How a bookkeeper can save your small business time and money
If you're running a small business, there's a good chance you’re juggling a lot. Client delivery, marketing, sales, finances and everything else that comes with establishing and growing a business. Bookkeeping can easily become another job competing for your attention and taking up your time.
But the receipts still need processing. Transactions still need reconciling. Invoices need tracking. And your accountant needs accurate figures to work from.
And whilst you probably can do all this, the question is whether you should be spending your time doing it.
Outsourcing your bookkeeping to a qualified bookkeeper doesn't just give you that time back. It can help you understand your finances, improve your financial processes and even reduce the amount of work your accountant needs to do at year end.
How? We’ll get to that. But first, let’s start with the basics…
What does a bookkeeper do?
A bookkeeper's role is to keep your day-to-day financial records accurate, organised and up to date.
They use accounting software to help clients create cleaner, more efficient financial processes.
Our small business bookkeeping service is designed to take those regular financial admin tasks off your plate. That means:
✅ Receipts properly matched, so you're not searching for paperwork months later
✅ Transactions investigated, rather than unexplained items building up
✅ Irregularities spotted early, before they become bigger problems
✅ Cleaner records at year end, meaning less chasing between you, your bookkeeper and your accountant
✅ Automation used where appropriate, reducing repetitive admin
And when your bookkeeping is looked after properly, your accountant can focus on what they do best: advice, compliance, and financial insight, instead of detective work.
How can a bookkeeper save me time?
Perhaps you’re reading this and thinking 'but I can do all that bookkeeping stuff myself'.
And you might be right.
Many business owners can, and do, look after the bookkeeping tasks themselves. But ask yourself these questions:
Are you familiar enough with your accountancy package to know you’re using all the relevant features?
Are you up to date on the latest tax laws and legislation?
Are you confident that you’re getting an accurate picture on your cash flow, profitability, overdue invoices and financial reports?
Do you have processes and systems in place to collate receipts, track overdue invoices and see accurate financial data in real time?
And honestly? Don't you have far more valuable things to do than spend evenings knee-deep in receipts, matching income and expenditure and working out how to categorise transactions?
Michelle, By Your Side's Bookkeeping Specialist, is AAT Level 2 qualified and primarily works with Xero.
She helps clients get more from their accountancy software, putting tools and processes in place that keep their financial records accurate without creating more work for the business owner. The result? Better information for you, cleaner records for your accountant, and far less time spent dealing with bookkeeping admin.
How can a bookkeeper save me money?
Well that depends on who’s currently doing your bookkeeping.
Using your accountant? Many accountants can, and do, offer bookkeeping services. At a cost. Either at an accountant’s hourly rate or, if they’re outsourcing it to a bookkeeper, at a mark-up. Working with a bookkeeper directly is often cheaper. Our bookkeeping support is £32.50 per hour, so compare that with both the rate you're currently paying your accountant and the value of your own time.
Doing your bookkeeping yourself? The accountants we work alongside regularly tell us that books prepared by us are easier and quicker to work with as they’re more accurate and reliable. When a bookkeeper is involved, your accountant isn’t spending valuable (and chargeable) time untangling transactions later on. And that often means lower accountancy fees.
Plus, having your transactions reviewed regularly by someone qualified means irregularities, miscalculations and problems will be identified early; avoiding potentially costly issues, and fees, further down the line.
Is it time to outsource your bookkeeping?
Does any of this sound familiar?
You put your bookkeeping off until you absolutely have to do it
You're never completely sure whether everything in Xero is correct
Your accountant sends you a long list of questions at year end
Receipts live in your inbox, handbag, van or desk drawer
You know you should be keeping a closer eye on cash flow and overdue invoices
You're spending evenings doing bookkeeping when you'd rather be running your business, or not working at all
If you're nodding along, that's exactly the sort of thing we can help with.
BYS provides flexible bookkeeping support for small businesses, so you can hand over the financial admin you don't need to be doing yourself, without employing an in-house bookkeeper.
“I found myself struggling to keep up with account reconciliation, which was causing me stress. Then came along Michelle – and WOW, what a difference! Financial Stress? Gone! Michelle quickly and accurately reconciled my accounts, giving me peace of mind and control over my finances.”
Find out more about our Bookkeeping Services for Small Businesses, or book a discovery call with Michelle to talk through what you're currently doing and where we could help.
