Save Time, Energy & Money By Hiring A Virtual Bookkeeper For Your Online Business

Typical Online Entrepreneurs or Coaches, especially ones starting out, believe they can keep their own books. Used to wearing all the hats in their business, they think they just need to find a good accounting software program, one that practically enters the matching debits and credits by itself, and they’ll be well on their way to saving money and keeping a close eye on their expenses. After all, when you’re the only one writing the checks and balancing the accounts, how can you not keep track of you’re expenses?

The truth is, you can’t.

The bookkeeping requirements of anyone doing business online differ greatly from the needs of a bricks and mortar business. Different tax rules apply. Multiple sources of income may need to be tracked. Payments to affiliates and joint venture partners need to be accurately calculated to ensure they are getting their dues. Most accounting programs don’t even have templates for the Chart of Accounts required by the online infopreneur.

In the long run, a bookkeeper is not just someone who keeps track of your revenue and receipts, but a key member of your online management team. But it’s important to select a bookkeeper who is an expert in your industry. You don’t want to have to train your bookkeeper on your industry language, income and expense categories and other basics. The more versed your bookkeeper is in the needs of your industry, the faster she can hit the ground running and the sooner you will have good data and meaningful reports.

A bookkeeper is a valued partner in your business. A knowledgeable bookkeeper will get your bookkeeping done quickly and efficiently, meaning less time spent on bookkeeping. Having your books in order will give you the data you need to make informed business decisions. Plus, a skilled bookkeeper can help you track your cashflow and work towards your personal financial goals. In short, specialists are worth their salt because they know how to save you time and money.

Not sure if you can afford to outsource your bookkeeping. Here’s a quick exercise you can try. Using a spreadsheet, calculate how much your time is worth. If you’re a coach or consultant, it will be fairly easy to put a dollar value on an hour of your time. Then compare that figure to the cost of hiring an in-house employee to do bookkeeping. Consider factors like adding a desk and a computer and software, as well as the wage expense. And finally, calculate the cost of hiring a virtual bookkeeper, someone who has her own office, computer and software and is ready to get into action immediately.

Even though adding an in-house or virtual bookkeeper to your management team will increase your expenses, the cost can be justified. Imagine how much more efficient and inspired you will be if you have more time to devote providing the core service or marketing the signature product of your business? Every hour you spend bookkeeping, takes away from being able to earn income. There are added health benefits too. As a solo-entrepreneur, self-care is of utmost importance to the success of your business. Yet that is the aspect that is most often overlooked. Imagine the freedom of releasing yourself from the books and buying back an hour a day to get out and take a long walk or do a 30 minute yoga practice.

What To Look For In A Bookkeeper

As stated previously, it’s important to get a bookkeeper who is an expert in your industry. If you sell products online, your bookkeeper should be familiar with all of the tools you use in your business: your shopping cart, your merchant account, your paypal account, etc. If the bookkeeper you hire will be in charge of your books, rather than just fulfilling a specific bookkeeping function like accounts payable, then it’s important that they have a thorough understanding of your online business.

Here are some quick guidelines to follow when hiring a bookkeeper:

Ask your potential bookkeeper what types of companies they have worked with. If they don’t have experience with online businesses, they aren’t the right bookkeeper for you. It is essential to find a bookkeeper who has experience with businesses similar to yours. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting time and money.

Ask about their rates. Qualified bookkeepers generally charge from $40 - $60 per hour. It’s often worth paying more if your bookkeeper will be in charge of your books and providing detailed reports and helping to achieve your financial goals. An efficient bookkeeper will charge you for less hours and you’ll save money and time in the long run. On the other hand, if your bookkeeper will be doing pure data entry, then you shouldn’t pay much more than $35 per hour.

Inquire about their business structure. Does the bookkeeper do it all or is there a team of qualified junior bookkeepers who are employed to do data entry on your books? Ensuring your bookkeeper has the support of a team, ensures that someone is always available to keep your accounts up to date.

Talk to potential bookkeepers about your business and your needs. An experienced bookkeeper should be able to relate to the specific issues you are facing and should have the experience to know how to anticipate and prevent problems in your business.

With the right bookkeeper on your team, you can save time and money and release yourself from the tasks you don’t like to focus on growing your business.

Top 5 Bookkeeping Secrets

Now that year end and tax season is over, I have time to get back to updating this blog. I love tax time but not for the reasons you may expect. I love it because it gives me a chance to connect with my clients (I'm a virtual bookkeeper specializing in bookkeeping for Internet Marketers) and help them implement some simple tricks and strategize to help get their books in shape.

Here are my top 5 bookkeeping secrets:

1. Keep an audit trail: I know, fancy bookkeeping word (scary to some because of the word audit) but an audit trail is simply a record of all your invoices, checks and expenses in numeric order. Does it sound daunting? Don't worry - there are many options to choose from when it comes to bookkeeping software. My personal favorite: Quickbooks.

2. Due date reminders: Use your Outlook calendar, Trumba, Google calendar, wall calendar... anything! Be sure to set reminders for bills that are due, tax remittance deadlines, payroll remittance deadlines. You could save thousands of
dollars per year simply by paying your bills on time (not to mention keep your credit rating in check).

3. Bank statements: With the advent of the internet, e-bills are all the rage. Sure it's eco friendly but if you ever get audited, the auditor is going to want to see physical copies of everything, not digital. So at the very least, you should request a bank statement be mailed to you.

4. Keep good records: Too many business owners don't keep good records. Bookkeeping is the glue that keeps your business together. Without good books, you can't make
financially sound decisions for your business.

5. Computer software: The biggest mistake people make is not taking the time to set up the software correctly when they install it on their computers. If you want a financial report you can trust, you will need to be sure it is set up correctly from the start.

A detailed checklist on how to set up your bookkeeping software and other bookkeeping secrets can be found in my ebook: Bookkeeping Secrets Revealed. Don't struggle with your bookkeeping - order my ebook today!