At Stride, we have a keen sense of how outsourced accounting or bookkeeping services can greatly enhance your business.
It’s easy and affordable to start off with an in-house bookkeeper for your two partner law firm. Some stories even start off with ‘I did the books’ or ‘my wife handled the accounting’ but eventually you’ll need to hand off that responsibility to an accounting firm to free up your time and make sure the books are done right!
Crain’s Chicago Business reports that exactly when it’s time to outsource, for your company, depends on how complicated a firm’s billings are, the length of the customer list as well as other variables.
Attorney Elliot Richardson, president of a small business advocacy council in Chicago, notes, “If you are looking after things that aren’t a part of your core business, you are losing revenue and profits.“
Making big decisions is hard for many start-ups and small businesses. Don’t waste your time due to decision paralysis; educate yourself on outsourced vs. in-house accounting and remember ‘outsourcing’ does not mean ‘offshoring’.
The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Accounting:
- Expertise – If you try to keep everything in-house then you are not letting experts take care of some of the most essential functions for your business to be successful.
- Real-time Access– Cloud accounting means you can have access to your financials anytime, anywhere.
- Industry Insight – An accounting firm is keeping their finger on the pulse of the industry as a whole by working with other companies.
- Saving Money – Doing things right the first time around, especially finances, can save your company a lot of money in the long run.
- Freeing up Your Time – As the business owner, you have the most important job of all- increasing your customer base and insuring the quality of your product or services.
The Pitfalls of Staying In-House Too Long:
- Loss of Time & Money – You have to take the time to hire and pay someone to do your books and then check up on their work periodically.
- A Loss of Insight – When you rely on just one bookkeeper or accountant, that person’s range of vision is limited to your company.
- Vulnerability – If your single in-house employee goes on vacation, maternity leave, medical leave, or simply quits, you would be placed in a vulnerable position to make sense of your own books, especially if something urgent came up.
- Internal Fraud – While you would like to trust everyone you’ve hired, employee fraud can be a huge financial burden for business owners.
At Stride, we care about you and your business. Let Stride’s professional accountants work for you via the cloud so you can work for the growth of your company anytime, anywhere! We were recently voted as SF Weekly’s Best Accountant
