Join | Member Login
Arlington (VA) Chamber of Commerce | Arlington, VA 22201
  • Membership
    • Membership Benefits
    • Join Now!
    • Chamber Assisted Grand Openings
    • Chamber Member Retirement Program
    • ShopChamber
    • Advertising >
      • Website Ads
      • E-Newsletter Ads
    • Arlingtonopoly
    • Century Club
    • Committees
    • LeadShare
    • Annual Corporate Sponsors
    • Member Login
  • Business Directory
  • Events
    • Chamber Calendar
    • Community Calendar >
      • Submit a Community Event
    • Signature Events >
      • Arlington Business Gala
      • Hospitality Awards
      • AWE Women in Business Summit
      • Arlington Chamber Volunteer Day
      • Best Business Awards
      • State of the County & Public Safety Awards
      • Annual Meeting
    • Advocacy Events >
      • Legislative Breakfast
      • NOVA Elected Leaders Summit
      • County Board Candidate Forum
    • Networking Events >
      • Breakfast Connection
      • Business After Business
      • Women in Business
      • Young Professionals Happy Hour
    • Educational Events >
      • Chamber 101
      • Small Business Roundtable
  • Community
    • Arlington Restaurant Week
    • Employer Resources
    • Coupons
    • Job Board
    • Job Shadow Day
    • Travel
    • Foundation
    • Scholarship Fund
    • About Arlington >
      • Business Resources
      • Map of the Area
      • Visiting Arlington
  • Business Advocacy
    • Public Policy Positions
    • Arlington Advocacy >
      • Budget & Taxes
      • Planning
      • Project Support
      • Economic Development
      • Processes
      • Retail & Signage
      • Transportation
    • Virginia Advocacy >
      • Budget & Taxes
      • Transportation
      • Economic Development
      • Other Topics
    • Recent Advocacy
  • About the Chamber
    • 100th Anniversary
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff Directory
    • Chamber In The News
    • Strategic Plan
    • FAQs
    • Publications >
      • Publications (2011 - 2024)
    • Press Releases
    • Contact Us
  • Membership
    • Membership Benefits
    • Join Now!
    • Chamber Assisted Grand Openings
    • Chamber Member Retirement Program
    • ShopChamber
    • Advertising >
      • Website Ads
      • E-Newsletter Ads
    • Arlingtonopoly
    • Century Club
    • Committees
    • LeadShare
    • Annual Corporate Sponsors
    • Member Login
  • Business Directory
  • Events
    • Chamber Calendar
    • Community Calendar >
      • Submit a Community Event
    • Signature Events >
      • Arlington Business Gala
      • Hospitality Awards
      • AWE Women in Business Summit
      • Arlington Chamber Volunteer Day
      • Best Business Awards
      • State of the County & Public Safety Awards
      • Annual Meeting
    • Advocacy Events >
      • Legislative Breakfast
      • NOVA Elected Leaders Summit
      • County Board Candidate Forum
    • Networking Events >
      • Breakfast Connection
      • Business After Business
      • Women in Business
      • Young Professionals Happy Hour
    • Educational Events >
      • Chamber 101
      • Small Business Roundtable
  • Community
    • Arlington Restaurant Week
    • Employer Resources
    • Coupons
    • Job Board
    • Job Shadow Day
    • Travel
    • Foundation
    • Scholarship Fund
    • About Arlington >
      • Business Resources
      • Map of the Area
      • Visiting Arlington
  • Business Advocacy
    • Public Policy Positions
    • Arlington Advocacy >
      • Budget & Taxes
      • Planning
      • Project Support
      • Economic Development
      • Processes
      • Retail & Signage
      • Transportation
    • Virginia Advocacy >
      • Budget & Taxes
      • Transportation
      • Economic Development
      • Other Topics
    • Recent Advocacy
  • About the Chamber
    • 100th Anniversary
    • Board of Directors
    • Staff Directory
    • Chamber In The News
    • Strategic Plan
    • FAQs
    • Publications >
      • Publications (2011 - 2024)
    • Press Releases
    • Contact Us

ChAmber Blog

3 Key Questions to Ask When Choosing a Bookkeeper

6/5/2019

1 Comment

 
By Indre Bauza, Supporting Strategies 
Picture
Sometimes small-business owners have trouble delegating responsibilities. Once you've invested so much time and money (in many cases) in launching a business, it's difficult to relinquish control over aspects of that business - especially the finances. 

