At networking events, construction contractors have asked me if we are cheaper than a virtual bookkeeper is. I like to clarify the question by asking if they mean a virtual assistant or a virtual bookkeeper.

There is a HUGE DIFFERENCE between a virtual assistant and a virtual bookkeeper. Virtual assistants can be a real asset to any contractor because they have all of the computer hardware, software and office space in their home, which means they can handle a variety of mundane tasks better and faster than most contractors, can and they can do it for a lot less money. Moreover, they do not need access to any of your sensitive financial data.

The time contractors save can be used to do things only they can do like meeting with clients, scheduling jobs and riding herd over apprentices. In short, doing the $50 to $100 an hour work and outsourcing the $15 to $25 an hour work to a virtual assistant makes sense. In the end, everyone makes more money and gets more enjoyment because they are doing what they love to do!

Virtual Bookkeeper Trap #1

They work from a rented home or apartment so they can disappear quickly when they need too. Professional bookkeeping services have a commercial office space with public access. The top-notch professional bookkeeping services own, not rent, the office building their practice is located in which means they are the most stable of all.

It is similar to Ham & Eggs for breakfast. The hen is involved; but the pig is committed! Wise contractors know the value of having Contractor Bookkeeping Services providers that are committed to their satisfaction.

Virtual Bookkeeper Trap #2

They ask for administrative access to your QuickBooks company file, sensitive documents, bank statements, financial records, credit and debit card information and PIN numbers used to pay your Quarterly Tax Returns.

This is not much different than putting a sign on the main entrance to your company saying FREE MONEY! TAKE AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE! In most cases if you give a virtual bookkeeper your credit or debit card information including PIN number and they embezzle your money you will likely never recover any of it. See Why Bookkeepers Embezzle And Steal

Virtual Bookkeeper Trap #3

They insist on being paid with credit or debit card and ask for the CCV number on the back. Again NEVER, EVER give them access to sensitive documents, financial records, credit or debit card information. Use common sense and always use PayPal or some similar method to pay for their services. Never, ever give them your credit card or debit card information to pay for services.

Virtual Bookkeeper Trap #4

Contractors who outsource important construction accounting services to a "virtual bookkeeper" in an effort to save money are completely foolish because a virtual bookkeeper is usually a Bad Bookkeeper. They are more often than not someone with enough skill to bluff their way into a construction accounting job but without the skills to keep it.

The standard path of destruction starts when the bad bookkeeper discovers that no legitimate construction company will hire them so they take a few online courses or attend a weekend seminar.

Armed with a tiny amount of skill and no practical knowledge they setup a desk in their home and all of a sudden, they are a low overhead, low price, virtual bookkeeper wrecking ball looking for a contractor to pay them to test out their new bookkeeping services skills on. Hiring one of these jolly jokers is worse than turning an apprentice loose on a job site with a set of plans and some power tools!.

Virtual Bookkeeper Trap #5

There is a phenomenon known in financial industry and the plumbing trades as circling the drain. It is a point of no return that begins when a contractor opens his company and QuickBooks setup wrong; not even close to what construction contractors need. Click here to learn what contractors need in QuickBooks setup. And it ends when they go out of business.

Virtual Bookkeeper Trap #6

You have all your eggs in one basket and nobody to oversee that one lonely bookkeeper. The things most contractors never even think about is what happens when get sick, take a vacation, get distracted, get overloaded with clients or simply pass away. Because when, not if, those things occur your contractors bookkeeping services needs will be way down the list of what is important to them and their heirs.

Most virtual bookkeepers operate in a vacuum because they don't have anybody to talk too, no support other than help screens and paid phone support, which they rarely spend money on, and no incentive for continuing education because that cost them money.

Some of them will tell you they have ten years of bookkeeping experience, which really means is six months practice repeated twenty times over. How many times have you hired a construction worker with ten years experience and discovered they knew next to nothing?

The harsh reality virtual bookkeeper traps I have shared with you come from reviewing hundreds of offers from virtual "Virtual Bookkeepers" to subcontract from us.

In all the interviews we have conducted somewhere during the conversation we will ask about their experience working with construction company contractors and most of the "Virtual Bookkeepers" relate stories to demonstrate how the "stupid contractors" they worked for went "bankrupt". I suspect part of it was due to the actions to the virtual bookkeeper.

Newbie virtual bookkeepers work from home and happily give out their home address until they get a few angry contractors stopping by to express dissatisfaction about the condition of their QuickBooks Contractors financial reports anytime of the day or night. After a while they get a P.O. Box or a "Virtual Office" or the economy picks up and they get hired by a desperate contractor.

At the extreme end is the super-duper bargain basement, lower than low priced "virtual bookkeepers" working overseas in hot, steamy, loud and unfriendly environment with little or no skill in bookkeeping or accounting let alone construction accounting which is a whole different skill set.

The worst thing a contractor can do is give a virtual bookkeeper remote access to their desktop computers, servers or other web enabled devices to have free unrestricted access to your company software and financial documents. See Bookkeeper Theft And Ways To Avoid It

The virtual bookkeeper can sign onto your company’s secure network from their home computer and accesses any documents just as they would if logged onto an on-site company computer and in many cases introduce viruses and wipe out many years' worth of work in QuickBooks and other sensitive data.

Outsourced Contractor Bookkeeping Services

On the other side are the Outsourced Contractor Bookkeeping Services Providers like us. We work in a real office building with public access and normal business hours. We hire professional construction accountants and bookkeepers and have a comprehensive Construction Accounting System.

Outsourced Contractor Bookkeeping Services like ours do not rely on in-house servers; or your servers, instead we contract with an Intuit Approved Commercial Hosting company. What that means is Intuit the parent company of QuickBooks has set high standards and rigid requirements for any company wanting to host QuickBooks files. This gives contractors a layer of protection not available in privately held servers because everything is backed up and QuickBooks for Contractors software patches are installed automatically.

Very early in our search for a place to host, store, backup and maintain our own QuickBooks client files we "test drove" a lot of QuickBooks hosting providers before Intuit put their commercial Hosting Program in place and found most of them were offended when we asked detailed questions regarding safety, security and QuickBooks for Contractor backup procedures. Many of them would get frustrated with our questions, hang up the phone, and remove our access.

We have since found what we consider to be the best of the best Intuit Commercial Hosting Provider and we have our own private server. It is not cheap; however, quality is like oats...fresh clean oats cost more than oats that have been through the horse and we know What Ten Minutes Waste Costs Your Construction Company.

Outsourced Contractor Bookkeeping Services have more than one person in the office so you do not have all your eggs in one basket. There are processes in place for checking and verifying the work. When a construction bookkeeper gets, take a vacation, get distracted, get overloaded with clients or simply passes away there is someone else to fill in because everyone is cross trained on everyone else's job wherever possible.

Work flow processes and job descriptions are documented in operations manuals so that when a new hire joins the firm they learn from videos, manuals and audio recordings. Not the old worn out method of following someone around and learning by watching. This means you get what you expect and read about in our Welcome Manual, very predictable, no surprises.

Qualified Outsourced Contractor Bookkeeping Services have specialists and for internal support for staff to talk with and get questions answered. We also provide continuing education. In most cases, our staff ten years of experience really is ten years' experience.

Reduced Employee Costs