Some small business owners use outsourced accounting services while others have chosen to do their accounting on their own. Many times, the decision to not outsource accounting is based in myths about how outsourcing these services works and what benefits outsourced accounting can actually provide for your company. If any of these seven myths are holding you back, it’s time to reconsider working with an outsourced accounting service.
- Outsourced accounting is expensive. For many small business owners, the potential of another expense is the biggest deterrent to working with an outside accounting service. Yes, an outside accounting service will cost you money. However, in business, your time is money, as is employee time. If you are using paid staff or your own time for accounting, it may take much longer and carry a much higher opportunity cost: if that time was invested in your business, you might be able to acquire more revenue. Working with an outside accounting company frees up yours and your staff’s time so that you focus on your actual business.
- Do-it-yourself software seems better. Simply having software like QuickBooks doesn’t mean that you’re using it properly or accessing all advantages and functionality. Between the time you have to spend learning the program and inputting data, plus the potential for omissions or errors, an outside accounting service could actually save you time and more.
- Outsourced accounting means hiring someone in another country. For many business owners, the word “outsourced” is associated poorly paid workers in another country. These individuals could be hard to communicate with and may not have the expertise you desire. In accounting, however, you can outsource to a local business without concern that your billing records and taxes will be processed by someone overseas.
- You can’t trust an outside professional to do their best for your business. You may worry that an outside professional won’t care about your business. However, an outside accountant will want to keep you as a client for years because your business increases their business. In other words, they want you to succeed. Additionally, they are bound by professional standards that help them remain objective and professional, helping to ensure greater accuracy.
- Outsourced accounting decreases your security. Do you trust an internal hire with financial information? If so, you’re already taking a risk. If your financial information is entered on any computer or mobile device, you are facing the risk of being hacked. Yes, sharing your financial information via a secure server on the cloud can take some getting used to. However, most professional accounting businesses have taken steps to improve overall security. Combine that with their professional insurance policy, and you’re as safe, if not slightly safer, with an outside accounting company.
- You won’t have control over your financial information. You will still be providing the information to your outside accountant. Unlike someone in-house, an outside professional will have less motivation to falsify figures. It’s very unlikely that anyone in an outside firm will take a bribe to overlook inconsistencies in timekeeping or cash flow. Additionally, when you personally don’t have to micromanage bookkeeping and accounting work, you can focus that much more on your business, allowing for greater overall control of your company and its day-to-day activities.
- There will be delays in completing accounting work. When you handle your own books or have someone unspecialized in-house do them, conflicts of interest and timing often arise. So, the opposite is actually true. When your accounting is done in-house, other projects, illness, or simple procrastination can all cause issues with getting things done when they should be. With outsourced accounting help, the professional accountant will be more motivated (by keeping your business) to meet deadlines for crucial forms. Not only will working with an outside firm free up your time to focus on your business, it ensures the professionals you hire will adhere to your schedule. Thanks to cloud data sharing, there doesn’t have to be very much delay between sending information and the completion of the necessary accounting tasks.
