How much is too much?

If you are like most small business owners, you may not know, or realize how much time you are spending on accounting and bookkeeping tasks. When we onboard a new client, we unpack their bookkeeping norms and tasks to determine how Expex will afford them more time to grow their business.

How much is too much time?

While it can vary quite a bit, it is typically far more than most people think. People say, “It’s not that much,” but that is typically because the tasks are broken up over time. Below is a list of tasks that everyone must perform, that adds NO value to their business. We wrote about it here in 2017, but now it’s even more relevant as SMBs will not be able to waste ANY time or money (or employees) to do this work.

• Bill payments
• Invoicing
• Sales tax
• Payroll, if you do not use a payroll service
• Reconciling credit card statements
• Preparation of monthly financial statements
• Bank reconciliation

The amount of personal time business owners spend on bookkeeping and accounting tasks is staggering. In an online article on September 13, 2017 by CPA Practice Advisor,

“Small businesses currently spend an average of 120 working-days per year on administrative tasks, accounting for approximately 5% of the total manpower for the average small and medium sized business. That’s according to a new economic report by Sage, a maker of cloud accounting software.

The largest administrative task for Small & Medium Businesses in the United States is accounting, which take up nearly a quarter of all administrative tasks. Operational tasks such as recruitment and HR represent a smaller burden for entrepreneurs.”

Necessity is the mother of invention.

This proverb says it all. The driving desire to invent or create something in response to a need. SMB owners have long since done the work of an accounting department, or lack thereof, performing tasks that should be easier and streamlined. Technology has given us online banking, Zoom meetings, electronic filing for tax returns and so on. Yet, the mundane tasks of bookkeeping were the last to be automated.

At Expex, we too were spending that precious time performing mundane accounting tasks until we built Carly. Now those tasks are completely automated and we enjoy total financial visibility.

• Automate tasks like paying bills and managing cash flow
• Reconcile bank and credit card accounts
• Deliver smart alerts for tasks you need to perform
• Lower your cost of managing your finances
• Reduce your risk of fraud
• Prepare and deliver monthly financial statements

Try Expex for 60-days with no fee, no obligation.

We want to ease the burden and stress of one of the most critical functions in a business. Contact us for a review and 60-day free trial. So, where is your bookkeeper? Right where she should be. Carly is the last bookkeeper you will ever hire.