Virtual, outsourced, and online are often used interchangeably when referring to bookkeeping and accounting. However, a virtual bookkeeper or virtual accountant can sometimes refer to accountants or CPAs who work out of their homes and contract out their services individually. In contrast, outsourced bookkeeping and accounting nearly always refers to accountants with an accounting firm who handle your books from their own office.
Whether you go with a freelancer or a service like Bench, choosing what’s right with you starts with your bookkeeping needs. If your books are behind, we can get you caught up for $299 per month. Learn more about Bench, our mission, and the dedicated team behind your financial success. Get free guides, articles, tools and calculators to help you navigate the financial side of your business with ease.
Best for Hiring Certified Bookkeepers
Are you going back and forth with a prospective bookkeeper trying to nail down a time to talk, or do they use a scheduling app? If they’re not efficient about this stage of doing business, this may be a sign that they won’t be efficient once types of audit you are a client. SaaS (software as a service) apps make it simple to work from any location by logging into shared cloud-based software. These tools offer everything from an actual accounting platform like FreshBooks to communications and project management like Slack or Karbon.
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Millennial Money Man may have financial relationships with the merchants and companies mentioned or seen on this site. Companies that have a solid understanding of their financials are well-positioned to compete, grow, and respond quickly to a changing market. Unfortunately, tracking and reporting those financials is a complex process that many organizations struggle with. With Live Expert Assisted, you’ll still be managing your own books. Cleanup typically takes 30 days once you upload your required docs. Connect one-on-one with experts so you can manage your books with ease.
If your prospective virtual bookkeeping service understands the value of adding to the conversation, then it is a good sign that they will be genuinely helpful to your business. Next, let’s take a look at a few of the best tools for virtual accounting and bookkeeping services, which have worked well for our all-virtual firm. Yes, virtual and outsourced bookkeeping is just as legitimate as in-house bookkeeping and accounting.
Bookkeeping and accounting software
You’ll need to learn how to use this software in order to help categorize transactions or enter transactions accounting equation definition manually. And, out of all virtual bookkeeping services, Bench is the highest rated by users. At Bench, for example, we connect directly to your bank and credit card accounts to automatically pull your transactions. Then we categorize every transaction and produce shiny financial statements for you. We also give you an easy-to-use platform with simple reports and dashboards to keep track of your finances.
Virtual bookkeeping and accounting services can take bookkeeping tasks off your hands for good. All of the time you spend doing menial tasks, like making journal entries in a general ledger, can be redirected towards growing your business. Beyond those big ones, virtual bookkeepers provide the same benefits as on-site bookkeepers in that they help organize income sources, track the flow of money, update payments, and more. Overall, virtual services are convenient for both the bookkeeper and business owner because of the extreme flexibility. It’s a practical alternative to on-site bookkeeping, and as more and more business moves to virtual spaces, it becomes even more common for bookkeepers and their clients to work together. The virtual bookkeeping providers above might be our what is inventory valuation and why is it important favorite—but if they don’t quite fit your needs, we understand completely.
- At Bench, we give you a team of professional bookkeepers who do your bookkeeping for you.
- Kelly Main is a Marketing Editor and Writer specializing in digital marketing, online advertising and web design and development.
- Because we’re a Microsoft-based firm, we use Microsoft Bookings, but another easy cloud-based solution is Calendly.
- With Live Expert Full-Service Bookkeeping we pair you with a dedicated bookkeeper who will bring your books up to date and then manage your monthly books for you, so you can focus on your business.
The cost of bookkeeping services can vary depending on the size of your business and the features you need. Some bookkeeping services charge a monthly fee while others charge by the hour. You can find services for as little as $20 per month while others run thousands per month. That’s because it offers a prerevenue discount of $200 per month. Each plan comes with a finance expert, automated transaction imports, P&L, balance sheet and cash flow statements. You’ll also get burn rate calculations, which is helpful for startups that need to closely track their spending.
Proven expertise
If you’ve been thinking about becoming a bookkeeper, now’s the time to start. There are minimal start-up costs, flexible working hours, room for growth, and pay ranges from $20 to $40/hour. And starting has never been easier with the Brilliant Bookkeeper course. This start-to-finish course is designed for beginners in mind, and will give you the confidence and skills required to launch your virtual bookkeeping business. And on the accounting software front, Bookkeeper360 syncs with both Xero and QuickBooks Online. With Bookkeeper360, you’ll get a dedicated virtual accountant who sends detailed reports on a monthly basis.
