Hiring Vs. Outsourcing

Are you thinking of hiring a bookkeeper? After reading this, you may think it is not as good an idea as it seems. In addition to the costs of advertising, reading many fiction stories (resumes), interviewing candidates (like a brand new car on the showroom floor), job-seekers are the best they will ever be during the interview. After that, it is all downhill, and the only question is how fast.

We interviewed hundreds of candidates for Construction Bookkeeping positions, and 90% of them said they could do the job - if we trained them.

What does it cost to have a bookkeeper on your payroll?

Do You Think Of Hiring Or Outsourcing A Construction Bookkeeper?

Fully Burdened Bookkeeper cost means what it will cost you to hire someone, including the company portion of the payroll taxes and all those little costs that only an accountant like me would think about. The example below shows a part-time in-house bookkeeper at $15.00 an hour working 20 hours a week. Notice this poor soul has few benefits, and they still cost the company $39.40 per hour!

Input your numbers and send yourself a PDF report to see where you stand. Fill in the boxes below.

Your Fully Burdened Labor rate will not be the same as the above example. Simply change the numbers in the Light Blue Boxes to match your numbers and scroll to the bottom to get all your numbers in, and if you want a PDF report, click the blue "Print All" Button" and Save as PDF. Do not get caught trying to track down the exact numbers; just get in the numbers you know for now. You can always come back later and do more calculations. This is a tool to help you get on track.

Unlike hiring employees, when outsourcing your bookkeeping (to us), you don't pay for any 'down time' or office chatter, excessively long breaks, cell phone calls, surfing the web. You are charged only for our professional bookkeepers' time doing your construction bookkeeping work. Our people have the knowledge, skill and we have systems in place to work fast, saving you time and money.

We pride ourselves on employing the most competent construction bookkeeping professionals and ProAdvisors in the business. Our employees have passed our extensive test, a thorough background check, and a personality screening process. Most of our employees have over 10,000 hours of bookkeeping experience. This level of expertise is tough to find when seeking a part-time employee.

Having said that, competent bookkeepers can be highly beneficial for businesses of any size. They offer expertise and insight into areas you may not have experience in. They can also take some tasks off your to-do list, freeing up your time and energy to focus on other matters.

Here are four benefits to outsourcing bookkeepers to help you manage your construction business.

Expertise

A bookkeeper is an expert at managing, sorting, and recording your business's financial transactions. They've spent time developing their skills and experience. They've also seen and resolved bookkeeping-related issues that you may come up against during that time. Their expertise makes them more efficient at managing those issues.

Beyond that, they understand business trends and challenges others in your industry face and can help you move through those as well. They also know what questions to ask to help you make important decisions and share best practices with you.

Guidance

Your bookkeeper not only helps you maintain accurate records, they understand your financial circumstances. They allow you to assess how to make critical business decisions, such as whether now is an excellent time to grow or when you should hold back. They can also identify trends in your industry and help you take advantage of those opportunities.

Finally, they can assist you with budgeting and sticking to your budget. They'll help you develop a realistic financial plan that enables your business to grow while achieving short- and long-term goals.

Time savings

As a construction business owner, you likely have many activities to focus on. In bookkeeping alone, there are numerous tasks to be responsible for, such as:

- Collecting and recording transaction data
- Sorting receipts
- Classifying expenses
- Invoicing customers
- Paying vendors
- Managing payroll

Bookkeepers take on those tasks, so you don't have to. It's not just about the energy you put into them; it's about the fact that unless you're a construction bookkeeping expert, it'll likely take you longer to complete these activities than it would take a bookkeeper.

Think of the time you spend during an average week managing your books, then think of the time you spend during a high-pressure week, such as during tax season. That can add up to a lot of extra hours.

By hiring a bookkeeper, you save yourself valuable time for other activities such as marketing, keeping up to date with the industry practices, or even spending time with family.

Money savings

There's a time cost to doing your books, but there's also a potential money cost in the form of missed opportunities. The time you spend doing your books is time you could potentially be out creating or taking advantage of new opportunities for your construction business. Your bookkeeper frees you up, so you have the time and energy to identify potential opportunities. They can also advise you on whether you're in a fiscal position to jump on those possibilities.

Additionally, the expertise bookkeepers bring to their activities means they're likely to save you from costly mistakes that could affect your finances.

Final thoughts

Outsourcing a competent construction bookkeeper is a sound business decision as it gives you access to expertise and guidance you might not otherwise have, and it frees up your time and money to take advantage of other business opportunities.

As a non-employee, we can give helpful, honest advice on how to improve your procedures and overall efficiency. Most employees simply want to fill their time and are resistant to change. Outsourcing your construction bookkeeping to us means you can pick and choose what services you want - essential contractor bookkeeping services, payroll processing, Quarterly Tax Returns, workers' compensation insurance reports, WIP reports, Job Costing, and more. We will work within your budget, so there are no surprises.

About The Author:

Sharie DeHart, QPA is the co-founder of Business Consulting And Accounting in Lynnwood, Washington. She is the leading expert in managing outsourced construction bookkeeping and accounting services companies and cash management accounting for small construction companies across the USA. She encourages Contractors and Construction Company Owners to stay current on their tax obligations and offers insights on how to manage the remaining cash flow to operate and grow their construction company sales and profits so they can put more money in the bank. Call 1-800-361-1770 or sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com

OUTSOURCED ACCOUNTING FOR
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