outsource Bookkeeping / hire virtual assistant or to have in house staff

[ACTSOL]

Hi all,
Is it more beneficial for a company to outsource Bookkeeping / hire virtual assistant or to have in house staff to carry on repeated process. Which method is preferred? I need your valuable opinion on this.
Regards,
Rafi Ahmed

[accountantpete]

Depends on the amount of work involved Rafi and whether the in-house staff can carry out these duties efficiently. Generally if these are not full time jobs or so small that you can easily do it yourself then it is better to outsource a reliable service.

[starVA]

Hi Rafi

As Accountant Pete says, it depends on what level of support you need and the amount of work you have.

A Virtual Assistant should work with you to get to know you and your business and take the strain off your shoulders. They are generally sole traders and self employed so the hassles of employing staff, with all the red tape/form filling/H&S issues etc, are not an issue. They will tend to appear more expensive than hiring staff in-house, but they are tax deductable and you only pay for the actual time they spend on your work - they should provide you with a timesheet to back up their invoice - and therefore not costing you when they take a lunch/coffee break/holidays/sick time etc.

Virtual Assistants can cover more than just your bookkeeping though - report writing/ diary/email management/travel arrangements/telephone answering services - the list is almost endless. You can find more information about VAs and where you can find a reputable one, at the society for virtual assistants

Good luck with finding one if you go down that route.

Dawn