Bookkeeping seems so easy. Why can’t I do it myself?
Back in 2021, I had the experience of a lifetime! My husband and I flew on a private jet to a beach house in the Caribbean. It was through his (now former) job, so that was the first, only, and probably last time I would ever fly in a private plane. While we were flying, my husband got to sit in the copilot seat and watch the pilot fly the plane. He told me that, other than takeoff and landing, it was actually easy. Once in the air, they just have to hold the controls and keep it straight. Takeoff, landing, and when you hit turbulence are when you’re going to wish you had someone in your corner who knows how to manage the controls.
The same is true for managing your business's financial records.
While it’s true that there are some bookkeeping activities you can do yourself, there are many that you shouldn’t try to do alone. In this blog, I talk about when you should consider adding bookkeeping to the business operations that you outsource.
This month, I wanted to get a little more specific. Here are some bookkeeping and accounting services that you should consider as you grow your business:
QuickBooks set-up - QuickBooks is a timesaver, but getting it set up correctly can be time-consuming and complicated. I suggest hiring someone to help you set up QuickBooks and teach you how to use it. If you’ve already set it up but haven’t kept up with it, it would be beneficial to hire someone like me to clean up your books and get started fresh.
1099 Distribution- Preparing 1099's can be a headache! The rules are complicated and change pretty much every year. I have to do a lot of continuing education to keep up with them myself. This is one task I suggest outsourcing to your accountant or bookkeeper.
Payroll - As your business grows, you will need to think about hiring employees rather than paying everyone as an independent contractor. There are specific rules for W-2 payroll as well as rules for how you pay and treat your employees. No one is born knowing this! The rules are very tedious and state-specific. Payroll is the one function that I absolutely do not recommend business owners tackle themselves. The chance for errors is exceedingly high and IRS penalties are assessed if you do it wrong. Pay a professional to do your payroll. You’ll be glad you did.
Accounting - While many business owners can handle their bookkeeping in the beginning, the problem comes once they grow. Starting a company from scratch requires some accounting entries and knowledge that most business owners don’t have. So, some accounts are wrong from the get-go. Then, as the business grows, the owner is pulled further and further into creating their product or providing their service, and the time they spend on bookkeeping dwindles until it’s almost nonexistent. Most of my clients come to me once the bookkeeping has gotten too difficult or too time-consuming to do on their own.
Are you starting a new business or want to grow your existing business this year? I’d love to help you keep your books so that you can make better decisions, have your taxes done on time, and have an overall better financial picture of your business. Make an appointment on my Calendly link today!