Running a small business is the aspiration of many people, but as anyone who’s attempted it will no doubt confirm, the ‘back-office’ side of business ownership can be challenging. One of these challenges is staying on top of your financial records, which can be problematic even if you already outsource your accounting and bookkeeping. However, this doesn’t need to be the case. You might even ask yourself, ‘Do I need a new bookkeeper or accountant to help keep my business on track?’
Maybe so. If your current accounting and bookkeeping arrangement feels more like a source of stress than support for your business, it might be time to re-evaluate. In this article, we look at three clear signs that you could benefit from switching to a more professional and reliable outsourced bookkeeping service, such as Vanilla Accounting.
Sign One: Poor Communication
A good bookkeeper is more than a service provider. Ideally, they should be an accessible and proactive partner in your business’s financial management. Therefore, if you find yourself constantly emailing your bookkeeper for answers or sailing close to the wind on important reporting deadlines – such as your VAT or CT submissions, this is a clear red flag. Poor communication creates confusion, leading to unnecessary stress, lost opportunities, and even critical mistakes and missed tax deadlines. Rather than being an asset, an outsourced arrangement of this kind can cost you money and time better spent elsewhere.
What You Need
A professional bookkeeping service, such as the one we provide at Vanilla Accounting, places clear and concise communication at the heart of its process. In practice, this means regular updates, fast responses to your email and phone queries, and clear explanations of what your financial data actually means. Many business owners sometimes wonder, ‘Do I need a bookkeeper if I have QuickBooks or similar software?’ While tools like QuickBooks can automate certain bookkeeping tasks, a proactive bookkeeper will make sure that nothing slips through the cracks and will also provide tailored advice that you won’t get from software alone. With this kind of support on your side, you’re never left guessing.
Sign Two: Lack Of Modern Technology And Integrations
If your bookkeeping partner isn’t already using advanced cloud-based platforms or up-to-date bookkeeping tools, your business could be missing out on valuable efficiencies and cost savings. Today, bookkeeper professionals and accountants generally use secure, cloud-based, and integrated systems that give their customers real-time insight into their finances, and which seamlessly connect with other business applications. This is true even for high street practices that offer a ‘traditional’ or relationship-based accountancy service. Clinging to outdated technologies or failing to adopt new capabilities and tools can limit your ability to receive timely insights, automate routine admin tasks, and make informed financial decisions.
What You Need
It’s important that you work with a bookkeeping service that actively adopts the latest technologies and methodologies into its work. This doesn’t mean disposing with the human element of accounting – far from it. Modern accounting platforms actually give accountants more scope to provide a responsive and personal service. At Vanilla Accounting, for instance, we used Xero and other cloud-based accounting platforms to create fast and accurate accounts for our customers, and deliver powerful business insights. A forward-thinking approach from your partner will give you access to the highest standards of financial management, tailored for the needs of the modern business landscape.
Sign Three: Lack Of Scalability
Business needs change and shift over time, so if your business has grown or evolved recently, but your bookkeeper service remains the same, you may find that your partner no longer adequately meets your demands. Signs of this could be delayed reporting, a failure to deliver strategic insights, or simply the feeling that your partner doesn’t really comprehend your business’s changing needs. A skilled bookkeeper should have the capability to scale and adapt in line with your business, no matter its size and sector. So, whether you are venturing into new markets, investing in new technology, expanding your workforce or scaling back, your financial management strategy should support these milestones, and not hold them back.
What You Need
At Vanilla Accounting, we provide a flexible and scalable service that is tailored to grow with your business. From established SMEs and long-term family businesses to the newest start-ups, we provide a personal service that allows your bookkeeping strategy to evolve in step with your vision. If you’ve ever wondered, ‘what is an outsourced accountant?’, it’s basically a professional service that manages your finances externally, giving you greater flexibility and access to specialised expertise without the need for a full-time, in-house file. This approach allows you to scale and expand your accounting solutions as your business evolves.
Next Steps
Don’t wait for more missed tax deadlines or costly errors to impact your business: take control of your financial future by partnering with Vanilla Accounting for your bookkeeping needs. To find out more, please get in touch to arrange a free consultation or financial health check to help you assess your current bookkeeping arrangements and see where improvements can be made.
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