Most Common Online Bookkeeping Mistakes

Online bookkeeping is a great option for businesses these days. It allows you to scale your financial team in a way that makes sense for your budget and your needs.

But online bookkeeping isn't without its faults. In this article, we're looking at some of the things that can go wrong and how to avoid them.

Excessive Onboarding Time

Online bookkeeping companies face one of their biggest challenges when they onboard you as a new client. This is because there's a lot that needs to get done in a short amount of time including software setup, process training, and more.

If the company doesn't have a strong onboarding system in place, it could take a lot longer than planned and that may produce mistakes. Go in with a plan, choose a good company, and you'll be just fine.

Communication Mistakes

When you use an online bookkeeping company, you may need to change the way that you communicate. If you're used to in-person meetings where you can walk down the hall for resolution, that won't be a possibility.

All communication is done through email, phone, or virtual meetings. We suggest virtual meetings so that as much of the communication can get through as possible.

Remember, body language is important to good communication, and you can't get that through an email. If your new virtual accountant only communicates via email, you could be open to some mistakes down the road.

Online Bookkeeping Expectations

Depending on what you do as a business, there may be some things that your online bookkeeping team can't complete. If you unload everything onto them, a ball may get dropped along the way.

For example, if you purchase inventory, it's not possible for your virtual team to do inventory counts. You may need to ask your existing staff to help out in certain areas.

So What's the Benefit?

Despite the possibility for some error, using an online bookkeeping company will save you time, energy, and stress. You will have better processes and reporting in place as well, assuming you choose the right company.

Here is an article we wrote a few days ago that talk about 8 benefits that you should be aware of.