Have you heard of a Virtual Accountant before? With many of us still working remotely at the moment because of the pandemic, it is likely that you may hear of this term more often this year and quite likely well into the future.
Virtual accountants compile and verify financial transactions and ensure that their clients are financially efficient as well as compliant with lawful business practices. Instead of working in the office, Virtual Accountants work from home or in another location outside of the office. Virtual Accountants handle a wide range of responsibilities, depending on their specialty.
During tax season, a Virtual Accountant prepares tax documents, calculates taxes owed, and follows up on payments made to or received from different government agencies.
Other responsibilities may include documenting individual expenditures, reviewing financial statements for quality assurance, and verifying transaction compliance. Virtual Accountants may also be expected to make budget recommendations to increase the financial efficiency of their clients.
Benefits of Using a Virtual Accountant For Small Businesses
Business owners, increasingly, who, according to the report, “value their time tremendously and believe that focusing their time on what they do best – rather than what they can do if needed – is good business strategy.”
Outsourcing the bookkeeping part of your business to Virtual Accounting services allows you to have more time to study the financial health and well-being of your business and develop plans for future investments in growth. It helps focus your analysis at the strategic level. You can utilize this time to review and manage company productivity, the recruitment process or other current business planning needs.
Because of this, a Virtual Accountant may be the best option for small businesses, particularly when it comes to cost. For one thing, you can hire a Virtual Accountant on a contract basis. This is a massive advantage over paying for vacation time, benefits, payroll taxes and additional office space.
There’s no need to go through the tedious process of recruiting, hiring or training someone new. Instead, you enjoy instant access to trained, experienced and qualified accountants and can choose one based on your financial needs, be it part-time or full-time.
Virtual Accounting Apps
Additionally, you can get your pending work done quickly, as Virtual Accountants are generally available 24/7. Virtual Accounting apps are easy-to-use and include Freshbooks, Quickbooks, Xero and Wave which are relied on for accurate and transparent results.
With virtual accounting, you sign up only for the services you need. This means you only pay for what you need without wasting money on additional services. There is no need to worry about data security. We understand businesses need to keep financial data secure and it can be difficult to completely trust someone to keep it safe. This can be a problem when a business’s accounting is outsourced.
However, Virtual Accountants require access to your organization’s financial data, either from a local computer using a remote desktop protocol (RDP) or from your cloud. This means that none of your data is transferred and it will remain completely under your control. The information is encrypted, ensuring that confidential data remains safe from any threat.
If you are a business that currently does their own accounting but it is all becoming too much and taking up way too much time, then a Virtual Accountant is definitely a choice that you should consider.
