An image depicting about a time investment on accounting

Are you investing lot of time to do your own Accounting?

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Are you spending way too many hours trying to keep your books? Learning complex accounting software? Stressing about constantly changing tax rules? You’re not alone. Many business owners take on accounting tasks themselves to save money. But in the long run, doing your own accounting can cost you time, money and effort.

It’s Not Easy to Do Your Own Accounting

Accounting may seem straightforward on the surface, but in reality it requires specific expertise and qualifications. The principles, software, and regulations all have steep learning curves. Trying to stay updated on the latest rules takes up far too much time as a business owner.

Here are some key struggles faced when handling your own accounting:

Learning Accounting is Hard

To really understand accounting, you need education on:

  • Accounting principles – Understanding debits, credits, financial statements, managing charts of accounts, and more
  • Using finance software – Many accounting software like QuickBooks, Xero have detailed functionality. Without training, you may not leverage them properly
  • Bookkeeping methods – Recording income/expenses, reconciliation, depreciation, etc. require accountancy skills

Without formal qualifications or experience, there will inevitably be gaps in your financial management knowledge. And these gaps result in errors and inefficiency.

Regulations Change Frequently

Rules for accounting and taxes evolve every single year. New regulations like GST, payroll taxes, or filing requirements are introduced regularly. As a busy business owner, you likely do not have the capacity to stay on top of all these changing laws or compliance standards. This leads to innocent non-compliance and lack of adherence to regulations.

Risk of Costly Errors

When you handle accounting internally, you have to fully own any errors in bookkeeping, tax filings, or reporting. Even small mistakes can compound over time into major problems in your official financial statements and filings. And that results in penalties, audits, and legal issues down the line – besides negatively impacting funding and growth.

Outsource to Accounting Experts Instead

It’s easy to believe that handling accounting and bookkeeping yourself will cost less. But once you factor in the massive time requirements, stress, and the risk of compliance issues or penalties – outsourcing to experts proves far more beneficial. Here’s why:

Significant Time Savings

When you have an experienced accounting services provider handling tasks efficiently, you save yourself hours upon hours every single week. This frees up your schedule dramatically – allowing you as the business owner to focus your energy on sales, client relationships, or developing new offerings.

Up-to-Date Expertise

Qualified and skilled accounting services stay 100% up-to-date on the latest regulations, compliance standards, and changes in regional tax laws. So your compliance is always taken care of, without you having to invest time yourself.

Reduced Error Risk

Professional accountants have years of expertise across accounting principles, using finance software, staying tax compliant, and more. This greatly minimizes the risk of costly errors and mistakes in your fiscal management.

Custom Solutions

Outsourced accounting experts work closely with you to tailor services to your exact business needs. Whether you need hands-on bookkeeping help, high-level advisory services for growth planning, or anything in between – an experienced firm shapes solutions for your specific requirements.

Key Accounting Tasks You Can Outsource

If you’re convinced on the merits of outsourced accounting – but not sure which tasks can be delegated – here’s a quick overview:

Day-to-Day Bookkeeping

Repetitive bookkeeping is hugely time consuming. Outsource tasks like:

  • Recording daily income and expenses entries
  • Maintaining ledgers, journals, reconciling accounts
  • Raising client invoices and managing accounts receivable/payable

Payroll Management

Let experts comfortably handle end-to-end payroll such as:

  • Calculating monthly wages, tax deductions for employees
  • Filing timely payroll tax returns
  • Issuing salary pay slips

Financial Statements

You can outsource preparation of all essential reports:

  • Profit & loss statements
  • Balance sheets
  • Cash flow statements

Tax Preparation and Filing

Be it GST filings, TDS returns, or annual income tax returns – accounting firms take care of submitting accurate tax paperwork on time.

Advisory Services

Your outsourced accountants can provide high-level oversight as well as advice on financial planning, cost-cutting initiatives, expansion decisions and more.

Key Takeaways: Outsource Accounting to Save Time & Effort

Doing your own accounting often seems like the cheaper option. But to avoid costly hassles as your business scales, partnering with accounting experts is much smarter. Here are the key takeaways:

  • DIY accounting has a frustratingly steep learning curve and takes up far too much time
  • Outsourced accounting delivers huge time savings week-on-week, freeing up your schedule
  • Accounting firms lower error risk thanks to up-to-date expertise
  • Get customized solutions catered to your specific business needs

The sheer time and energy savings from outsourcing makes it clearly worthwhile. Combined with reduced operational risk and customized services, it empowers your business growth. Reach out to accounting services firms for a free consultation on offloading accounting tasks off your plate!

Conclusion

For many small businesses in the UAE, using accounting software or outsourcing bookkeeping services can be a more cost-effective and time-efficient solution compared to hiring a full-time CFO. However, if your business is large or complex, or you have specific compliance needs related to ESR, consulting with a qualified accountant or financial professional is recommended.

FAQs

How much does outsourced accounting cost?

Costs vary based on service scope, but expect between $300 to $700 monthly for most small businesses. Packaged solutions can enhance cost-efficiency.

What qualifications should accounting firms have?

Look for Certified Public Accountant (CPA) qualified accountants or Chartered Accountant (CA) qualified professionals.

Can outsourced accounting be done remotely?

Yes, cloud technology enables outsourced accounting to happen online. You don’t need face-to-face meetings.

Pranav Modi

Pranav Modi

Mr. Pranav Modi, CA is supported by 12+ years of Consulting, Auditing and Accounting practice across diverse sectors.

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