Virtual Bookkeeping: What It Is & How to Get Started in 2024

Virtual bookkeeping is also referred to as online bookkeeping or remote bookkeeping. Unlike most other outsourced bookkeepers on our list, Merritt Bookkeeping doesn’t offer any in-house add-ons for payroll and tax services. If you were hoping for a one-stop shop that can tackle all of your financial needs, Merritt might not be the right choice for you. A small business can likely do all its own bookkeeping using accounting software. Many of the operations are automated in the software, making it easy to get accurate debits and credits entered. For pricing, we considered whether a service offers a free trial or a free version of its software as well as the affordability of its lowest and highest price tiers.

These tasks can be completed internally, or they can be farmed out as an external service. Bookkeeper360 is best for businesses that occasionally need bookkeeping services as well as those that want integrations with third-party tools. For many, remote work has become the new norm, whether that’s working from home for an employer, or as a service business owner. According to a recent PWC study, financial services firms (including accounting services) saw a major shift in work-from-home with COVID-19.

The 8 Best Virtual and Outsourced Accounting Services for Small Businesses in 2023

See how connecting with experts one-on-one gives this busy voice-over artist the confidence her books are done right and frees up time for the things she loves to do. Feel confident about your business and your books with QuickBooks experts by your side to help you succeed. They don’t take much ongoing effort, so make sure you get them set up right away. And be sure to set up a separate profile for each location you have. Our firm has weekly update meetings on Mondays and we take turns presenting biweekly lunch-and-learns. You may just need one weekly meeting or multiple stand-ups throughout the week.

Online bookkeeping services can save business owners both time and money. However, with hundreds of what is financial leverage and how do companies use it options, it can be daunting to sort through them all and find the best service for your business. Forbes Advisor analyzed the best bookkeeping services to help you find the right solution quickly and easily. We selected these services based on their service options, pricing, customer service, reputation and more. Expert Assisted is a monthly subscription service that requires a QBO subscription and provides expert help to answer your questions related to the books that you maintain full ownership and control. An expert can guide you through QBO setup and answer questions based on the information you provide; some bookkeeping services may not be included and determined by the expert.

This service is ideal revenues definition and meaning for business owners who want to get their bookkeeping in order but don’t have the time or resources to do it themselves. We reviewed multiple accounting software options using a detailed methodology to help you find the 9 best online bookkeeping services for small businesses. Our ratings considered everything from pricing and customer reviews to the number and quality of features available and what our panel of experts thought about the services available. The Essential plan ($249 a month if billed annually or $299 billed monthly) focuses on bookkeeping only, giving you access to a dedicated team that performs monthly bookkeeping services.

1. For example, do one social media post per week, then two, and so on.
2. If a business uses estimates, bookkeepers can generate those estimates and convert them to invoices when the time comes.
3. Bookkeeper.com is an all-around solid pick for small to midsize businesses that might want additional payroll and tax help down the road.
4. Virtual bookkeeping means categorizing, reconciling, and recording financial transactions online using cloud-based software.
5. Depending on the size of your team and the number of projects (and whether or not it’s tax season) you can adjust the length and frequency of these meetings.

The top virtual bookkeeping services

Not all bookkeepers can prepare taxes, for example, which requires an IRS Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN), and many tax filing professionals have only limited rights. Also, while any CPA can be a bookkeeper, there are far more bookkeepers than there are CPAs. In fact, many bookkeepers are trained in bookkeeping right after high school.

AccountingDepartment.com: Best in-house support

Bookkeeper.com is an all-around solid pick for small to midsize businesses that might want additional payroll and tax help down the road. Virtual bookkeeping adds digital, cloud-based tools like BILL to the bookkeeping process, making it easy for a bookkeeper to keep financial records up to date day by day. If you want your business to save time and money, then you should consider hiring a bookkeeping service.

We weighted each category equally to calculate our star ratings, and we also considered our accounting expert’s opinion and advice when ranking our top brands. At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don’t guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.

Why You Can Trust Forbes Advisor Small Business

Every virtual bookkeeping service should have an option that includes this. It might (and it should) cost more than their basic level, acquisitions and payments cycle but the option should be there. You’ll likely need off-the-shelf accounting software in order to check your books and help your virtual bookkeeper categorize any transactions they’re unsure of.