Bookkeeping

What Are Virtual Bookkeeping Services?

By February 14, 2023 September 13th, 2023 No Comments

what does a virtual bookkeeper do

A virtual bookkeeper must have remote access to all pertinent financial documents. This usually means sending over soft copies like snapshots of physical receipts or PDFs of bills and invoices. They also need access to whatever tool a business is using to record financial data. This can be on a local server, but better yet, cloud-based software that can be updated in real time.

Your client doesn’t have to pay for your time-off, health insurance, 401k, and share of payroll taxes. Some clients will do work at their site, like entering bills, writing checks, sending invoices, and more. In this case, you’ll be responsible https://www.bookstime.com/ for ensuring they make proper entries, reconcile accounts and bank statements, get financial documents, and more. It will be a lot harder to work with a virtual bookkeeper if you use QuickBooks and they use FreshBooks or Xero.

What should you look for in a virtual bookkeeping assistant?

An online bookkeeper is expected to perform all the tasks of a traditional on-site bookkeeper. As an insider in the cloud accounting world, I can tell you that many virtual bookkeeping services don’t follow the best practices that have been listed above. If you don’t walk away from your initial interactions with your prospective virtual bookkeeping service feeling 100% confident that this company has your back, then just say no. Tax laws are becoming more complex, so small business owners turn to accounting professionals to learn about tax-deductible expenses.

Other good reasons to work from home include greater flexibility, increased productivity and motivation, and reduced need for office space. If you have young children, flexible jobs allow you to work from home and care for your kids at the same time. If you have school-aged kids, you can do your tasks from any computer, including outside your home, such as in a coffee shop or a co-working space, while waiting for them to finish school. Occassionally, the role includes business administration, knowledge of Quickbooks Online, etc.

Saves money

As they use the card, that spending is automatically attributed to the right budget, and the books stay up to date throughout the month. Bookkeepers often need to store documents such as client contracts, past tax returns, bank statements, spreadsheets, and more. Formal document management tools are often expensive, but some financial automation tools include unlimited cloud storage along with the ability to connect those documents to client or vendor records.

  • ‍Zeni is a full-service finance firm that handles all your bookkeeping, accounting, and CFO needs remotely.
  • After all, up until this point, you’ve probably been responsible for the comings and goings of every single dollar for your business – and you’re not quick to part with a single cent.
  • Right now there are two payment methods for virtual bookkeeping, you can either pay hourly or pay a monthly fee, which in most cases comes out cheaper.
  • You can upgrade as needed to get more than what you need for basic tax filing.
  • Although actual numbers still vary based on the employee’s qualifications.
  • Bookkeeping online offers flexible working hours, allowing you to maintain the work-life balance you want and need.

For startups that have a lot of customers or a lot of bills, virtual bookkeepers can save many hours every month. “Virtual bookkeeping” refers to online bookkeeping services that perform these tasks remotely. Although the term usually refers to external companies or freelancers hired for your bookkeeping needs, virtual bookkeeper jobs can also include internal bookkeepers who work remotely.

What Services Does a Virtual Bookkeeper Provide?

Running your own bookkeeping business allows you to handle more clients with the potential to make $50 per hour. Working as a virtual bookkeeper also brings you some economic benefits depending on certain factors. By making your home your office, you may be able to reduce commuting or lunch costs. Some virtual jobs even allow you to claim certain work-from-home expenses. Your income as a virtual bookkeeper running a bookkeeping business will highly depend on the scale of the project, the size of your client base, as well as your credentials and expertise.

  • But hiring a Virtual Bookkeeper will allow you to save more while getting the maximum value for your business.
  • Many companies use online accounting and other finance software to manage their financial data.
  • They take care of importing your bank statements and preparing whatever financial statements you need every month.
  • You don’t have to worry about the inconveniences of software nor the expenses of hiring a full-time accountant.
  • But if you ever have any questions about what your Virtual Bookkeeper can or can’t do, reach out to your Client Success Consultant.

Your business will run more smoothly than ever when you get your 
income statements, 
balance sheet and 
chart of accounts organized, which allows you to better understand your business performance. SBOs are usually attending to so many fires remote bookkeeping on a day-to-day basis that it can be difficult to plan ahead for  invoicing and other accounting needs. That can leave them feeling stressed when they realize they need to get the task done pronto and appreciative of that instant service.

To make sure your business gets seen and has a shot at generating leads, use these 9 promotion tactics. Many bookkeepers (and small service-based business owners, for that matter) transition into a LLC as they grow. The business entity structure you choose determines your personal liability if your company ever gets sued, as well as your tax liability. One of the biggest benefits of virtual bookkeeping is helping companies save a ton of time and money versus hiring an in-house bookkeeper. Outsourced bookkeepers like yourself can offer flexibility to adapt, see things from an outside perspective, and be more cost-effective for the company.

what does a virtual bookkeeper do

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