As your business grows, you eventually realize there aren't enough hours in the day to do everything yourself. Unless your goal in launching the business was to become a full-time bookkeeper, that's one of the first areas you should consider outsourcing. Have questions regarding how to outsource the financial aspect of your small-business and choose a fitting bookkeeper? Here are some answers. 

1. Will the bookkeeping services provider help you focus on your business rather than on bookkeeping?
The best bookkeeping service providers understand their role is to minimize your involvement in bookkeeping so that you can focus on your core strengths. Here is a real-world example: Having been caught on the DIY bookkeeping treadmill with his first business, a Florida entrepreneur vowed not to repeat that mistake with his second business, an executive networking startup. The entrepreneur said, "I had a bookkeeper before we even had our first member." 

For others, the realization that they need bookkeeping help doesn't come until the business is well-established. For example, a Louisiana custom-home builder recognized they'd fallen behind the times when it came to cloud-based bookkeeping technology, and their staff didn't have the bandwidth to learn it on the fly. An outsourced bookkeeping services provider migrated the builder's books to the cloud. They also provided "real-time, in-the-field decision-making capabilities that we didn't have before," said the company's building specialist, who had also struggled as the de facto bookkeeper. For that company, outsourcing "completely relieved the burden of bookkeeping on a growing small business," said the building specialist.

2. Will your bookkeeping services provider set up systems and processes that will scale with your business?
Think about your five and ten-year goals — will the bookkeeper be able to handle the plans you have for your business without having to implement additional systems and processes during a busy period of growth? Will the systems and processes be robust enough to handle potential changes? Look for a bookkeeping services provider who can set up processes that will handle your businesses' growth with minimal growing pains.

3. Does the bookkeeping services provider have the expertise you need for your business — even if your business evolves?
Scalability isn't just a matter of adjusting to volume — it's about adapting to changes in scope, too. For example, if your small manufacturing firm lands a government contract, your bookkeeping services provider will need to understand highly complex DCAA compliance requirements.

In addition, many fields require specialized bookkeeping knowledge, whether it's maintaining trust accounts for attorneys or navigating the changing nature of billing practices in the medical profession. As the head of a successful surgical practice noted, "Making sure that every patient's payments and [insurance] reimbursements are accounted for and properly credited to their accounts has become a much more complex process." In her case, outsourced bookkeeping services "really helped me manage the financial aspects of my business, which has also helped me manage my time."

You may have additional questions regarding the specific ways that outsourced bookkeeping services can help your business. However, if you've read this far, the question of whether to use outsourced booking services has already been answered.
1 Comment
Taylor Hicken link
5/10/2021 09:29:32 pm

You made a good point when you shared that it is great to hire a bookkeeping service so you can focus on the core tasks of your business. Besides, you get to acquire the accurate financial statement of your company so you can find out ways for improvement. I would like to think if a company needs to improve its operations, it should consider working with a reliable bookkeeping service.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    The mission of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is to strengthen businesses and the economic environment for those who work, live and do business in Arlington.
    Picture
    Contribute to the blog!
    Educate the Chamber membership and Arlington business community by writing a post for our blog! To get started download the blog guidelines and blog template. For questions and more information, contact the Communications Manager.

    Archives

    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013

    RSS Feed

© Copyright 2025 Arlington Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved.
2009 14th Street, North  | Suite 100 | Arlington, VA 22201 | Directions
Tel (703) 525-2400 | [email protected]
MemberClicks
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Home | ​Join Now | Site Map