What can you expect from a bookkeeper when you decide to outsource bookkeeping for your business and what tasks can they do and what does it cost?

1. Outsourced
Bookkeeping – How
to find the right
bookkeeper

2. If you’re ready to move bookkeeping off your
plate, outsourced bookkeeping can be a good option,
but it can also open up a lot of questions. What tasks
can a bookkeeper actually handle for you? Can you get
away with just using bookkeeping software alone?
To help figure out the best bookkeeping solution for
your needs, we will briefly discuss:

3. • The benefits of outsourcing your bookkeeping,
versus using a bookkeeping software or hiring a
bookkeeper in-house
• What tasks a bookkeeping service can cover
In other words, we’ll cover everything you need in
order to make key decisions about outsourcing your
bookkeeping.
Does outsourcing your books make sense for your
business?

4. If you’ve already decided to move bookkeeping off your
place and on to someone elses, then the benefits are
obvious. For starters:
• You don’t have to do it yourself, which means your
time and patience are spent on growing the
business;
• You don’t need to worry about inaccuracies or falling
behind on your books when a pro has it covered;
• When it’s time to raise money or lodge your tax
return, you know your books will be professional,
complete and ready to go

5. But outsourcing your bookkeeping to another company
isn’t the only option you have to off load your books.
You can also hire an in-house bookkeeper. So what are
some of the benefits of outsourcing your books instead
of hiring in-house?

6. • Outsourced bookkeeping is more flexible, allowing
you to scale your service up or down as your
business needs evolve;
• Many outsourced bookkeeping services are more
cost effective (sometime substantially) than paying a
full-time bookkeeper’s salary plus benefits;
• Someone else handles teh vetting adn hiring of
qualified, professional bookkeepers

7. At iKeep, we offer an additional advantage that many
bookkeeping services don’t have. On top of Xero we
use powerful software like Receipt Bank to automate
the most repetitive and error-prone aspects of
bookkeeping. Combined with our expert bookkeepers,
you’ll always get a first-class experience – and keep
great books.

8. Tasks an Outsourced Bookkeeping Service can handle
for you
As it turns out, there’s a lot of blurred area between
bookkeeping, accounting, admin and taxes. The specific
set of tasks your bookkeeper performs can vary from
person to person. So if you decide to outsource your
bookkeeping, what does that actually cover?
An outsourced bookkeeper or bookkeeping service can
generally handle and and all of these tasks:

9. • Importing financial information from your bank
statements, credit card statements, payroll records,
invoices and more (with iKeep, this is generally done
automatically by connecting your accounting
software to source data via an API);
• Categorising and reconciling those transactions to
ensure that everything has been accounted for;
• Tracking bills and income yet to be recognised (which
is otherwise known as Accounts Receivable and
Accounts Payable management);

10. • Ensuring your books are always up to date and
accurate
• Providing you accurate financial statements at
month-end. This generally includes Profit & Loss
Statements, a Balance Sheet and a Statement of Cash
Flows.
• Explaining those financial statements and other
aspects of your bookkeeping in terms you can
understand;
• Handling complete and accurate financial reporting
over to investors, tax agents, shareholders, and
anyone else who may need access

11. You’ll have to hash out the details with the person or
service that you choose. It’s worth asking questions up
front and making sure your expectations are aligned
with their offerings before signing up.
Accurate and up to date financial records are a must
have for every business – but managing them doesn’t
have to eat up your valuable time and patience. If
bookkeeping is taking up time you could be spending
on growing your business, it’s worth the investment to
move the back office off your plate.

12. That way, you can be confident in the accuracy of your
books and get back to doing what you do best.
At iKeep, we have a team of expert bookkeepers,
certified in Xero, MYOB and QBO. Let us take the
bookkeeping burden off your plate.
Check out our recent blog for more info on topics like

13. • How much does it cost to outsource payroll
• How to outsource bookkeeping
• Outsource bookkeeping for small business