What Can a Bookkeeper Do for You?

How Much Time Do You Have?

    Are you looking for someone that gives you back the time you spend with bookkeeping chores? Would you like to be able to make money with the time you spend on the bookkeeping? If you said yes! Keep reading:

Take a minute to figure out how much time you spend on bookkeeping chores for one month. I can tell you that most small business owners spend 4 or more hours each month, and that is not always enough. Let's say you spend one hour each week taking care of the income for your business, one hour each week taking care of the bills, one hour sending the invoice to your customers, one hour each week taking care of expenses and supplies needed for your business. and last an hour taking care of balancing your checkbook each week. That equals five hours each week!

    You have just spent more than half a day on your bookkeeping chores! Now I want you to give some thought to how much money you would be making in that five hours, if you were using that time on income producing activities. How much has that five hours cost you?

    The good news is that when you outsource this part of your business, you gain expertise, time, and most of the time you actually make more money!! It frees up your time to use on the areas that you enjoy in your business, and that make the income for your business.

    There is one more big benefit to outsourcing your bookkeeping, you will gain a better understanding of the financial health of your business. You can make sound business decisions, and it is easier to plan for growth.

Which of these reasons is most important to you? There are many choices for outsourcing, and we believe in offering three levels of services for bookkeeping to meet out clients business where they are at now. We never want a small business to have to wait to get help because of the cost of services. We have just added more choices for payments, and three tiers of service to better serve you.

Contact us today for a Free Consultation! Our passion for small businesses is great, and we want to help others with their bookkeeping needs.

Thank you,

Misty Rodriguez

MDR Bookkeeping and Tax Services, LLC

Six Questions That May Mean You Should Outsource Bookkeeping

Do You Need to Outsource Bookkeeping?

    If any of the following  questions apply to you, then you may want to consider hiring a bookkeeper. The cost may be beneficial in ways that are beyond the money. The expense must be worth it to you, and it is a choice that only you, as a small business can make. 

    Ask yourself the following questions before you decide to go it alone:

1.  Are you sacrificing time in other important areas of your business that cost you money during the time you spend on your bookkeeping?
2.  Do you feel stressed out when you are taking care of your bookkeeping?
3.  Are you certain that you have accounted for every transaction when you file your tax returns?
4.  Are you uncertain of how much money your business has actually made, due to scattered receipts and financial documents?
5. Are you sacrificing time with family and friends to take care of your bookkeeping?
6.  What amount of money would your business be making during the time spent bookkeeping, if you were using that time to work on that area of your business?

    There is no right or wrong way, just a personal choice that is best for your business. Take some time to consider each question. The goal of bookkeepers is to help you make informed choices for your business. We want you to have the time to spend on the activities that help grow your business. Your success is the most important thing to us. The only way to truly grow a business if sound financial decisions, and that is where we can help. 

We welcome questions, and would love to have feedback from our readers. We are working hard to learn this process to provide you with useful information, so please let us know how we can best serve you.

Why Worry About Expenses?

 What Are Expenses?

    Expenses are the money you spend to run your business. The big question is why worry about them? Here are a few basic reasons:

• You will know how much money your business is making.
• You will lower the amount you have to pay in taxes.
• You will need them organized if you are audited by the IRS.
• You will stay within your budget.
• You can grow your business by knowing how much cash flow you have.

How Often You Should Track Expenses?

    The exact timing will vary, but the general times are daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly. Here are a few common items and a recommended schedule:

• Small expenses should be tracked either daily or weekly.
• Most set expenses will be on a monthly basis.
• Estimated Quarterly Tax Payments, and often Sales Tax Payments usually are on a quarterly schedule.
• Yearly expenses are important to keep track of because it is easy to forget things that only come once a year.

Ways to Keep Track of Expenses

    There are many ways to keep track of expenses, and this is a personal choice that works for you! There is no right or wrong way, as long as it gets done. Below is a list of some common ways to track your expenses, and keep them organized:

• Use any type of spreadsheet. ( There are  a lot of free ones found on the web.)
• Use accounting software. (There are many types of both free and paid software, so choose the one that most fits for you.)
• Hire a Bookkeeper or Accountant ( If you have a small business, then a Bookkeeper can be a great choice for you. If you have a more complex business, then an Accountant may be a better choice.)
• You can keep it as simple as a notebook, however, this is not the recommended way. This is not the preferred method for and IRS audit and may end up costing you money.

    This information is not a huge news flash, but I wanted to take it down to basics today. The method is not as important as the doing. Expenses are a big deal because we all need to know how much our business costs us. 

PAYING LESS FOR OUR SERVICES DOES NOT EQUAL LESS VALUE

        Every small business deserves the opportunity to have the support that will allow them to grow and thrive. The prices we set for our services are because we believe that each dream should have a chance to become reality. There are many that charge triple the cost of our services, but a strong desire to help as many other small businesses as possible made my choice of pricing easy.

    The average cost of firms, if you google the cost of bookkeeping, show up at $500-$2500 per month. What? This price is not attainable for many small businesses, and it prompted me to sit down and think about a pricing model that will allow a majority of even the smallest businesses to have the opportunity.

    This in no way means that our business does inferior work. The ongoing education is part of this industry, and we fully believe in making sure we can give the best service to you by the willingness to use research and education to stay up with current changes.

    The support we offer to you goes beyond what most firms feel is necessary. We believe in becoming your partner to share your business with others. There is nothing that helps small businesses grow more than growing a network.

    

    For local businesses we also offer a mobile service that includes coming to your business to save you time and money. The businesses outside of our pick-up service area will be able to snap a photo and upload all documents, we do the rest for you. That service is always available.

    There are so many reasons that I could go on and on, but I will end with this sentiment. You are the reason we are here, and that we have lower prices than most. The passion we feel for small businesses, and the desire to see them all succeed, along with the knowledge that understanding where your business stands financially is not optional made the choice for us.