Which one are You? “I’ll do it Myself!” or “Here! Take my Books!”
We live in a time where you can find tutorials and how-to’s online for everything and where many people would rather first try to do things themselves and save a few dollars before paying someone else to do it. The same goes for startups and small businesses, especially those that are just getting started.
When it comes to your business’s finances though, what is best? There are two main schools of thought for small businesses or startups looking at how to do their Bookkeeping. One is that you should just do everything yourself and the second is that you should hire someone to do it for you.
Really, the case can be made for either. Here are the main things that you should consider for either direction you take as well as ways to know when to make the transition.
Do It Yourself:
If you are a small business or a new startup and only have a few expenses, it’s not so hard to just keep track of them yourself. The same goes for funds. If you have limited funds, you most definitely only want to spend them on necessities and taking care of your own books is one of them. If you are good with numbers and like working with them it can make sense for you to save on additional expenses and do your own bookkeeping.
Are you interested in the Bookkeeping part of your business? If you are, chances are you will make sure that you understand what you are doing and maybe even take a class or two to learn more. Doing your own books as a startup founder or small business owner allows you to get intimately familiar with your company’s finances. It helps you keep your finger on the pulse of your bottom lines IF you make it a priority and stick to it.
If you are in fact doing your own books, it is imperative that you have someone else take a second look. Having another set of eyes go over your work helps to make sure that there are as few errors as possible and is not saying that you are doing anything wrong or need help. It’s the same thing as proofreading or doing spell check on a document or email.
If you recognize these signs, follow the arrow and hire someone.
- Are you behind on your bookkeeping?
- Do you dread doing bookkeeping?
- Do you find yourself constantly putting it at the bottom of your to-do pile?
- Are your expenses and invoices piling up somewhere that you have either put out of your mind or just told yourself, “I know what’s in my bank account, so I can do that stuff later”?
- Are you dreading tax season either because you don’t know what to expect or because last year was a nightmare?
- Do you have a niggling suspicion that you missed out on several tax breaks?
- Are you second guessing anything when it comes to your company’s finances?
If you are answering yes to any of these questions, chances are you are at a point where you need to hire someone that specializes in taking care of books for a company of your size and with your needs.
Here, Take My Books!
Does the idea of handing over your Bookkeeping cause a sigh of satisfaction and anticipation instead of anxiety? Are you at a point where you have realized that it will cost less to hire someone else to do your bookkeeping than it will for you to continue to spend your most valuable commodity, time, on doing it yourself? Have you ever sat down and worked out what it is costing you to do your books yourself? Are you ready to release the reins, hire and delegate this job to someone who is not only qualified and specializes in finances but someone who can dedicate their time to keeping up with the pulse and monetary movement in the company and in turn give it to you regularly?
Hiring someone to do your Bookkeeping for you should feel like a step in the right direction. It means that you are growing, and not only growing, but growing to the point that your time is valuable and needs to be spent doing more tasks to continue the growth pattern. When you hire someone to do your Bookkeeping, you should expect to save money. The person you hire can make sure that there are no mistakes in your current books as well as know the best tax breaks and above all free up your time.
Ultimately the decision on how to handle your company’s finances is up to you and each Founder, Owner, CEO and company is unique and has different needs and goals. What’s important is that your finances and bookkeeping is a daily priority, whether to you or to someone else.
Weigh all your options and do what is best for you and your company 🙂
If you have any questions please shoot us an email at paul@financepals.com.