Pros and cons of working with virtual bookkeeping service?

Bookkeeping, Accounts payable/Accounts receivable processing and Assets

As a rule, small business owners wear several hats trying to get their business off the ground, trying to save money instead of hiring different specialists.

But sooner or later, there will be the point when the working burden becomes too heavy for one person to handle. Moreover, some professions are vitally necessary for business development and growth. 

Remote jobs are formatting the entire sphere of employment, and accounting is not an exception. LinkedIn Workplace Confidence Index shows that more than 80% of finance specialists consider that their work can be performed more effectively from the remote workplace than in the office, where everyone can disturb an accountant while performing important tasks.

And they even believe that the entire financial part of the business can be transferred to remote rails without any difficulties, as their work doesn’t require constant personal contact, but on the contrary, needs a quiet and peaceful atmosphere. 

Fortunately, modern business patterns allow us to use outsourcing services for the greater part of everyday work to save our nerves, time, and money. The above mentioned bookkeeping is a vivid example of when outsourcing works better, especially when the number of day-to-day accounting tasks accumulates as the business is growing. 

An accountant can help your company to escape many costly mistakes in reports or tax declarations. At the same time, it’s quite a risk, and before hiring one, you should weigh all pros and cons of a virtual accountant or an office one.

What should you know about a virtual bookkeeper and accountant?

How does it work?

A business owner usually provides the access to the server, bookkeeping software (like Quickbooks, Sage and other), documents, and other data necessary to perform the accounting tasks, through a secure portal.

At the same time, a virtual bookkeeper can adjust the working schedule to the time convenient for both – company and employee,  log into the company’s network, and perform the tasks.

It is convenient for a company as the business owner doesn’t have to provide working space and equipment, as an accountant works from home. The only necessary thing is a stable and secure Internet connection.

Different accounting software, messengers, and video-conferences provide us with the possibility to get a good professional, even from another area, you are not tied to certain borders anymore. 

What can a virtual accountant do?

Virtual accountants can perform all the tasks in-office employees do. They perform all the paperwork and follow up all the business transactions, record them into the ledger, prepare regular reports for management and state authorities, such as income statements, balance sheets, salary, etc. 

The larger the company is, the broader range of responsibilities may be moved to the outsourcing accounting team: starting from paying the bills, and up to periodic reporting, working time calculation, and tax payment.

Huge companies have a big staff and multiple tasks for accounting teams, which means that an employee focuses on some everyday duties like entering inventory to the accounting system, or issuing bills to be paid by the clients.

All these day-to-day operations demand accuracy and plenty of time. So if you delegate similar tasks to remote employees, you leave your in-site staff with more time for their primary duties.

Hiring a virtual accountant can be a benefit to any business, but it also may have disadvantages to your type of business? And you have to weigh all the pros and cons.

Advantages of virtual accounting service.

• Saving resources.

And it refers not only to money, though it is in the first place. A virtual bookkeeper isn’t officially your employee, and it means that you are not obliged to pay all taxes, medical insurance, and other payments connected with salary. Moreover, you don’t need to search for a place to work and equip it with all the necessary machinery.

So you pay just an hourly rate that is considerably lower than a standard industry payment.  GrowthForces state that a full-time bookkeeper will cost your company about $4000 plus health care, taxes, benefits, and vacation. Hiring a virtual account costs about $2000. The difference is considerable.

• More accuracy.

If you are multitasking, the rate of mistakes is much higher, even in case you have enough knowledge and experience in bookkeeping.

American statistics show that almost 30% of small companies go bankrupt due to insufficient attention to financial part and mistakes in reports to controlling organs and authorities.

So, hiring an accountant or several, focusing on the financial sphere only, will help you to avoid mistakes and overwork due to multitasking.

• Focus on primary duties.

Delegating everyday routine tasks will allow you and your employees to focus on the main functions, which will help your company to make more money and grow. For example, bookkeeping and accounting in health care companies is of vital importance.

Disadvantages of Virtual Accounting Service:

Of course, if there are advantages there probably should be disadvantages, and your task is to find a proper ratio between them.  The main downsides that should be considered first of all are:

• Fails in security.

If you hire a stranger, there is a chance that sensitive data of your company may be disclosed to third parties. So you should consider dealing with an experienced outsourcing company that knows well how to ensure a secure connection, and be responsible for its employees.

Or, you should have a strong IT department that will be working with such things. Front Desk Helpers offer a wide line of digital security solutions for business, making your business running smoothly. 

• Delay in communication.

If you hire a virtual accountant working a certain number of hours a week, then there should be some time when an employee is unavailable. And this may cause inconvenience when immediate actions are needed. 

• Specific knowledge.

Some companies may have very specific business models, requiring experience and knowledge an employee may not have.

And the business owner is to decide if the pros overweight the cons in every particular situation. And it is very important to make your calculations and research what is more profitable in your case. 

Get a professional accountant consultation today