According to survey results, 56% of Australians get stressed out by taxes.
Taxes aren’t fun, especially if you know you’re going to be up for a large bill. As a business owner, tax time can be particularly stressful. Are your books processed correctly? Are you underclaiming expenses, or wrongfully stating your income?
Unless you have a degree in accounting, doing your own books and submitting your taxes can feel like a landmine of hidden pitfalls.
The solution? Online accounting.
For many businesses, hiring an accountant is simply not an option. Paying an accountant’s fees—or worse, a full-time salary—is simply not affordable for most small businesses.
Fortunately, online accounting services are a cost-effective way to get the accounting help you need.
Start legally lowering your tax bill, and keep reading to find out how online accounting services can benefit your business.
Online Accounting Services Are More Convenient
One of the big benefits of virtual accounting services is that it’s convenient and can save you vast amounts of time. If you’re a small family business, chances are you’re spending an inordinate amount of time on bookkeeping tasks.
After spending multiple hours per week on financial administration tasks, the last thing you need is to traipse off to an accountancy firm, files in hand.
Online accounting services allow you to access advice, tax planning, guidance, and more. Without having to leave your business to go consult an accountant. This can save you time and streamline the process.
By engaging an online accounting service, they can seamlessly assist you, check your financials, and submit your returns. Instead of scheduling multiple in-person meetings, your online accounting firm can handle everything remotely.
To give you an idea of how this works, here at Accountants 2 Business, we can set up your bookkeeping software, prepare your annual tax return, prepare your financial statements, and conduct an annual tax planning meeting with you, all remotely.
This saves time for everyone involved and keeps processes streamlined.
They Can Also Be More Cost-Effective
Another benefit of online accounting services is they can be much more cost-effective than traditional accounting services.
Remember what we said about how online accounting services help streamline processes, both for business owners and accountants? Because online accounting services are more streamlined, this results in passed-down savings for business owners.
If you engage an accountancy firm that operates in the traditional way, they will usually charge you somewhere between $100-$300 per hour. Depending on the nature of your books, you could easily pay upwards of $1,000 per financial year.
What’s more, it can be tricky to know from the outset what a traditional accountancy firm will cost you. This makes it hard to shop around and compare costs. It also can result in a nasty surprise once you receive the bill.
Some online accounting firms offer set packages based on the number of transactions or your turnover. This is usually a more manageable pricing model for small businesses.
If your business is growing, you might also consider hiring an in-house accountant. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by your business finances, this can feel like an attractive solution, but it’s also likely to be an expensive one.
Currently, the average accountant’s salary in Australia is over $59,000 per year. This doesn’t include staff-related overheads such as benefits, office space, etc.
If you decide to leverage an online accounting service such as ours, you’ll be able to enjoy fixed, predictable, and affordable pricing. Instead of waiting for a bill from your accountancy firm, you can know from the start exactly what you need to pay and what you’ll get.
Our prices are structured to be affordable for our clients. Through our services you can also legally reduce your taxes, resulting in double savings.
Security
When choosing an online accountant be careful. Many online accountants use offshore teams to process your work. This puts at risk your important ID information. At Accountants 2 Business our team are Australians employed in Australia. Our secure document portal and digital signing system keeps your information safe. Our managing Partner, Janelle Bartlett is a Chartered Accountant and our data management complies with the highest standards.
Online Accounting Services Are Great for Scaling Businesses
Besides being highly cost-effective, online accounting services can also be ideal for scaling businesses.
Accounting is one of the trickiest areas to scale if your business is expanding rapidly. During periods of growth, a lot of businesses find themselves in between a rock and a hard place.
When you reach this place, you might be wondering “Is it time to hire an in-house accountant? Or are the extra payroll costs and overheads really justified?”
Transitioning from using an external accountant to hiring in-house can be tough.
Alternatively, if you want to stick to a traditional external accountant, you might find that they don’t have the bandwidth to cover your growing needs.
With online accounting services, you can easily scale from one package to another. For instance, while we can do accounting for your small business, we also offer packages for enterprises.
When you sign up with us, you know that no matter how large your business grows, we can meet your needs. You won’t have to go through the hassle of rethinking your accounting function.
You Can Receive On-Demand Advice and Answers
Another benefit of online accounting services is you can receive on-demand advice and answers to your questions. To access this, you will need to sign up with the right virtual accounting service.
Not all virtual accounting firms offer on-demand assistance. Here at Accountants 2 Business, we understand how important it is for our clients to be able to get their questions answered, and in a timely manner.
This is why we respond to all questions that come our way from clients. If yours is a common question, you will receive a handout completely free of charge. If your question is on a more complex topic, we charge a time-based fee, typically under $77.
We answer all queries within 1 business day.
You Can Legally Reduce Your Taxes
Last but not least, online accounting is one of the easiest, cheapest ways to legally reduce your taxes. Are you claiming everything you’re allowed to as a small or family owned business?
If you haven’t engaged a professional service for small business accounting, you might be overpaying on taxes. Another area many businesses don’t take advantage of is tax planning. One of the best ways to minimize your taxes is to time income and expenditure to fall in advantageous periods.
An online accounting service like ours can help you carry out thorough tax planning to effectively reduce your tax burden.
Are You Looking for a Professional Online Accounting Service?
Online accounting services can help you lower your tax burden, get your books in order, and streamline your record keeping. All at an affordable, predictable price.
Are you looking for a professional online accounting service that ticks all the boxes?
Here at Accountants 2 Business, we’re able to offer expert advice and assistance to our clients at local rates. Whether you’re looking for a solution for small business accounting in Brisbane, Sydney, or anywhere in Australia, we can help. With us, you can know you’re legally paying the minimum of taxes.
Book a free zoom meeting with us today to discuss your accounting and tax planning needs.
