your future.
2. You’re Spending Too Much Time on Accounting
Whether you’re doing it yourself or have a team of in-house accounting professionals, the more your company grows, the more complex your financial operations become. An expanding company means more clients, higher billing volumes and more back-office paperwork. This growing to-do list can eat away at your team’s ability to focus on other important tasks like developing new services, products and client relationships.
In addition, handling the complexities of your business’s finances can be a time-consuming and stressful endeavor. Every hour you spend balancing your books is an hour that could be spent pursuing opportunities to grow your business or spending quality time with family and friends.
Leaving the day-to-day handling of your company’s financial records to a bookkeeper is one of the best investments you can make as a small business owner. A qualified bookkeeper will provide you with the accurate, organized and up-to-date financial data you need to make informed decisions that help your company grow. This includes monitoring your finances and cash flow to prevent cash flow issues and identify areas where you can cut costs. In addition, a skilled bookkeeper will assist you with accounting tasks that are beyond your skill set.
3. You’re Experiencing Cash Flow Issues
Every business needs a steady flow of cash to pay its bills and meet its obligations. Without it, employees and suppliers aren’t paid, products go unproduced, and companies are pushed to the brink. Forbes Finance Council members share the clear (and subtle) signs that a company is in danger of running out of ready cash and how to address these problems quickly and effectively.
A sudden increase in debtor or creditor days is one sign of potential trouble. This could indicate that a business has been forced to delay payments to creditors or that it is unable to collect payment on outstanding invoices. A high ratio of debt to income is another warning sign. This could mean that a business is overly dependent on a small number of large clients or that its profit margins are too low.
If your business is experiencing cash flow issues, consider negotiating shorter customer payment periods or offering early-payment discounts with dynamic discounting providers. Alternatively, you could also look into supplier financing or refinancing loans to make debt payments more manageable. A professional bookkeeper can help you identify these opportunities and find solutions. They will be able to run reports that give you the big picture and show you which expenses can be trimmed or if it’s time to seek new funding options.
4. You’re Experiencing Mistakes
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with your business finances. Some of these problems are a result of mistakes, others have to do with lack of experience or knowledge. The good news is that a bookkeeper can help you avoid many of these problems and improve the accuracy of your books.
When it comes to business taxes, a skilled bookkeeper can save you time and money by ensuring that all of your tax deductions are properly recorded. They will also ensure that all of your expenses are categorized correctly, which can help you reduce your tax bill significantly.
Keeping up with the needs of a growing business can be overwhelming, especially when it comes to handling your financial records. If you find that your to-do list is getting longer and longer, it’s a sign that you need professional bookkeeping help.
A bookkeeper can help you manage your accounting tasks so that you can focus on delivering the best service to your clients. They can also help you plan your business budget more effectively by establishing a financial calendar of key deadlines and events. This can help you stay on top of important events like tax filings, invoice due dates and payroll payments, preventing you from facing cash flow issues in the future.
5. You’re Experiencing Lack of Time
As a business owner, your time is valuable. As a general rule, every minute you spend on a task has a dollar value to your company, so it’s important to be aware of how much of your precious time is being spent.
If you’re experiencing a lack of time for your business, it may be a sign that it’s time to hire a certified bookkeeper. This will help free up your time to focus on other aspects of the business, such as marketing or meeting with new clients. In addition, hiring a professional bookkeeper can give you peace of mind that your financial records are being kept up-to-date and that you have a clear picture of your cash flow.
Whether your business is growing quickly or you’re just starting out, it’s common for a small business to struggle with managing finances. This is especially true as your company grows, which can lead to increased complexity when it comes to separating different revenue streams, managing employee payroll, and handling larger financial transactions. This is where having a full-service accounting firm that’s trained in your preferred software can really help you save time and money. They’ll be able to streamline your business processes and help you grow along with your reliable bookkeeping team.
6. You’re Experiencing Lack of Knowledge
While you might think of handling your books alone as a way to save money, it can become tiresome and time-consuming for any business owner. The best option is to outsource your bookkeeping and accounting tasks to an experienced team of professionals. This can help you save on costs while also getting the support and financial insights that your business needs to grow.
As a growing business, your financial complexity increases with your client base and billing volumes. This leads to more back-office documentation, which is a sign that you need professional assistance. Outsourcing your bookkeeping and accounting to a skilled team allows you to focus on your day-to-day operations without worrying about keeping up with your records.
When it comes to financial records, errors are expensive. Even a minor error can make it difficult to evaluate the performance of your company or predict future trends. Professional bookkeepers use multiple sets of eyes to check for mistakes, so you can be confident that your financial statements are accurate. This can save you a lot of stress during tax season and prevent costly errors that could impact your business in the long run.
7. You’re Experiencing Stress
Keeping a finger on the pulse of a company’s financial health can be critical for identifying trends and problems early. While stress is often a natural response to difficult or challenging situations, ongoing stress can result in a variety of negative impacts including poor morale and decreased productivity. Managers should keep an eye out for green flags such as employees suddenly staying late or coming in early out of character, a sudden lack of motivation, and an increased irritability.
A professional bookkeeper can take the burden of managing your business’s books off of you, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business. A good bookkeeper should be able to understand your needs and provide the services you need, including interpreting financial information, credit management, invoice servicing, tax deduction optimization, and payroll services.
Hiring a qualified professional bookkeeper, like this Denver Bookkeeping company, can save your business money in the long run by ensuring that your books are accurate and up-to-date. A good bookkeeper should also be able to communicate in a way that makes sense for your company’s culture, so you can easily get the information you need when needed. This way, you can focus on building your company’s profits and staying ahead of the competition.