bookkeepers

HOW MUCH A BOOKKEEPER COST

Of all the financial tasks small business owners must address, bookkeeping might be one of the most consequential and time-consuming. Do your books right, and you’ll gain important insights into your finances that will help you make critical, time-sensitive business decisions. Do them wrong, and it might hinder your ability to compete in the marketplace and ultimately lead to closure.

If you have come across issues while doing the books for your business, it might be time to look for professionals to help. An expert bookkeeper will save you time and money, but finding the right one for your business needs can be challenging. Use this guide to learn all you need to know about assessing and hiring the right bookkeeper for your business.

Essential Bookkeeping Tasks

Some bookkeepers are generalists, while others are more specific. Whichever you choose, warrant they can deliver the following basic bookkeeping tasks.

  • Payroll
  • Expense tracking and classification
  • Account reconciliations
  • Managing vendors and accounts payable/receivable
  • Paying bills

How Much Does a Bookkeeper Cost?

When it comes to using a professional bookkeeper, you have option to hire or outsource. The cost of bookkeeping will be depending on your needs.

  • Part-time bookkeeper. Typically, a part-time bookkeeper or freelance bookkeeper will work less than a full-time counterpart and have fewer day-to-day responsibilities, such as focusing mostly on accounts receivable or data entry, that aren’t as complex. A part-time bookkeeper could start at an hourly rate of $15 and up.
  • Full-time bookkeeper. Hiring an in-house bookkeeper can be a great decision if your business has more complex bookkeeping needs. There are two major downsides to bringing on a full-time bookkeeper. They are only one person, so you might have to audit their work from time to time as a safeguard to ensure its correct. They’d also become a full-time employee, with all associated costs, such as healthcare and other benefits that you would need to cover. That’s on top of an average salary of $45,000 per year.
  • Outsourced bookkeeping. Outsourcing involves a qualified external firm handling your business’s bookkeeping needs. They might offer different pricing tiers, sometimes as a monthly fee, with a basic plan costing the least and a more fully featured plan costing the most. They might also be able to prepare a plan to your precise needs. An outsourced bookkeeper is usually as qualified as a full-time internal bookkeeper but is more cost-effective. And they might also have a team backing them up and checking their work to ensure it’s error-free. Because outsourced bookkeepers are typically offsite, you lose the instant access of someone working on the spot.

If hiring a bookkeeper isn’t currently in your budget, but you have employees, consider using an outsourced payroll service for now.

Bookkeeper Cost Variations

There are cost variations to keep in mind when it comes to selecting the best bookkeeper for your business. For example, location will make an impact if you’re interested in hiring a full-time bookkeeper. The salary and benefits required to hire a full-time bookkeeper in Remote area will likely be less than hiring a full-time bookkeeper in Metropolitan.

This is one issue to keep in mind during the assessment process, but there are other deliberations and questions you should be asking. Do specific educational requirements or certifications matter? That may cost more.

Irrespective of the variations in cost, there are many circumstances where you can get the expertise you require while staying within budget. 

Hiring a Bookkeeper vs. Bookkeeping Service

If you feel as though you’re in over your head, perhaps it is time to hire a bookkeeper. But which is best for your business? If you’re undecided between employing a full-time internal bookkeeper and outsourcing to a competent film, study the following comparison.

 

Outsourced Bookkeeper

Full-Time Bookkeeper

Cost Effective

✔

Expert Team

✔

Onsite

✔

Licensed & Certified

✔

✔

Tailor-made Price Tier

✔

Bookkeeping vs. Accounting: What’s the Difference?

Accounting and bookkeeping are processes that businesses use to ensure their financial information is accurate and complete. Bookkeepers and Accountants both work with financial data and need basic knowledge of accounting practices. Due to this, you may think they’re the same, but they’re not.

Bookkeeping and accounting can be used in unification. For example, businesses can use both to generate financial statements. A financial statement serves as the backbone of your business’s financial reporting. These statements, including the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet, are vital in understanding your business’s performance, liquidity, and overall financial health. Bookkeeping delivers the data necessary to create these statements, while accounting guarantees their accuracy and completeness.

Often, bookkeepers and accountants work closely with each other. Without accurately maintained books, accountants wouldn’t have the data they need to create financial models.

Accounting

Bookkeeping

Skills

Requires the ability to rapidly grip technical information and analytical thinking.

Requires attention to detail and detailed financial knowledge to perform the position.

Objective

Evaluating the financial situation of a business in order to make forecasts and suggestions.

Keeping detailed financial records for businesses by recognizing and recording transactions.

Advisory

Recommending businesses on their best tax plans and creating financial forecasts.

Bookkeepers do not provide advisory for businesses, as their role is recording more than scrutiny.

Tasks

Analyzing and understanding financial data to provide assistance and support to businesses of all sizes.

Recording and updating financial information in a general ledger.

Accreditations

Accountants can become CPAs or Enrolled Agents (EA) when they pass the appropriate exam.

Bookkeepers can become Certified Bookkeepers, but it is often not required.

Why Should You Hire An Expert For Bookkeeping?

Hiring the right bookkeeper to accomplish your business needs can be a pivotal advantage over the opposition. But you can’t just pick anybody to keep accurate records and save your business money. You need small business professionals intimately familiar with your state’s and industry’s internal workings. You need the full-service bookkeeping experts at SHACO.

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