Hiring an accountant
When you first open a startup, it’s most likely that you’ll be handling multiple roles, from marketing to business operations and even accounting. However, you will realise that it isn’t feasible for you to continue doing this as your business grows. This is why you need to get help and start outsourcing for an accountant.
What does an accountant do?
Being an accountant covers a variety of job scopes, so it is important to know what type of accounting you are looking for and someone with the specialised knowledge. Different types of accountants can be specialised in different things.
For small business accounting, there are two types of accountants – public and management. Public accountants work independently and can be contracted to small businesses or individuals to help with financial planning and tax preparation.
Management accountants are more critical for small business accounting since they work with businesses to streamline financial processes and records, advise strategy and planning, and produce data and reports.
What to consider when hiring an accountant
When it comes to hiring an accountant, you can choose between in-house and outsourced accountants. However, which one you choose will depend on several factors that you need to consider.
- Working hours
An in-house accountant will inevitably mean that your employee will not be productive at all hours of the day – social conversations and pantry visits are bound to happen. If you require a more productive type of accountant, outsourcing allows you to pay for only the billable time spent on your company. This reduces unnecessary expenditure spent on time that is not spent on work.
- Cost-effectiveness
Cost is a big factor for most companies. When hiring a full-time accountant, their salary will depend on a variety of factors including accreditation, skills and experience. You should also take into account other overheads such as sick leave, working space, laptop, insurance and more.
On the other hand, outsourcing reduces cost as it will be cheaper than hiring a full-time accountant. Furthermore, you will not be required to pay for their overheads. Even if you engage the best external accountants in the market, the total cost is likely to be less than that of hiring a full-time accountant.
- Quality and expertise
An in-house accountant will mean that you will have to interview a qualified candidate with a proven track record in the field and the necessary experience. This increases the risk of having a self-taught employee who may not be as experienced as stated.
Outsourcing provides you with a team of professionals that have diverse experience and continually undergo training as accountants. Years of combined experience and expertise will likely surpass that of single in-house accountants. You can also save time and cost since you won’t have to train outsourced professionals.
How to tell you to need to outsource an accountant
As a small business owner, there will inevitably be a long list of things for you to do. But keep these things in the back of your mind as you decide on how you should settle your accounting. Here are some signs that can tell you that you need to outsource your accounting.
- The thought of taking on overhead costs and managing another employee sounds like a chore.
- Accounting takes up too much of your time, and you find it difficult to answer questions from auditors.
- You struggle with maintaining adequate books and records
- Your company does not have an internal accounting function at the moment
- You don’t have an accounting system in place due to a lack of resources
If you’ve decided that you need to outsource an accountant, our team at Swiftly is more than willing to help you handle all your accounting and more. Our experienced accountants have been consistently trained over the years and have handled brands such as Domino’s Pizza and Singapore Heart Foundation. If you would like to contact us, simply drop us a message through our website chat where our team of experts will assist you.
