Are you thinking about hiring a bookkeeper to handle the day to day finances of your business but not sure of the price tag?

Not to worry, here at Three Rivers Bookkeeping, we want to give you as much information as possible so that you can make an informed decision about hiring a great bookkeeper.

What is the initial cost?

When outsourcing a new bookkeeper there might be some up front costs that are incurred and they can range anywhere from $200 - $5000.

Why can this range be so big? There are several questions and considerations that a bookkeeper will have for you that will go into the initial cost. A good bookkeeper will request read-only access of your financial information. In order for them to give you an accurate initial cost, they need to be able to see the current state of your finances. A few questions that they might have for you include:

• Are your books up-to-date?
• Are your taxes up-to-date?
• Has the bookkeeping been kept up or is there clean up that needs to taken care of?
• Do you already have accounting software or does this need to be set up?
• Is there payroll for the business?

If there are several months worth of clean up work, some of these initial costs may be paid over several months and that can ease the payment of the initial cost.

What are the monthly costs?

The costs of outsourcing a good bookkeeper for your business are dependent on many, many different variables. Company size, the number of bank and credit card accounts, the number of transactions per month, the number of employees, how payroll is handled, how many invoices need to be sent out and how many bills the business incurs every month are just a few of the variables that can go into the monthly cost of hiring a bookkeeper.

When considering these variables, a good outsourced bookkeeper can charge anywhere from $550 - $2500 per month depending on the level of service that your business needs, their expertise or specific industry that they work with.

There's no doubt that you get what you pay for and unfortunately hiring a good bookkeeper is not going to be cheap, however, a good bookkeeper is worth their weight in gold when it comes to saving you money during tax time, keeping your finances organized and up to IRS standards and keeping your accountant happy when tax time comes around. However, one of the all time best benefits for you, is that your bookkeeper will be able to prepare critical financial statements and best of all be able to educate you on what these key business documents mean for your business.

Now I know you're probably sitting here with your jaw almost to the floor with those numbers but in all reality, a great bookkeeper is going to save you more money than you actually spend for their monthly services.

What should be included in monthly services?

The three biggest reasons to have a bookkeeper is to make sure that you are staying in compliance with IRS regulations, are ready for tax time and to help you understand where your business stands financially.

A quick, bare minimum list of the services that your bookkeeper should be providing for you:

• Correct organization and classification of transactions in accounting software
• Monthly reconciliation of bank and credit card accounts
• Monthly financial statements

Takeaways

Hiring a good virtual bookkeeper can not only keep you in compliance but can help your business reach ultimate financial success. Three Rivers Bookkeeping specializes in outsourced bookkeeping for auto shops. If you have any more questions after reading this article, please do not hesitate to reach out.

Now get out there and do what you do best... run your business like the champ that you are!