The motto for real estate has been “location, location, location” for as long as I can remember. In my former corporate life, I was an accounting manager for a couple of property management and development firms so let’s just conclude that I’ve heard the phrase more than a few times! (more…)
What’s the difference? Remote. Telecommute. Cloud. Virtual. Terms that are used interchangeably but don’t really mean the same thing. Here’s what I mean:
So you’ve heard about the cloud. You’ve heard about virtual assistants. You’ve heard about virtual bookkeepers & accountants. But how do they do that?
If you’ve heard of Virtual Assistants and understand the concept, then Virtual Bookkeeping/Virtual Accounting is not too far from that. The main difference is the area of specialization – instead of administrative tasks, the tasks outsourced are of a bookkeeping and accounting nature.
Who should care about virtualization? YOU, Mr & Ms Small Business Owner. Why should you care? LEVERAGE. Outsourcing to a service provider can give you the leverage, the leg up that you need and help put you on equal footing with bigger companies. Think about it, big businesses have been doing it for years (leveraging and centralizing their resources). Big businesses may have satellite locations all over the state, all over the country, all over the world but they have a centralized location that handles certain “global” business functions such as marketing, advertising, and accounting at the “corporate office”.
So what’s the difference between outsourcing (small business) and centralization (big business)? To be honest, if you give it some thought and consideration, there isn’t much difference at all – except the numbers – the number of people employed and the dollars available to spend. How can you leverage and use this big business model of operations to your advantage as a small business owner? Use economies of scale. Think about it…it’s less expensive to share an accounting department with other small business owners than it is to create, manage and maintain one in-house. When you hire a virtual bookkeeping and accounting service provider, that’s exactly what you’re doing – sharing an accounting department with other small businesses. And, let’s take it one step further – in most cases, hiring a service that will function as an ENTIRE department is less expensive than employing ONE bookkeeper! Providing you with MORE experienced professions for LESS money…more bang for your buck, talk about LEVERAGE. Don’t believe me? Give me a call and I’ll SHOW you the numbers…
Agree? Disagree? Have questions? Post a comment…I look forward to hearing from you and reading your comments.
Image Credit: Filomena Scalise/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Plan Your Staffing Now – Before The Post Recession Rebound!
So you got what you think is a bargain when you hired the new accountant… What are you going to do when the economy rebounds and that employee that took a 25-50% paycut, heads for the nearest exit faster than you can say “2 weeks notice”?
Let’s face it, the harsh reality is that there will be a lot of turnover and attrition of good employees. In fact, it’s not IF it will happen but WHEN. So what do you do? My suggestion: prepare yourself by planning for the inevitable. It’s that time of year – budget time! So budget for changes (turnover/new employees). Evaluate the possibility that you may need to outsource a few tasks (telemarketing, social media, accounting/bookkeeping, marketing, etc), Look at what your core products and services are… wherever you can, tighten your belt.
Related info:
Why Outsource Bookkeeping/Accounting?
Raiding My Team
Four Professionals Who Can Help Your Business Succeed
How Hiring A Professional Costs Less Than Doing It Yourself
Why You Should Outsource
