I finally chose a part-time bookkeeper over doing it all myself

For two years I handled all my own invoicing and tax prep for my landscaping business in Phoenix. I figured I was saving $300 a month by not hiring someone. But last quarter I realized I spent about 15 hours a week on paperwork instead of actually working with clients or bidding new jobs. That's like 60 hours a month I could have been earning. So I hired a local bookkeeper for $250 a month and she set up QuickBooks in two days. My revenue actually went up 18% in the next three months because I had time to take on more projects. Has anyone else found that outsourcing one thing freed up way more time than they expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

daniel85728d agoProlific Poster

Bookkeeping for a landscaping business is a lot different than what I do. I tried the same thing and ended up spending more time explaining my messy system to the bookkeeper than I saved. You got lucky with a setup that clicked on day two, most people don't see that kind of smooth transition. The 18% jump probably has more to do with the season or new clients coming in than the bookkeeping alone.

margaret9926d ago

Honestly, I don't think it's that deep. Numbers are numbers, you gotta track what comes in and goes out. If someone's making that big of a deal about it, maybe they're overthinking the whole thing.