These days, there’s far fewer concerns about the security of transmitting such sensitive information via encrypted internet channels—and when you work with an offsite accounting firm, great care is taken to ensure absolute security. With that worry out of the way, there’s one less reason not to outsource your accounting needs. So why are some businesses still resistant to the idea?

Ultimately, it all goes back to the previously mentioned lack of understanding about the importance of accounting concepts like balance sheets and monthly financials. What’s truly frightening is the fact that a vast majority of people who run businesses don’t understand the critical role that financial statements play in knowing fundamentally important things like whether a company’s turning profit or gushing money. In truth, you can’t “sense” profits and you can’t “see” losses. Far too many businesses in the past have sailed straight into rocky cliffs because they were under the impression they were doing great, when in reality they’d ventured way off course.

Don’t let this happen to your business. If you don’t have anybody at the helm who can review your monthly financial statements and tell you precisely where you’re at, you should consider finance accounting outsourcing. By doing so, you can receive your monthly financial statements online in a timely manner that’ll give you advance warning if you’re sailing into stormy waters—and advice on what to do to change course.

Not to equate the two. Online accounting services are by no means anything like a meatloaf—although under the right circumstances, both can be equally appealing. Consider the fact that finance accounting outsourcing frees up time and money you’d otherwise spend balancing your own books or hiring someone else to do them for you. Sure, it’s not free. Nothing is. But online accounting services offer much, much more than anything a single part-time bookkeeper could ever offer you. Upgrading to add the services of a controller is just a small part of that.

Not ready yet to buy the whole meatloaf? Nobody’s blaming you. Besides, the last thing you want to do is spend a few hours cooking up what ought to be a tasty dish only to discover you’ve bitten off far more than you could possibly devour. So goes the hunt for the perfect controller services. When you work with AccountingDepartment.com, you have the option of trying out the additional services of a controller to see if it’s a right fit. If you try that move at Costco, you just might earn yourself a dirty look from the sample ladies. At AccountingDepartment.com, it’s all in a day’s work.

But for many who have yet to embrace the notion of outsourcing a duty that has for so long been a uniquely internal one, the idea of transmitting their financial statements online via encrypted channels is still a bridge too far.

To get at the root of the deep mistrust of technology that’s prevented many businesses from assigning their bookkeeping needs to external small business accounting services, all you have to do is take a look around at recent news stories concerning certain Fortune 500 companies losing internal customer databases to hackers, and you’ve got a recipe for instant mistrust of online channels.

The fact remains, however, that outsourced small business accounting services offer some of the best security encryption for the transmission of daily business transactions and financial statements online. And the glaring absence of internal controls within small companies and nonprofits to help identify warning signs of fraudulent employee activity is driving the push toward the outsourcing of accounting duties.

Whether you represent a company that’s fallen victim to internal fraud in the past or you’re simply pondering the possible devastating effects it can have, it’s critical to keep an eye open to alternative methods of accounting that can safeguard against such occurrences. Third party accounting services offer clear and transparent data trails, and have the kinds of checks and balances in place that’ll keep the forensic accountants as idle as possible. Considering what their presence implies, this is most definitely a good thing.

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Deciding for yourself is as easy as deciding how important accurate bookkeeping is to you. If the answer to that question is “Not terribly important” then you need a lot more than someone to talk you off the ledge—you need to have your head examined. The fact is, using free bookkeeping software when you’re running a business is asking for trouble. With free bookkeeping software, you typically get:

• No guarantee of accuracy.

• Poor or nonexistent free support. The software may be free to download, but if you’re going to pester the manufacturer with questions you’ll likely be asked to upgrade your package before you get any assistance. In some cases, support isn’t even an option.

• A lite version of the program that won’t perform all of the tasks you need it to perform without paying for that aforementioned upgrade.

There are a number of bookkeeping and payroll services online that not only come with easy to learn software programs, but they also come with a team of professionals working behind the scenes to care for all of your business bookkeeping needs. Hiring a third party bookkeeping firm is a far cry from using DIY free software— it’s actually a major step up. But it’s the route most often suggested to companies seeking easy to use, intuitive bookkeeping software who want to ensure total accuracy in their bookkeeping.

If no, congratulations—you’re doing a lot better than most businesses out there. The fact is, most companies will answer with a hearty “You bet I am!” If this sounds like the first words that came to your lips, don’t take it as a sign that you’re dealing with a bunch of deadbeats and have to start selling your wares to a higher class better capable of paying their bills on time. Even a junior business accountant can tell you that to nip this problem in the bud, all you have to do is:

• Invoice faster. Don’t waste time where receivables are concerned.

• Implement some soft collection efforts, including letters or even phone calls.

