Why Virtual Bookkeeping Will Save your Small Business

“Virtual bookkeeping services are scary. They will not work.”

It’s a common misconception of those who have not tried yet the various online accounting

services. But as soon as they’ve signed up for a virtual small business accounting service,

they soon realise the benefits of it.

How many times a day have you seen your staff bookkeeper spending his/her time at the

water cooler or just chatting with co-workers?

When you opt for online accounting services, you can save money and time. And as a

business owner, you know that time means money.

Many are still undecided about using it because it will mean outsourcing your

accounting/financial statements.

But did you know that the most successful, profitable small businesses of today are using

online outsourcing? Yes, they have embraced it so that they can spend their time

differentiating their companies in the marketplace.

They are using online accounting as part of their long-standing sustainable business plan.

The owners of these businesses have more time improving the quality of their

product/service and increasing their profits.

But how can virtual bookkeeping services save your small business?

Save overall cost

If you want to simplify your accounting, you should consider online accounting services.

How much are you paying your in-house bookkeeper? A virtual bookkeeper will cost less to

hire.

How?

There is no need for you to run background checks, provide ongoing training, etc. The online

small business accounting services will do that for you.

Generally, you will save in the region of 30-50 percent of the entire cost of hiring an in-

house bookkeeper and using traditional accounting infrastructure. The savings will include

the hours of time you and your partners spend on those activities.

Because online bookkeepers work remotely, you will not have to process their payroll taxes,

pay holiday time or provide other benefits.

You will be surprised to know that most companies offering online accounting services have

talented and experienced bookkeepers.

With that in mind, you are not only getting great value for your money but you will actually

obtain a very experienced, talented, efficient team of bookkeepers that will help you with

your small business. That is truly accounting simplified.

Flexible

In-house bookkeepers are talented. True. But they are not perfect individuals. They make

mistakes in your financial reports.

And when they do, you will not see the inaccuracies right away. As soon as you notice the

miscalculation, you would like them to amend the errors. But, what if they are on holiday?

Sick leave?

Here is where an online small business accounting service comes into play. The virtual

bookkeeping service provider have experienced, trained bookkeepers who can work,

effortlessly, with your accounting reports.

Our accounting services at Sanay are flexible. You can contact our customer support any

time you need support and your financial reports are available for viewing and editing 24/7

through the cloud.

Our virtual bookkeeping services fit easily work around your schedule.

You will have expertise on your side as the virtual bookkeepers have excellent knowledge in

this industry. The nice thing is that you do not need to pay for them around the clock. When

you start putting your books into the online accounting services with highly trained and

skilled bookkeepers, your job as an owner will become a lot easier and more effective.

With that said, sick and holiday days will never be a problem to your small business.

Focus on improving your growing business

Hiring a virtual bookkeeper will boost your company’s productive time as you do not have to

work on bookkeeping tasks all day. You can decide how much time a virtual bookkeeper will

spend working with your financial reports.

This will lead to overall savings as online accounting services have fixed fees, dependent

upon the transaction volume and the package you choose. This way, you will know the

overall cost of the transaction before you even sign up, making it easier for you to stay on

track with your budget.

As you let someone else handle the bookkeeping, you can more easily concentrate on

running your business. Because you know that your bookkeeping is taken care of by a

trusted service, like Sanay, you will focus your time on other important things to grow your

business.

You will have the peace of mind that you need so you can gather resources in building your

company, instead of looking into your accounting all day.

Outsourced accounting services will provide you with updated financial reports anytime you

need to monitor your company’s financial health. Because they are up-to-date, you can stop

spending money you don’t have or know when you can spend to take your company to the

next level.

We understand the value of financial reports and statements in running a business. With the

up-to-date financial reports that we send to you, you can effectively use them to know

whether or not your business is running smoothly.

Through updated and accurate financial statements you can easily make key business

decisions that can support your company’s growth.

Freeing up your time as the manager or owner of your business will give you the

opportunity to handle other issues, other than problems related to bookkeeping. You can

focus your attention on product development, marketing and selling.

Hire trained individuals

Again, this will mean savings.

With online accounting services, you won’t waste your time in hiring or interviewing

individuals to perform the tasks.

As you hire traditional bookkeepers, you will have to spend time guiding them in the things

that they must do. Most of the time, applicants don’t have all the qualifications or training

that you want and need for your company.

When you consider virtual bookkeeping services, you are hiring someone with skills and

years of experience. You will be working with people who are not limited by geography or

skills. You can give them tasks that a regular bookkeeper may not be able to perform or

accomplish.

When you do opt for trained traditional bookkeepers, their rates are expensive.

