You’ve recently set up your own business and, as most business owners will agree, the actions you take in these very early stages will be pivotal to its success. To save money when starting out, you’ll most likely be relying on yourself to complete a wide variety of business tasks. Many people feel that owning a business also means becoming the bookkeeper. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Having to deal with bookkeeping matters will mean that your focus will be pulled away from more important things like acquiring new customers and getting your company name out there.
One of the ways to give your business the best start possible is by asking yourself if you are the best person to tackle finance. The following are some important questions that you need to ask yourself.
Do you have any experience?
Let’s start with the basics. How comfortable are you with numbers, and do you have any knowledge of accounting? You have to be realistic when it comes to your ability because owning a business means audits. If the very idea of numbers, receipts and payments cause you stress, you may find it extremely beneficial to have a professional take care of the books.
Are you organized?
Becoming your own bookkeeper means you’ll have to keep on track of the cash flow of the business. A classic mistake made by business owners is to simply ask how much money do I have? This is completely the wrong question to be asking. If you don’t understand what’s coming in and going out of your business, you’ll never know your business’s true financial state. This is a very serious matter that can, in some cases, lead to the closure of a business.
Do you have employees?
Take a look at your business, how complicated is it? If you run the business solely by yourself, you may find it easy to keep a record of finances. However, if you’re also dealing with employees, keeping a record becomes much more tedious and outsourcing your bookkeeping becomes necessary.
Why did you start your business?
This is probably the most important question that you need to ask yourself: did you start up your business to become a bookkeeper? If you aren’t an experienced accountant, learning how to look after the finances of your business will be a huge challenge. While you’re focusing on the business’s accounts, who will run your business? Sitting at a desk for hours trying to balance books could result in you losing some of your customers, which, in the long run could cost you a lot of money.
Whatever the reason was that you started your business, chances are you wanted to spend more of your time and energy doing things that you’re good at. By trying to take on everything, you not only tire yourself out and lose motivation, but you can easily stall the progress and growth of your business. This is particularly the case with bookkeeping as it’s a task that requires a lot of time and effort. Handing it off to someone who knows what they’re doing will leave you free to tackle what matters most.
Author: Carlo Cretaro is a freelance blogger, copywriter and online marketing consultant. This post was written on behalf of Aardvark Accountancy Services – accountants based in Dublin, Ireland.
Published: December 4, 2014
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