7 Best Online Bookkeeping Services for Small Businesses

virtual accounting services

We also looked at real customer experiences to determine if their expectations were met based on what each company salary commitment encumbrance promised. After assigning a weighted score to each category, we formulated rankings for each company. But Merritt Bookkeeping’s most stand-out feature might be its in-depth financial reports.

virtual accounting services

Merritt Bookkeeping

Up-to-date financials allow business owners to make informed budgeting decisions, identify potential tax deductions, and have stress-free tax seasons. Bookkeeping creates financial statements, like your balance sheet and income statement, that hold key information about your cash flow, profitability, and business health. A virtual bookkeeper handles your bookkeeping remotely—they may not be in your town or even your time zone. All communication and financial document storage is handled within bookkeeping software. Your virtual bookkeeper categorizes your transactions and prepares financial statements for your business. Sunrise, by Lendio, used to be called Billy until it was acquired.

AccountingDepartment.com: Best in-house support

Our intuitive platform is designed for business owners, not accountants. So you can easily see all your transactions, track your cash flow, and check out visual financial reporting through your web browser or on your phone. If a virtual bookkeeper has no website, no online profile, and no social media, that may be a sign they’re inexperienced or unreliable.

Bench is a popular small business choice because it’s an affordable bookkeeping service with an intuitive, easy-to-use platform. Bench gives you at-a-glance visual reports, which provide you with actionable gross margin vs contribution margin: what’s the difference insight that’ll help grow your small business. Another bonus is that you get to communicate with your bookkeeping service team via chat easily. In addition, Bench has raving online reviews and many integration options.

Their levels of experience and education vary widely—bookkeepers aren’t legally required to have specific credentials. Your bookkeeper has a portfolio of clients they’re working for, but they’re always available for questions or conversations about your finances. Their flexible schedule gives you the communication of a full-time bookkeeper but on a part-time budget. The magic happens when our intuitive software and real, human support come together. Book a demo today to see what running your business is like with Bench. However, if you want more advanced reporting and a more robust mobile experience, you’re better off looking at other solutions on this list.

  1. If you use accrual-basis accounting, you’ll need the Growth plan, which starts at $990 a month.
  2. Outsourced, virtual bookkeeping can cost as little as $150 per month and as much as $900 (or more) per month.
  3. Your bookkeeper has a portfolio of clients they’re working for, but they’re always available for questions or conversations about your finances.
  4. Or let a tax expert powered by TurboTax do your taxes for you, start to finish.
  5. Higher-tiered plans unlock more transactions and a more frequent service level.
  6. Below, we review the best virtual and outsourced accounting services for small-business owners like you.

Take bookkeeping off your plate

If you need to share files with your bookkeeping team, it’s as simple as uploading a file. We use Plaid, which lets you securely connect your financial accounts to Bench in solvency definition and meaning seconds. This feature saves you the time and effort of manually uploading documents. We don’t sync your financial data from any other bookkeeping software. A year end package with everything you need to file comes standard with Bench.

All of the time you spend doing menial tasks, like making journal entries in a general ledger, can be redirected towards growing your business. Bench simplifies your small business accounting by combining intuitive software that automates the busywork with real, professional human support. Jason Ding is a seasoned accountant with over 15 years of progressive experience in senior finance and accounting across multiple industries. Jason holds a BBA from Simon Fraser University and is a designated CPA. Jason’s firm, Notion CPA, is an accounting firm with a business-first focus. The firm specializes in preparing personal and corporate taxation while providing fractional CFO work and leading the accounting and finance function for several small-to-medium-sized businesses.

You’re limited to one scheduled appointment at a time and appointments have to work within your bookkeeper’s schedule. Communications that are available any time include document sharing and live chat with a member of your bookkeeper’s extended team. Each customer’s main point of contact is a dedicated in-house, professionally-trained bookkeeper, based in North America.