By David Grunseit, Director of NorvaNivel Furniture
This may sound strange, but I rarely see my bookkeeper Avi. He works from his Melbourne office at BAS & MORE, while I live in Sydney operating my business throughout the world.
These days, thanks to modern technology, Avi doesn’t need to be at my place. I buy the hours I need. If my business expands, I can always buy more time.
A Deloitte 2016 Global Outsourcing Survey estimates that over 50% of businesses in Australia, North America and Europe outsource services to cut costs, focus on core business, improve productivity and solve capacity issues.
In the States alone, outsourcing bookkeeping has grown to over $300 million, while Australia is hot on its heels.
Why Outsource Bookkeeping?
There are so many reasons why you should take advantage of outsourcing your bookkeeping. Here are just a few:
1. Cut Overhead Costs by 40-60% and Focus on Core Business
Time is money and also it is the biggest asset of our lives. By outsourcing bookkeeping to a professional, you save time of juggling this job along with other responsibilities. You can free yourself to grow your business and set priorities for other employees, which is HUGE.
So too, instead of paying wages and sick and holiday leave allowances to in-house staff, you only get to spend a reasonable hourly rate or a fixed monthly price. This alone cuts overhead expenses by 40-60%.
2. Access Intellectual Capital and Hire a Bookkeeper Who Can Solve Your Headaches and Manage Your Risks
Avi often saves me more than I pay him because he makes sure I take full advantage of Australian business incentives while avoiding the ATO penalties for failure to comply with regulations I might not even know about! And that’s gold.
Plus, Avi runs a team of local qualified bookkeepers, so you get the support of a whole accounts department as needed throughout the week, even if your weekly package does not exceed 6 hours!
Compare that to the risk of hiring an employee, who might lose interest over time, leave your company, join the competition and take along your intellectual property!
3. Reduce White Collar Crime
A 2016 study by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiner indicated fraud is most likely to occur in small, private businesses with under a hundred employees. The average cost of white collar crime to a business is almost $150,000.
Crime is made easier by the fact that these companies don’t have a financial officer or a controller. Those with trained outsourced bookkeepers can alleviate the risks of white collar crimes.
4. Save Space and Capacity
Whether space is already tight at your present location or you’re planning to expand at this site or set up other locations, outsourcing bookkeeping means you don’t have to designate space for it.
Moreover, whether I have one or a dozen locations anywhere in Australia or around the world, my bookkeeper can seamlessly continue to take care of my company needs, compile the books and keep me in the loop no matter where I am on planet Earth.
As Jennifer Williams notes in her recent article, outsourcing is the biggest growth hack of 2017. And I can’t agree more.
