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Should I Do My Own Bookkeeping?

Should you do your own bookkeeping? There are so many affordable and friendly cloud-based accounting packages out there now, is it worth getting a bookkeeping to do it for you?

By 2019 the government will start introducing Making Tax Digital this means eventually every business no matter how big or small will have to start submitting their data digitally.

Previously accounting software was designed for someone with a financial background, there have been big changes over the previous years especially with the new cloud base software, they are now designed to be more user friendly for business owners and they have certain advantages to help save time with processing the accounts i.e. automatic bank feed and apps to managing your accounts anywhere you are around the world.

So if you save money processing your own books why pay someone? to help make your discussion a bit easier I will give you a few pro’s and con’s about processing your own bookkeeping.

The Pros

  • Cheaper – You can save money on your accounting fee, please be aware this is only if you make sure you allocate all your income and expenditure correctly, speaking with experience it can take up more time trying to correct the accounts than an experienced bookkeeper processing them for you at the start.
  • Understanding your business financially – by processing your own bookkeeping you will get a greater understanding of how your business is doing financially and you will be able to maintain the businesses cash flow at a more real-time information bases, this will help you be able to make faster and more accurate decision with loans or large assets etc. when needed.

The Cons

  • Accounting Software – you will need to invest time in researching the different accounting packages out there, they all have there own unique advantages but you will want to make sure that the features on the accounting package you select benefits your business and not just choose one because it’s free to use.
  • Time – It takes time to do your own bookkeeping, time that you might not have within the working day, bookkeeping is one of those tasks that can benefit your business but only if you maintain it and make sure you’re processing the data regularly.

Like most businesses, your verdict will come down to is it financially beneficial also have you got the time to regularly process the data, so the big question, is it worth it doing your own books?

I hope this is food for thought and it helps you make the best decision.

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