Running your own business is full of difficult tasks that you probably never thought you’d have to do before you started it. You’ve not only got to manage making new products, shipping orders, listing items on selling platforms etc but suddenly you’ve also got to become a numbers ninja and understand all about your turnover and cost of goods sold and VAT and HMRC and bleurgh! This is why you need hire a bookkeeper to handle this for you. And if you’re still not sure you do, here are 10 reasons why you definitely do:

1. Save money – Yes, it’s going to cost you to hire a bookkeeper, however that’s not where the saving is. The savings come from your bookkeeper knowing more about what you can and can’t claim for expenses in your business. Or ways you could save money on the things you’re buying. Or ways you can increase your profit.

2. Avoid fines – If you’ve got yourself a good bookkeeper you won’t be getting fined for making errors on your VAT returns or your self-assessment. Missing the deadline for your corporation tax payment will be a thing of the past. Fines in general will be non-existent in your business anymore.

3. Submit correct paperwork – A lot of people aren’t submitting the correct paperwork or any at all! Have you submitted your VAT returns? Have you put in your self-assessment? Have you filed your financial statements and your corporation tax return? If you’re not sure what paperwork needs to be submitted and where, get yourself a bookkeeper.

4. Reduce stress – You’ve got enough on your plate trying to sell your products without having to worry about your bookkeeping as well. A bookkeeper can take that stress away from you and that is an immeasurable benefit!

5. Monitor VAT status – I keep an eye on all my clients rolling turnovers to check whether they need to register for VAT or deregister if their income has dropped. I would put good money on a large amount of business owners not monitoring their rolling turnover and hence not being aware that they need to register for VAT asap!

6. Never miss a deadline – There’s so many different dates you need to keep an eye on depending on what your business setup is. It could be the deadline for your self-assessment, or your financial statements, or your VAT return etc. Get a bookkeeper and they’ll make sure you don’t miss one again.

7. Save time – Imagine for a second that your bookkeeping is all done and up to date and you don’t need to worry about it anymore. What could you do with the time you’re saving by not having to do it yourself or even worry about it anymore? I bet you could get to some of the things that are on your list that you’ve never get chance to do.

8. Know your numbers – If you don’t know where you’re making the most profit or what area of the business is costing you the most money, you can’t make sound decisions for the future. If your bookkeeping is up to date regularly, you’ll have access to the information you need and won’t run the risk of making a decision that could cost you more money in the long run.

9. Reduce loneliness – Running a business by yourself can be quite lonely. Knowing you’ve got someone who’s on your side, who wants your business to succeed and who you can go talk to can massively help reduce the loneliness in your business.

10. Access to an expert – If you’ve got an expert that you can go speak to for help, that’s priceless and a bookkeeper is no different. We are experts in our field and we love nothing more than tackling your numbers!

Even if you can’t resonate with all these reasons to hire a bookkeeper, I bet there’s at least one or two than ring true for you. So, whether you’re looking to reduce your stress or know your numbers, hiring a bookkeeper will be one of the best things you do for your business.