Bookkeeping software or bookkeeping services?
Which is a better option for small business bookkeeping, buying bookkeeping software and handing our accounts ourselves, or getting bookkeeping services to manage payroll, tax etc?
What are the advantages of buying bookkeeping or accounting software, as opposed to having it handled by a bookkeeping service?
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There are 3 main bookkeeping options for small business
Small business bookkeeping can be a time consuming drag on resources. Most small business owners don't really have the time it takes to administer their accounts - as opposed to being out on the front lines driving new business.
It's important for any small business to find the right bookkeeping solution that offers them speed and efficiency at an affordable price. Which one is specifically right for you depends on the unique requirements of your business, but whatever you choose it will be one of the following three options:
Bookkeeping software
Purchasing recognized, high quality bookkeeping software
gives you complete control over your accounts, but offers less flexibility than the other two options.
While most good bookkeeping software will provide more than enough features to handle a small business' accounts, you might find that you end up having to pay for additional functionality and plug ins.
Purchasing bookkeeping software also runs the risk of becoming outdated within a few years. New legislation or technological advancements could put companies using online bookkeeping software at an advantage over time.
Bookkeeping online
Online bookkeeping (the best being Quickbooks Online
) offers greater flexibility than standard bookkeeping software - although, your sensitive business accounting information is now stored and managed on someone else's servers.
While this may be a concern for some businesses, in fact, it is quite likely that your business data is safer and more secure than it would be on your own PC or server at work.
Online bookkeeping is faster and simpler to set up than bookkeeping software as it requires no downloads or installations.
A nice feature of online bookkeeping services is that they often integrate new technologies and services in the background. This means that you stand to benefit from upgrades without further investment or cost.
I would recommend online bookkeeping as the easiest, most flexible and cost effective bookkeeping solution.
Bookkeeping service
Hiring a bookkeeping service, or outsourcing your accounts offers the greatest degree of flexibility and customization, but means that you relinquish almost all control over your own books.
In effect, you are offloading a non-core business activity to another company that specializes in those tasks.
A bookkeeping service will save you the most amount of time and effort, but will cost more than the other two bookkeeping options because you are paying a professional bookkeeper for their time.
Finding a quality bookkeeping service can also be a time-consuming challenge within itself. Be prepared to invest a bit of time and effort in speaking to potential bookkeeping services to ensure that you go with an affordable service that will do a good job.
There are also many services that offer various aspects of accounting outsourcing, such as Paychex payroll outsourcing
.