Thinking of Bringing Your Bookkeeping Back In-house?

Have you reached the stage where you’re thinking of bringing your bookkeeping function back in-house? Congratulations! For many small businesses, growing to such an extent where this is something you need to consider is an achievement to be proud of.

Let’s look at the pros of such a decision. And let’s also take some time to look at the pitfalls you need to avoid.

The advantages of in-house accounting

You get bespoke support

These days, many bookkeepers offer a series of packages at different levels: all you have to do is choose the one that best suits your needs. It makes for clear and simple pricing that’s easy for the bookkeeper to explain. It’s also easy for a business to budget for.

But as your business changes or grows, you may find you have requirements that don’t fit neatly into a box. When you bring bookkeeping in-house you can define the role you need to be fulfilled. It means you get better value from the bookkeeping function.

You get focused support

With an outsourced bookkeeping function, you’ll be one of tens (if not hundreds) of other companies. When you’re small and your bookkeeping queries are few, this isn’t necessarily a problem. But what happens when you start to grow? Can your accountant take into account the nuances of your business and industry? Eventually, frustrations start to creep in.

You don’t want to waste precious time explaining the context of your question to someone so you can bring them up to speed. You don’t want to wait a couple of hours while someone familiarises themselves with your files and gets to the answer. You want someone who is as familiar with your business objectives as you are. Who’s working on your books – and only your books – so they can pick up the ball immediately.

You get expert support

There’s plenty about bookkeeping and accounting that is the same no matter which business we’re talking about. But every business has different processes and different ways of working. As before, when you first start, this isn’t necessarily an issue. But as you grow, having to shape your bookkeeping around their preferred way of working can become difficult and inefficient.

What are the pitfalls you need to avoid?

Not hiring an expert

The chances are that you’re not an accounting expert. It means you need to be careful to hire someone who is. If you’re at all unsure about what to look for, enlist the help of someone to advise you – your accountant at the moment is a good place to start. Ask them to go through the applicants with you and help you draw up a shortlist. You can even ask them to sit in when you’re interviewing too so they can flag up any warning signs. They should be familiar with your line of work and the industry you operate in.

Not hiring for the future

You might only be looking for a bookkeeper now, but think about the future too. Do you plan to grow further still, to the point where you might need the services of a finance manager or director? If so, is it worth hiring someone who’s got the skills you need now but is also keen to develop them? It might be an ideal opportunity to recruit someone you can develop as your business develops and who will be a loyal, enthusiastic member of the team for the long term.

Not harnessing what technology has to offer

Making Tax Digital means that, sooner or later, digital records are going to be essential. Put the tools in place now so you’re ahead of the curve when that day comes. Not only will you make life easier when Making Tax Digital arrives, you’ll also benefit from advantages such as better insight, better efficiency and reduced costs.

In other words, your decision to bring bookkeeping in-house will be more than amply rewarded.