Outsourced or In-House Bookkeeping—Which Is Better for Long Term Cost Benefits?
Proper financial management and accounts-keeping are the backbone of any business. Hence, every business, be it a small start-up or some business giant, has once come to crossroads with the question— Should they develop an in-house team for managing accounts? Or should they just hire a bookkeeping service to keep track of finances. It’s to be noted that both In-house accountants and outsourced ones have different approaches to accounting, and therefore, very different outcomes.
Some small businesses might prefer in-house bookkeeping for data security and closer oversight despite the limited team and expertise. Though most businesses today go for outsourcing accountancy services which are more efficient and scalable, cost less, and have better expertise. Initially, it may seem like an in-house team would have less labor costs compared to hiring a firm, but it has been observed that outsourced bookkeeping services have a better overall pricing model and outperform the other in the long run.
A Comparison Between In-house and Outsourced Accountancy
Here’s an overview of differences in both outsourced and in-house bookkeeping from various aspects:
- Personalization of services
In-house teams are easier to personalize according to business needs. You can simply ask for budget plans, M&A analysis, strategic plans for your organization and can get them whenever required. Outsourced bookkeeping services handle accountancy for multiple businesses at once and have limited personalization options, not to mention, their records are also difficult to access without proper protocol.
- Financial Expertise and Accuracy
Unlike a large accountancy firm, in-house teams have only a handful of people working to chart finances, which means less expertise and workforce. With such workload and lack of manpower, mistakes become much more common. Outsourcing can be beneficial in these cases since they can avail people with varying expertise, who work for hundreds of clients every day. Naturally, the accuracy of their results is greater as well.
- Efficiency and Scalability
Maintaining account records is a very complex and time-consuming work. Both in-house and outsourced bookkeepers require great efficiency to minimize the time taken to do these jobs. But once again, outsourcing means more hands and minds at work, and therefore an easier time with managing everything. It’s also near impossible to adjust an in-house accountancy team’s size on a whim, whereas outsourced accountants like QuickBooks bookkeeping service are always ready to accommodate a business size, big or small.
- Costs Over the Long Term
With how outsourced accountancy works and every feature they offer, it may be expected that in-house bookkeeping would be cheaper. But on the contrary, the expenses for outsourcing a firm are significantly less compared to hiring and training a few competent full-time employees. If any of the in-house employees were to leave, new people would be needed to be trained. All these add up over a period of time incurring unnecessary expenses. With outsourcing though, businesses don’t have to bear any extra costs, and their tailored pricing plans are suitable to businesses.
- Theft and Data Security
Many businesses are wary of outsourcing financial accountants because of compromised information security, preferring to keep it among their in-house staff. Ironically, thefts and information leaks are prone to happening in smaller teams, even though both outsourced and in-house bookkeeping bear the same risks. Big accountancy firms have tighter theft security and with so many people working on the same thing, chances of theft are minimalized.
In regards to these aspects, outsourcing bookkeeping services like Quickbooks seem as the better option in comparison to in-house accountancy for most cases.
How to Know Whether QuickBooks Accounting is the Right One for You
If you’re still on the fence about outsourcing accountants, wondering whether it’s the right time for you, here’s when to choose QuickBooks services:
- If the company is growing exponentially and in-house financial management is not enough.
- You need more scalability to expand the business further.
- Keeping accounts for your business is too complex and needs frequent reports.
- Employing skilled accountants is difficult at the moment or not possible.
- There are several safety concerns about the financial data of your business and better scrutiny is required.
- You need financial advice for stable cashflow and revenue.
Looking for where to find the best bookkeeping service for your business? Impactful Commerce LLC offers professional QuickBooks service in Houston, for businesses seeking to outsource financial advisory and bookkeeping.
