One of the toughest parts of running a business is the fact that, in the beginning, you do everything. Business development. Accounting. Inventory. Marketing. HR. Payroll. Paperwork. (Oh, the paperwork!) But as your business grows, the opportunity to offload certain responsibilities presents itself, allowing you to focus on what you do best. The challenge is figuring out what to offload and when. Hiring A Bookkeeper Oftentimes, accounting and bookkeeping are at the top of that list. And naturally so: the more bookkeeping activity you have, the higher the likelihood that your business is doing well. With that, we have a short checklist for business owners to think on should they be considering some outside help with their books: Are you using online accounting software that is simple, easy-to-understand, and the right fit for your business? Would a professional bookkeeper look at that accounting software and confirm that it meets their professional standards? Are you unable to commit as much time to do your small business accounting as you used to? Do you have the expendable funds to hire some professional assistance? What are you looking to get out of hiring some bookkeeping help? In addition to this checklist, we chatted with a handful of Kashoo Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs, for short), accountants and bookkeepers and asked them… “When should a small business owner consider professional bookkeeping and/or accounting help?” Here is what they had to say… “If a business owner is spending more time trying to figure out the books than actually working on their business, it’s time! Small business owners want to save money by doing their own books, but can often end up struggling with them, wasting their valuable money-making hours.” – Jodie Buckler, BucklerBookkeeping (via Twitter) “When they have no true idea where their business stands in regards to their Financial Picture. Only knowing ‘I brought in X dollars last month’ doesn’t cut it.” – Michael Senteno (via Facebook) “When they realize they’re spending more time on their business than in their business. Any business owner should spend the majority of their time bringing in new business and making sales and getting help or outsourcing any activity that takes them away from that.” – FBC, Canada’s Small Business Tax Specialists (via Facebook) “It might make sense, and they might know they need help, but they may feel like they can’t afford it. Maybe that’s when they need it most.” – Claire Eldred (via Facebook) “Business owners should always have outside help; the important question is the level of delegation. Seek advice in the beginning, do as much of the work yourself until you know your own numbers, and then hand off the day-to-day tasks when work takes away from your main role as leader and visionary.” – Eric Matthews, ThatBookkeeper.com (via email) Jen Todd’s “End-of-Year Tax Tasks You Need to Tackle Now”
