In-House Accountants Aren’t Cheap
Now your business is going to expand—that should be the goal, right? This means it doesn’t matter how good your accountants are, that department is always going to require some growth. There will be internal infrastructural pressures, equipment costs, space costs, taxes, benefits, and all the other accoutrements which surround internally-sourced departments.
But technology allows you to offset many of these costs simply and directly. Nimble.com lists eleven ways technology can help you save money at your business, and one of the most important items on that list is titled “crunch the numbers”.
To that end, consider some of the numbers which surround the regular employment of an in-house accountant, or the facilitation of even a small accounting department. On Quora.com, a business making $12 to $15 million in revenue annually is going to have between two and four individuals in the accounting department, minimum.
Estimates vary on an accountant’s yearly wages, but generally you can expect a spread between $30k and $100k. That means at best you’re out $120k/year for such a department. At worst, $400k or more. And to compound matters, as mentioned earlier, that cost is just going to keep getting bigger; especially if your enterprises have some measure of success.
You need to consolidate where it’s possible, and today there are online options which can entirely replace an internal accounting department every bit as effectively, but while curtailing literally thousands in costs. Generally you won’t need an accountant until you really need an accountant—but you can’t call an employee out of bed at two in the morning. The internet has no such hang-ups.
Exterior Accounting Solutions
According to Basis365.com, outsourcing your accounting services to an exterior agency can yield exceptional convenience and savings, as well as continuous access to information; like the site points out, their “…software, ecommerce, and service-based customers love how easy [the] process is. Everything is online – all the time.”
If you discover an error on the books over the weekend, you may be able to resolve it immediately wherever you happen to have access to the internet. It’s conceivable that you could clear up a difficulty on the beach with your smartphone, if the data were available to you. This can save days—or weeks—of work. With the swipe of a finger, you conserve thousands.
Even the best accountants are going to make costly mistakes. Should you pay them the highest wages, they will still drop a decimal here or fail to take something into account there. You can’t really penalize them, either. Well, you can; but if they know your books and don’t have requisite moral scruples, you’re leaving yourself wide open for an unexpected attack.
Online, you’re dealing with machines that have complete neutrality. Sure, you might make mistakes running the software; but none of those are going to hold a grudge and decide to take out your business from the inside. You’re a lot less likely to accrue an unexpected audit through use of online software than you are through a disgruntled former employee.
Adaptation
Now the transition can take a little time, but generally isn’t too complicated. Also, when you critically examine it, though an in-house accountant can substantially save your organization, their services tend to be required on a basis that is almost seasonal. Yet retaining them as a dedicated service provider requires year-round employment.
For those businesses who have yet to explore online accounting options, there are a great deal of ways in which this innovation stands to benefit you. Run the numbers and see if you can afford to save a few thousand.