While running a small business, it’s normal for entrepreneurs to juggle multiple roles as they get their company up and running. However, some of the duties required for business growth are tedious, time-consuming, and can also be beyond your skill set. Bookkeeping is one such area.
Thankfully, with the help of remote work tools and technologies that have become prevalent in recent years, you may outsource some accounting tasks to a virtual bookkeeping assistant and save time and money. This affordable and efficient working model is advantageous when your company grows and everyday accounting activities pile up.
This blog will discuss some factors that will give insights into how virtual bookkeeping services may positively impact your business operations.
Who is a Virtual Bookkeeping Assistant?
A virtual bookkeeping assistant can do the basic accounting tasks for your company from a remote location. As your virtual bookkeeper will be working from home, they are flexible with timings, and you can find a bookkeeper for the timings you require. You can even decide the number of hours you want them to work for you in a week.
A virtual bookkeeper often performs the same responsibilities as an in-office bookkeeper. Many remote working tools make working with a virtual bookkeeper easy, and you can compare the tools to see which suits your business best. They are in charge of processing your company’s financial transactions, managing the general ledger, taking care of payroll processing, and more accounting services.
7 Reasons a Virtual Bookkeeping Assistant is the Best Choice for your Business?
Now that you know who a virtual bookkeeper is and the tasks they can do for your business let’s discuss why a virtual bookkeeping assistant is better than an in-house accountant or bookkeeper.
1. Virtual Bookkeepers are Cost-effective
The main objective of any up-and-coming business is to grow fast while also cutting down costs wherever possible. However, the cost of hiring is relatively high because apart from the salary, you also have to consider other costs such as employee insurance, bonuses, and paid leaves. That is why many business owners do most of the tasks themselves, trying to cut down expenses.
However, as we previously explained, it can become counterproductive if you try to do everything yourself. Focusing on routine business tasks will keep you from focusing on core-business activities and growth strategies.
This is where virtual bookkeepers come in. They are every entrepreneur’s dream come true, as, with a virtual bookkeeping assistant, you get the quality of service of a full-time employee at the price of working with a freelancer/contractor. In addition, the money saved on hiring a full-time employee can be re-invested into the business.
2. Opportunity to work with global talent
While recruiting bookkeepers to work in-house, entrepreneurs are often restricted to hiring from a select locality. It’s convenient for the employer and the employee if they live near the office, reducing commute time.
When you hire a bookkeeper remotely, you are not restricted to hiring only someone who lives near the office space. With a virtual bookkeeping assistant, the world is your oyster. You can focus on hiring based on their skills and qualifications, not on how fast they can get to work in the morning.
3. Faster hiring process
Did you know that it takes over a month to hire an employee?
A small business cannot afford to spend that much time recruiting employees in a fast-paced, growing environment. Therefore, they must act fast to stay ahead of the competition and meet client demands. With accounting, especially, you cannot afford to make any errors or miss out on payments. This can severely harm your business.
With a virtual bookkeeping assistant, the hiring process is quick and straightforward. You don’t have to sit through countless hours of interviews and read hundreds of resumes. If you hire through an outsourcing agency like Wishup, the hiring process is taken care of for you.
Additionally, apart from the hiring process, it takes time to train and onboard employees to your business and introduce them to the various tools you use in your company. Virtual assistants from outsourcing agencies are already trained in multiple tools that make remote work easy and can even recommend new tools and technologies to help improve your business operations.
4. It’s easier to scale remote teams.
If you’re a business owner, you’re probably aware that some months will be fast while others are slow. In the early stages of entrepreneurship, it’s common for your business to fluctuate unexpectedly. Nonetheless, you must always be prepared when there is a sudden increase in workload.
As we discussed earlier, hiring an employee takes 36 days. Not to mention the long-term contracts you need to sign with full-time employees. However, since virtual bookkeepers are contractors, you can hire them on a monthly/project basis and scale your team as per business requirements.
When business is going well, you can onboard more virtual bookkeeping assistants. When a project is completed, you can terminate the contract. Suppose you like the work done by any particular virtual assistant. In that case, depending on their availability and virtual assistant proposal, you can extend your contract for longer.
5. Flexible work schedules
Virtual bookkeepers are flexible since they work from home and are ready to accommodate your schedule. Since they choose their work timings, you can even get two bookkeepers from different shifts to work round the clock. You could even hire a bookkeeper to work for you on weekends.
Holidays paid leaves, and other vacations might be expected for in-house employees. Still, for remote bookkeepers who work hourly, they don’t matter. Some virtual assistant outsourcing agencies like Wishup offer a no-questions-asked replacement policy if your virtual bookkeeper falls ill or cannot be at work that day due to an emergency. In any case, your work will not suffer.
6. More time for business-specific tasks
If you give all your time and energy to routine tasks, you will have no time to focus on growth strategy, which is your area of expertise. For example, when you are running business on various platforms like WooCommerce and eBay, hiring an bookkeeping assistant will help keep track on your business activities easier and faster.
Accounting is a full-time job, and you can’t do it half-heartedly. Additionally, it required a lot of skill and expertise in bookkeeping to do it accurately. Therefore, accounting tasks are best left in the hands of professionals.
With a virtual bookkeeping assistant, you can rest assured your business is well taken care of. Then, you can focus on the things and tasks only you can do for your business, like improving your web layout to maximize conversions,client management, leading your team, and other business-specific tasks.
7. Better work-life balance
Constantly trying to accomplish all tasks will leave you feeling drained and exhausted. You will not be able to give your all to your business if you are constantly tired.
It’s natural to worry about your business. But delegation is an art every entrepreneur needs to master if they want their business to succeed. In addition, a healthy work-life balance is essential, as it gives you time to relax and re-energize so that you can return to work with fresh ideas.
When you delegate essential tasks like bookkeeping to a qualified professional, you can take well-earned time for yourself, knowing your business is in good hands. You will also have time to spend with your family and friends and focus on your hobbies and interests outside work.
Shift the focus to your business
As an entrepreneur, getting side-tracked with other routine tasks is easy. Still, your primary focus should be on business growth. By delegating your accounting tasks to a qualified virtual bookkeeping assistant, you can shift your focus to your business, knowing your accounting tasks are taken care of. We hope you found this article helpful and will consider hiring a virtual bookkeeper to help grow your business.
Why is FinancesOnline free?
Leave a comment!