• Track reports that tell you how far behind your customers are so you’re not suddenly surprised to discover that you’ve got no flow of cash.

Fortunately for you, common sense doesn’t cost nearly as much as a certified public accountant does. But even if you’re not dealing with issues of common sense, you can get far more bang for your buck by outsourcing your accounting needs to a third party bookkeeping firm. The upside? Cost is considerably less than that of a dedicated business accountant. The downside? You’ll have to explain to your CPA why you’re taking your business elsewhere. We can’t help you there.

• Know the sales tax reporting requirements inside and out for your location. The fact is, if you do business with customers in your home state, you’ll have to collect sales tax—in many instances, additional taxes are also levied by cities and counties.

• Keep all of your sales records up to date and accurate. If you have difficulty doing this, you’re going to run into difficulty staying away from costly penalties.

• Ensure you have a solid understanding of the rules involving the collection and reporting of sales tax. If you don’t have that foundation or you’re a bit shaky on it, you need to address this knowledge gap immediately. When it comes to issues of tax, the government doesn’t treat amateurs and beginners with kid gloves.

For many who are busy with the daily operations of their business, having to deal with issues of state sales tax can be a bit overwhelming. If this describes the circumstance that you’re existing in on a daily basis, think about hiring professional bookkeeping services to handle these duties for you. Considering that the money you put in to have someone else balance your books will be preventing you from having to fork over sometimes extortionate penalties, paying for the services of a business bookkeeping service should pay for itself in no time.

When we say you won’t regret it, we’re not just talking about not having to deal with unpleasant IRS inquiries and needing to explain your every financial action while under a microscope. We’re also talking about the potential monetary savings that you could reap as a result of outsourcing. Think about it. If you’re not able to run your business and keep up with your own bookkeeping, you’ll have to hire someone to do the job—and the fact is, bookkeepers for small businesses take sick days and vacations like anyone else. Sure, the people who support you at a third party accounting service do the same. But when they do, there’s always someone else in place to take over their duties. Considering that in order to put that kind of contingency plan in place you’d have to hire at least two employees to cover the duties of one, you’re already saving money.

Some people view it as a sign of surrender to outsource bookkeeping services, much the same way as the amateur landscaper and car enthusiast feels they’re throwing in the towel when they bring in a professional to take over the job. But looking at it from a purely practical perspective, it’s the only move that makes sense for a growing business.

You’ve probably heard a bit about them before. They’re accounting companies that specialize in taking care of your books so that you don’t have to worry about hiring an in-house bookkeeper to keep everything on the up and up. So what’s the myth? That outsourced small business accounting firms don’t have your company’s best interests at heart—and that the only way to ensure security is to entrust your financial information to only one person: your bookkeeper.

The crazy thing about this myth is that it’s so easy to bust. Anyone who’s ever watched a single crime show can tell you that some of the greatest crimes in the world have been perpetrated by “insiders” who saw in a moment’s wrongdoing the answer to their lifelong money troubles. Simply put, having an in-house bookkeeper in charge of your company’s finances is an enormous risk that simply isn’t there with outsourced accounting services.

First of all, outsourced accounting services have checks and balances and transparent breadcrumb trails that would prevent anyone from perpetrating a crime without being immediately exposed. Whereas if a internal disgruntled bookkeeper decided to turn colors, it could be months before their misdoings would be detected. And by then, far too late to recover.

Nobody wants to give you nightmares, but this type of scenario is one that should be thought about long and hard if it’s to be prevented. Regardless of how you slice it, outsourcing your small business accounting needs makes logical sense if you’re concerned about the safety of your company funds. And these days, who isn’t?

The notion that your company’s financial information could be in the hands of an inexperienced and undereducated bookkeeper raises serious issues if you’re interested in walking the straight and narrow with regard to your in-house accounting standards. A failure to follow GAAP procedures can result in a number of issues, both great and small—not the least of which involves the very financial security and future of your business.

Failure to follow GAAP accounting standards can result in any one of the following intensely undesirable scenarios.

• The inability to make sound business decisions about future company direction. GAAP standards make it easy to review financial statements, allowing you and your business partners to arrive at critical decisions without having to worry that you’re throwing the dice and hoping for a good outcome.

• A failure to attract investors. The bottom line is, no outside entity is going to invest in a company whose accounting standards don’t meet up to GAAP—if for no other reason than most investors will be unwilling to entrust their investment to a company that can’t follow generally accepted principles. But even an investor that might be willing to overlook this would have trouble determining your company’s viability without being able to review your financial statements in a manner consistent with common practice.

If you’re not following GAAP accounting standards, you’re overdue to start. One of the simplest ways of falling immediately into line is to hire a third party accounting firm that’s staffed with educated, experienced accountants who won’t have to be trained to understand GAAP standards.