5 Reasons Why You Should Outsource Your Small Business Accounting

Another tax season has come and gone, and as always, it feels like—despite all odds—a mountain has been moved. Maybe you had the nice surprise of a hefty refund, or maybe you had to write some checks you weren’t planning on writing. No matter which way your return ended up, there’s a good chance that the process of putting your taxes together exposed all the cracks and holes in your small business accounting practices. One way to shore up those holes before next tax season comes around is to outsource your small business accounting. And the benefits go beyond a less stressful tax filing.

1. Save Money

Whether you hire an internal accountant or accounting team, or you outsource the accounting for your small business, there’s a price tag attached. For a small business, bringing on a new

employee is no small decision. Their salary, benefits, and other monetary concerns have a serious impact on the bottom line. That cost typically overshadows what you would pay to an outside accounting firm.

This is especially true if you’re one of the many small businesses that finds itself in that undefined space where accounting takes too much of your time to handle on your own, but there’s not quite enough to do to keep a full-time employee busy. Hiring someone to sit idly by for a good chunk of the work week is an investment that simply doesn’t deliver.

2. Save Time

When you outsource your small business accounting, you’re contracting a firm to apply their expertise. That means you can get back to applying your expertise—running your business. And when your accounting is running smoothly, the rest of your business operations follow suit. Accurate, up-to-date financials allow you to assess scenarios and make decisions quickly.

3. Reduce Risk

Unfortunately, internal fraud is a reality for many small businesses. The consequences of falling victim to internal theft can cut the legs out from under your business and stop you in your tracks. And implementing overzealous safeguards can erode employee trust and morale. An independent accountant provides an impartial system of checks and balances that you can rely on.

4. Adapt on the Fly

Nothing provides flexibility quite like an outsourced accounting team. If you have seasonal highs and lows, they can increase or decrease resources on their end to help you roll with the punches. And if your accounting needs surge, they’re ready and waiting to provide the assistance you need. If you keep your accounting in-house, a sudden increase in need can necessitate a new hire, but even at its most efficient, the process of interviewing, waiting out a new hire’s two-week notice, and getting them up to speed takes time you may not have.

5. Learn from the Best

Your outsourced accounting firm provides your small business with an incredible resource of knowledge and experience. Rather than searching all over for the right accounting software, you can take confidence in the fact that they’ve done their homework and have the best tools available at their fingertips. Plus, they know how to take full advantage of those tools for your business.

The benefits go beyond using the right software. An experienced accounting team can provide you with proven best practices to streamline operations, benchmark financial performance, and position your business for growth and success. And come next year’s tax season, not only can you take confidence in the fact that you’ve met all regulatory requirements, you can also reap the rewards of an experienced team that knows how to maximize deductions and returns for your business.

If outsourcing your accounting seems like it might be the right choice for your small business, call Steiner Business Solutions here in Richmond, VA at 804.525.4259 to learn more about our accounting services.