Bookkeeper – Internal vs External

Research shows on many occasions owners of business believe they don’t need any help when keeping on top of their accounting, however quickly realise that they spend more time doing their accounts and paying employees then the time actually spent promoting their business.

Business owners are then challenged whether they should outsource their work or hire someone internally on a full time or part basis. The fact is that there is no right or wrong answer to this problem, it all depends on the ability to find the right candidate for the job or the right partner to do the accounting work. It is important to remember though you can have best of both worlds.

Frequently we get contacted by businesses who already have an internal bookkeeper or data entry person and ask whether we can still help. An external bookkeeper should not compete with internal staff but work with them to improve processes and accounting for the business.

At Omnia Bookkeeping we provide assistance to internal staff to ensure that transactions are categorised correctly, that their GST status is correct, and on occasion simply complete BAS lodgements to take advantage of our Registered Agent lodgement extension. We also collaborate and work closely with internal staff to ensure they are appropriately trained using the particular accounting software.

Whether requiring full bookkeeping services or simply assisting on a needs basis when a particular issue arises, we can help identify the best course of action, best software solution or add on to their existing application. The right answer maybe a question away.

The outsourcing of accounting and bookkeeping work can be categorised into simple categories;

Full – where all accounting work including payroll is handed over

Collaborative – where an internal staff member works with the outsourced bookkeeper to get the work done splitting tasks based on priority and experience

Review – where the outsourced bookkeeper simply reviews information on a monthly or quarterly basis, makes recommendations and may or may not lodge the businesses BAS.

However, an outsourcing provider like Omnia Bookkeeping is designed to work with the business in achieving its objectives, and in many instances develops a unique plan which suites the business and the industry the client operates in.

At the end of the day the main objective is to make your work smarter not harder.

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