But with virtual bookkeeping services, you can have well-trained, skilled bookkeepers

without additional cost. The rates are approximately 30 to 50 percent less than the rates

you will have to pay for traditional bookkeepers.

This will lead to great savings for the entire cost of operating your small, medium or large

business.

Obtain genuine opinion

How many times have you tried to ask your bookkeepers about the financial status of your

business?

With a third-party involved, you get a genuine opinion of your business. Since the third-

party does not engage in your company’s inner workings, it can give you better advice on

how to improve your business. The recommendations it can offer will not be self-serving but

for the benefit of your company as they are not influenced by a desire to improve their

position within your organisation.

Because of that, you can now start to use your bookkeeping system to make key business

decisions that can surely make a positive impact in your business.

Get hold of timely, updated financial reporting

As already mentioned, virtual bookkeeping services can provide updated financial reporting

in real time.

Generally, bookkeeping or accounting is the first thing that usually takes a back seat. This is

especially true when things start to pile up. The next thing you know, it’s tax season and you

haven’t touched your books since the previous tax season.

Through online bookkeeping, accounting is simpler as you get financial reports virtually

anytime.

So, what does this mean to your company?

Apart from the fact that an updated financial report can help in making key decisions, you

can minimise your tax liability.

We all know that inaccurate books can result in various unpleasant results.

For instance, if your profit and loss report is erroneous, your company could end up paying

more taxes. This would mean wasting your hard-earned money.

Then, on the other hand, if the report is understated, you would be underpaying in taxes

and possibly inviting an investigation by the government.

If your company has accurate accounts that you can review before paying taxes then this

will allow you to make important tax decisions before the tax season ends.

Better cash flow management

With an accurate bookkeeping system, you can easily look into your financials and evaluate

whether or not you are making enough profits from your business. When you maintain a

proper bookkeeping system, you can avoid a negative account balance and avoid fees

adding up.

If this situation continues, bank fees and other charges can accrue, which may end up

hurting your business financially.

Having a properly managed cash flow will also enable you to reduce your outstanding

accounts receivable. With ineffective accounts receivable procedures, come shortages in

cash flow. Even though you see excellent revenue figures, your cash could be all tied up in

your accounts receivable, your bank balance may still suffer. You must convert receivables

into cash.

You must also keep an eye on your accounts payable so that your company’s cash will not

be paid to your suppliers before the required payment dates and so that you are taking

advantage of any discounts available.

By closely monitoring both your payables and receivables, you can increase your cash flow

making your operating activities easier.

Are they secure?

This is one of the issues raised by many managers/owners – how secure is a cloud

accounting service?

Sanay partners with Xero to make sure that we can fulfil all of your accounting/bookkeeping

needs. We are concerned about Internet security, too.

That is why we only use the highest level of security in protecting our clients’ financial

reports. The cloud accounting software that we use implements the same security methods

being utilised by popular, major UK banks. It is protected using 128-bit encryption, which is

the highest level of Internet protection for all web browsers.

Yes, we are more secure than your physical office. Your in-house bookkeepers may lose

their computer passwords. They may keep their records in an unlocked file, thereby,

increasing the risk of unauthorised access to those records.

But through our secure environment, your financial records will be processed utilising the

highest level of protection to make sure that they will not end up lying on other people’s

desks.

Investing your money in the right place

As a business owner, it is essential that you put your money in the right place. This allows

you to save more while you get the maximum value of your business.

One of the most tedious tasks in managing your business is bookkeeping. It can be time-

consuming to manage and prepare your accounts. But it is an essential aspect in managing

your business’ financial health.

You must not handle the bookkeeping tasks on your own, as it may only hamper the overall

growth of your company. With virtual bookkeeping services, your company will become

more financially organised.

Your small business will enjoy the monetary benefits of online bookkeeping services

because you do not need to pay for the costly monthly salary of a traditional bookkeeper.

The cost of appointing an online accounting service is cheaper than having an in-house

bookkeeper.

The financial data of your company is essential in making financial forecasts and managing

cash flow. As the owner of your small business, it will not be your job to look into and

analyze balance sheets, profit and loss reports, etc. All you have to do is to know what they

mean and how they can affect your business. From those pieces of information, you can,

more easily, make financial decisions that can help you run your business smoothly.

When you use our accounting services at Sanay, you will spend less time analyzing your financial reports and more time making decisions that affect the growth of your company. With timely financial reporting, you can create forecasts and make financial plans. You will spend more time determining ways to increase your sales, instead of focusing on keeping track of your books.

Best, Jonathan Carling Managing Director at Sanay Limited Jonathan.carling@sanaybpo.com

Do you want to learn more about outsourcing your finance function to facilitate growth in your business? Schedule a free consultation today!