That’s it! You’ve had enough and are ready to throw something at your computer. You have no idea why your bank account won’t reconcile, and numbers are NOT your thing. Soo… What do you do? Come back to it tomorrow? Keep trying and stay up all hours of the night? Throw your computer at the wall and hope it reconciles itself?
A lot of business owners have been through this. I can guarantee you that you are not the first one, and you won’t be the last one. Bookkeeping can be annoying for those who do not like it. Afterall, you didn’t start your business to deal with this. You started it to help your ideal client or customer! Or maybe you started it for time freedom with your family and you sure aren’t getting it by trying to figure out why you are $17.65 off on your bank reconciliation. Either way, bookkeeping just isn’t for you.
Well, there is good news! There are people who actually like bookkeeping! I know, weird, right? They find joy in figuring out why exactly your bank reconciliation is off by $17.65. So maybe it is time to pass this task along to someone who actually enjoys doing it and is knowledgeable about it! Below are 5 signs it is time to pass this headache of a task along to a trusted bookkeeper.
1. Your Bookkeeping is Taking up Time to Grow Your Business
You have a list. Not just any list, a mounting list. The kind where tasks just pile and pile and pile and you no longer know where to focus your time. On that list: bookkeeping. You hate it. You wish it weren’t necessary. But it is, you need it to know you are turning a profit. You need to know that your financial key performance indicators are good. But you also need to focus on the other things on this list. The things that are going to bring your business to the next level. Bookkeeping, while important, is not going to grow your business. Sure, the reports at the end can help you to see where changes may need to be made. But if you outsource your bookkeeping a bookkeeper can make sure those reports are ready to go and accurate, all while you focus on building your business! Landing that next contract! Attracting more customers! Developing a new product! What is it that you love that you could be doing instead of bookkeeping?
2. You’re Not Sure if You Are Doing It Correctly
So… You’ve been doing your bookkeeping for years. Which is great because at least you’re doing it. The only problem is that you question what you’re doing. You have no idea if what you just entered is correct. I get it. If you don’t know bookkeeping or have a general knowledge of accounting, it can be hard. This is a great reason to outsource this task. Why stumble through guessing when you can hire a professional who knows what they’re doing and can get it done accurately?
3. You’re Months Behind on Reconciling Your Accounts
Reconciliation? What’s that? Oh. You’re telling me I’m supposed to make sure my bank statement matches what I entered in my books? YES. You need to make sure your books match what your bank statement says, and you need to do it on a regular basis. If you are continuously falling behind, then you may need to hire someone who will do it regularly.
4. Your Invoicing is Falling Behind
Is your invoicing falling behind? Did you do work weeks or months ago that you still haven’t billed your customer or clients for? THIS is HUGE. You need to be keeping up with your invoicing. This is where you get paid. This is where you are probably making most, if not all, of your money. Without this your cashflow can be negatively impacted. Please do yourself a favor and hire someone who can help to make sure you are getting paid on a regular basis.
5. You Just Don’t Want to Deal with It
AHHH. Yes. You hate bookkeeping. Better yet, you despise it. So why do you keep doing it? Because it has to be done? But… it doesn’t have to be you doing it. If you hate doing the bookkeeping, if you dread sitting down at your computer to work on it when you could be playing with your kids or having a nice evening with your spouse, then please do yourself a favor and find someone who actually enjoys it that can do it for you.
Are you Ready to Outsource?
Bookkeeping doesn’t have to be complicated, especially when you can hire someone to do it for you. If you find any of the five statements above to be true for you then please find someone to do your bookkeeping. Chances are they might enjoy doing it themselves. Crunching the numbers isn’t for everyone so it is nice that there are people who are happy and find joy doing it. I know, it sounds weird. But yes, some people (myself included) actually do enjoy bookkeeping.