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Outline Your Bookkeeping Requirements Before You Hire a Service

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Before you decide to hire virtual bookkeeping staff, it’s important to understand and outline your bookkeeping requirements. Every company varies in their needs and circumstances. Where one company may benefit from a full-charge bookkeeper, financial controller, and software specialist, another may have less expansive needs. Perhaps they require only a monthly write up bookkeeper or perhaps their needs are limited for now but they expect to scale to need additional services shortly. Whichever camp you fall into, it is helpful if you have a general idea of what you need and why.

Do You Know Your Bookkeeping Requirements?
If you're wondering how to figure what you need, rest assured, you are in good company with your questions. Many business owners are not certain what the right formula is for assembling their bookkeeping team. Make sure to interview potential virtual services by spending time on the phone or via video to discuss your needs. An experienced company will be able to assess your financial records and make informed suggested based on what they see.While you will need to provide them access to your QuickBooks file, you should be able to be led through the analysis rather than lead. 

However, you may also have an idea of what services you are looking for, especially if you are coming from another outsourced bookkeeping service. Lists of monthly financial reports, transaction activities and general services can help ensure your needs are address. For example, some of the services SMBs and larger business owners expect from bookkeeping services include:

  • Up-to-date cash flow statements
  • Up-to-date balance sheets
  • Monthly invoicing
  • Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivable
  • Combined financial statements

Bookkeeping Services You May Also Need
Other services you may need include payroll (either someone to coordinate with your payroll company or to actually issue checks), training on your QuickBooks software, and even someone to set up and customize QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions for your company.

What You Should Expect from Business Bookkeeping
In addition to the nuts and bolts of financial reports delivered on time, bookkeepers trained in your accounting software who can share their knowledge with you, and all the typical daily, weekly, and monthly bookkeeping functions, you have the right to expect even more from your bookkeeping services.

Regardless of the company you choose, bookkeepers should follow set policies and procedures to give you the peace of mind that your financial records are in order according to GAAP procedures.

You should have a clear understanding of operating hours, deliverables and connections to your team. For example, do you have direct access to specific team members when you have questions or when you need to send information? Or will it be routed to back offices where you don't know who will be handling your sensitive information. These are important considerations to address early, before you sign a contract.

Most importantly, when you outsource bookkeeping services, you should expect two things: freedom and peace of mind. The freedom to run your business without worrying about detail-oriented bookkeeping processes, and the peace of mind in knowing your bookkeeping services are safe and secure in trustworthy, knowledgeable hands.

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