Virtual Bookkeeping

Virtual Bookkeeping

Factors to consider virtual bookkeeping versus an in-house accountant

There are many reasons why hiring The Clem Collaborative for virtual bookkeeping services would make more sense over hiring an employee to do this work in-house. Let’s go over them, so you can decide what’s a better fit for you and your business right now.

Cost of the accounting software

How much time and money do you want to invest in researching and purchasing an online software platform? As a small business owner, when you hire someone in-house, you’re ultimately responsible for the software (not to mention the hardware) they will use in service of your business. In most cases, virtual bookkeeping companies have their own software platforms that they know and use. At The Clem Collaborative, we utilize the cutting edge in software giving us both speed and accuracy so that each one of our clients feels like they are our one and only.

Physical workspace

Do you have a physical workspace that an in-house employee could use right now, and if not, what would it cost to create one? Virtual bookkeepers are just that – virtual. Meaning, they don’t require a physical workspace within your business. At The Clem Collaborative, we have our own professional workspace located in Charleston, SC, where we meet with clients, do our work, and deliver on the agreements we make up front. As the founder of The Clem Collaborative, Steven Clem has created a culture of every client feeling like they are the only one and that means bringing 30 years of tax knowledge, wealth strategy, financial coaching, and shared respect.

Secure portal for record transfer

If working in the same physical space is not important to you, do you have a secure online portal to use for transferring records over to the employee? You’re going to need one. Virtual bookkeeping requires a lot of back and forth exchange of information – receipts, expense reports, bank reconciliations, etc. How much time are you prepared to research and purchase something like this? You definitely don’t want to let your business get burned by hackers. Even a minor breach in security resulting from stolen customer information can result in a PR nightmare, causing thousands or even millions in lost revenue and future business. At The Clem Collaborative, we use Smart Vault – an online client portal with best-in-class security – where your documents are encrypted both in transit and at rest, so you never have to worry about your information falling into the wrong hands.

Management

When hiring an in-house employee, you must manage their daily performance. As their manager, you’re responsible for their professional development, and things like when they can take vacation, and the impact of their behavior on the working environment for you and any other employees you may have. With virtual bookkeeping, you contract based on a specific role they will fill for your business. Their company is responsible for all these things – you simply benefit from the result of their work. In 2016, Bill Lawitzke helped launch The Clem Collaborative’s expanding bookkeeping division. He brings more than 30 years of experience and a wealth of knowledge to assist clients in creating an individual bookkeeping system that works for them.

Overhead

Last but not least, hiring someone in-house can cost upwards of more than 40% more than hiring a virtual bookkeeping service. In-house employees demand payroll, payroll taxes, vacation, insurance and other benefits that a contract bookkeeper gets from his/her employer. Through a virtual bookkeeping arrangement with The Clem Collaborative, you as a business owner aren’t solely responsible for the overhead associated with the employee providing the service, because they aren’t your employee. By paying virtual bookkeeping fees to The Clem Collaborative, these payroll overhead costs are spread across a year’s worth of client contracts, leaving you with only a fraction of what you’d be paying if the bookkeeper was your in-house employee.

Let’s talk.

If you’d like to know more about what a virtual bookkeeping arrangement can do for you and your growing business, and how to decide whether The Clem Collaborative is right for you, let’s talk. Whether you no longer have the time to handle your business’s bookkeeping yourself, or your financial/tax situation has gotten more complicated and you need some assistance, or your current advisor is not providing the value that you need, we can help.

Give us a call at 843.214.2747 or schedule a bookkeeping consultation.

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