Outsourced Bookeeping

[Washroom Guy]

HI there does anyone outsource their bookeeping/invoicing? If so who? where? and how much?
We have grown one of our businesses rapidly over the last 12 months and are struggling to keep on top of it -the attraction for me is that outsourcing means I can grow at a 'fixed' cost and budget accordingly. Tennon's are keen but haven't spilt any numbers yet - anyone any experience of them or anyone else? We are Kinross based so preferably someone based in Kinross/Perth/Stirling/Falkirk/Dunfermline?

Iain

 

[Tim Barlow]

I pay £20 an hour for a superb lady here in Edinburgh. Works extremely well for us.

 

[Brian McIntosh]

I do my own book-keeping but send everything to my Accountant to fill in my tax return but, more importantly, he knows what can be claimed for and what can't so usually he saves me more than he costs. saying that, I can usually keep on top of things. For a bigger business I would assume a good book-keeper would be worth their weight in gold.

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Hi Iain,

There are a few bookkeepers on here Neil Gouldie being one who is based in Edinburgh who i'm sure could do a great job for you

You did mention growth above and while this may upset our bookkeepers I think you need to give this a bit of thought whether this is the right approach. Maybe you would benefit more from some sort of part time Finance Director/Controller who could also help you with the more strategic parts of growing your business. I'll stress again then i'm not trying to offend bookkeepers here or dismiss their value but I do believe in small growing businesses that it needs a team of 3 or four people who have the core skills necessary to move the business forward.

You may have these areas covered already and it may be that a bookkeeper is most suitable but I thought I would at least put it out there as another option

 

[Washroom Guy]

Hi yes, it is a tough decision to make. I have three businesses which makes it a tad more complicated as two of them carry out subcontracted work for the fastest growing one. We are also in the process of rolling this out as a franchise operation so could grow very quickly.

By outsourcing we hope to be able to ramp up scale very quickly - As the banks won't touch us (for another thread),we are looking at the most cost effective solution and what roles we need, our Accountant is very experienced and does a great job but is based in England - bookkeeping services i need closer at hand. The business by the way is Home | ToyGuard

Iain

 

[brasspenny]

Hi Iain, maybe we can help? We offer an online accounts service which allows you to have as much input as you want and we do the rest remotely. For example you may want to do sales invoices yourself? We are based on Arran but travel to the mainland frequently as we feel that its important for our clients to know who we are. There are lots of different ways we can now get all the info we need to keep your accounts up to date and also allow you to log on wherever you are and see how you are doing. The choice is something we would discuss when setting you up. We have experienced bookkeepers here working with us and a management accountant so we make sure your books are squeaky clean each month and before they go off to your own accountant and everyone else who needs a copy.
We charge £15 for the online licence and that includes 24/7 support. The first 60 days are free for the licence so you can really try it out. Thereafter the fees are up to you. We charge per transaction so if you grow we do too. If you have a seasonal business you can take over when its quiet and keep your costs down. We work out what your last 3 months transactions have averaged and then ask you to pay that for 3 months - we keep an eye on the number of transactions we process and the change it up or down for the next month and so on. So you always know what your monthly fees are going to be. We are all experienced business people and totally understand how important it is to get the books right and know what the outlay is so that you can go and run your business. Our average fees are the £15 as above for the licence plus anything up to £150 per month.
Hope this is of some help to you. Good Luck.

 

[Gouldie0]

Hi Iain,

Picking this thread up late on but thought I'd add my thoughts on the subject.

I agree with Brian that a good bookkeeper is worth their weight in gold. I think a lot of businesses have tried to make cutbacks and thought about doing their own bookkeeping, not quite realising what kind of workload they could be taking on. Most competent bookkeepers will ensure all your information is properly categorised to ensure you pay the correct amount of VAT and Tax.

I think has the right idea, if your business is growing rapidly you may need a finance manager or and accountant based closer to home.

So many businesses fail to get the proper help at the very beginning to ensure their business is setup correctly.

Ultimately, don't sacrifice good paid advice at the beginning to save you in the long term.

I know your accountant is based in England but have you thought about changing to a local accountant who could provide a more complete service?

Just on the train home using my bb, apologies if there's any spelling mistakes.

Kind regards

Neil Gould

 

[Sid]

Hello Iain

Have you solved your problem yet ?

We are based in Lochgelly and would like to talk to you if there is still a need

Regards

Sid Wales
Glenryan Associates

HI there does anyone outsource their bookeeping/invoicing? If so who? where? and how much?
We have grown one of our businesses rapidly over the last 12 months and are struggling to keep on top of it -the attraction for me is that outsourcing means I can grow at a 'fixed' cost and budget accordingly. Tennon's are keen but haven't spilt any numbers yet - anyone any experience of them or anyone else? We are Kinross based so preferably someone based in Kinross/Perth/Stirling/Falkirk/Dunfermline?

Iain

 

[brian@fbdconsultancy.co.u]

Iain

There are a number of options you can choose.

1 Employ a bookkeeper directly part time. There are some who do a combination of employed and self employed contracts
2 Obtain a fully self employed bookkeeper who operates on their own
3 Obtain a self employed bookkeeper who works closely with a qualified accountant
4 Employ an accounting firm who employs bookkeeping staff.

Their are pros and cons with each. I suggest you need to ensure that your bookkeeping is done regularly and timeously (regluarly monthly resource),where there is regular and "easy" communication between you and the bookkeeper, and that there is some sort of regular (monthly or quarterly) quality control over the transaction entries and bank reconciliations to ensure accurate VAT returns, and finally that there is an "easy" seemless tansition between bookkeeping and final accounts.

Bigger and more expensive does not necessarily guarantee higher quality and more personal assitance. You need to be comfortable with the bookkeeper and the accountant needs to be comfortable with the bookkeeper.

As a professional accounting firm of 7 staff and 3 associates, our focus is on personal but professional service based on mutual trust and respect. We provide services both office based and client based to suit the client and to ensure the client retains control over their business and the whole bookkeeping accounts process. We our main focus is to help the client win not to win fees. We work with our clients not for our clients, to educate and support them where they have such a need.

I would be delighted to have an initial chat with you if you want to email or call me or have me call you.

Best wishes and have a very successful 2010 whatever you decide.

Kind regards

Brian Wright
07740 826858
brian@fbdconsultancy.co.uk (FBD Consultancy - chartered accountants.)

 

[Washroom Guy]

Thanks everyone for info and feedback. We have whittled the potentials down to one and will name names good or bad once we are up and running - it all starts tomorrow so lets see....

Iain:w00t: