Moreover, the time you’ll get back by not doing accounting yourself or the capitals your company will save by dodging another costly hire, here are the key ways outsourcing your accounting gives you a chief advantage as you scale:
You’ll need to be conclusive about expenditure
Throughout periods of growth you’re going to spend money like crazy to survive, and you will have to continually decide what to prioritize. Without the solid financial insights to guide you, your decisions will be based on feelings and assumptions rather than facts. Dangerous.
…Fortunately, outsourced accounting gives you entree to that guidance.
We recently met with our client from Shift (an online car dealing company) to hear more about their experience. What they couldn’t emphasize more was the value they found from having the collective wisdom of an entire team of accounting experts on their side.
It’s time to show investors they can depend on you
Even the richest bankers are going to feel vulnerable when they invest in your company. At this point you may have shown your potential, which may be enough for them to believe in your idea. But they’ll still want to see you’re thinking ahead, anticipating obstacles that could stand in the way of your success and getting them a solid return.
Skilled accountants have seen many businesses develop and scale
This means they can provide comparative and critical analysis and are familiar with what you should prepare for, how to make keener spending choices, and which financing solutions will be the best fit for your business model.
This is why it is clearly critical to plan, justify, and budget for each and every expense instead of spending reactively. And whether it’s hiring employees, sourcing vendors, or picking equipment, think at least six to twelve months ahead at all times and listening to experienced outside opinions.
Impartial accounting keeps you truthful inside and out
A good outsourced accountant understands the weight and longevity of your decisions. They aren’t going to let you go down a path without being realistic and reflective about your company’s performance. Just like you can’t fool your investors with vanity numbers, a good outsourced accountant will be there to help you evaluate and critique your strategy’s presentation and advise on smart tweaks to make along the way.
Someone with outside perspective is also going to be able to flag things that are out of place, especially when it comes to your spending habits.
Always Remember: Being accessible to feedback is key for keeping your business focused in the right direction.
If you reflect investors are the only ones who are going to care about this, you’re wrong. Your clienteles are also deeply invested in your financial know-how and will feel more enthusiastic about using your product or service if they know they can depend on you.
A personal fortune teller
If opening a business was predictable, everybody would be an entrepreneur. But every business is going to be a unique adventure, which unfortunately makes it impossible to create the complete guide to scaling safely. One thing that’s certain: If you’re inexperienced, your fiscal duties and tax responsibilities will seem to appear out of nowhere.
An outsourced controller or CPA can anticipate your roadblocks and opportunities
With all that experience under their belts, they’ll seem to have an uncanny ability to predict issues you may have never even heard of or would be likely to overlook. This includes being one step ahead of your investor’s potential questions and arming you with the information they’ll need to invest in you.
When it comes to forecasting ahead for the future, an outsourced accountant will know how to prepare for the things that no one can see coming. This is where their natural ability to “trim the fat” comes into play. Their grave eye will be looking for ways to keep costs down to what is absolutely essential. If you’re anything like our CEO, you’ll see there’s a lot of power in being a frugal business owner and an outsourced accountant can help you see that light.
