A virtual accounting firm can also work with anyone anywhere in the country, which is a powerful advantage if you want to niche down to a specific sub-industry. In fact, you may find you rarely need to meet with your local bookkeeper in person. That’s because local and virtual bookkeepers are becoming more and more alike in both their services and how they offer them.

Find out what software they use

1. All of the time you spend doing menial tasks, like making journal entries in a general ledger, can be redirected towards growing your business.
2. A bookkeeping service can help you stay organized and on top of your finances.
3. It’s also best if you already have experience with software like QuickBooks—otherwise, you could face a learning curve.
4. They may hire a part-time bookkeeper to manage the day-to-day books, and they often use an external accounting firm for tax preparation.

Beyond those big ones, virtual bookkeepers provide the same benefits as on-site bookkeepers in that they help organize income sources, track the flow of money, update payments, and more. On the basic level, virtual bookkeepers record daily financial transactions for a business, and they do it all remotely instead of working on-site. Offers less expensive plans for businesses that need tax support and a dedicated accountant, but not bookkeeping assistance. The virtual bookkeeping providers above might be our favorite—but if they don’t quite fit your needs, we understand completely. Here are three other online accounting service providers worth looking at.

Bookkeeping and accounting software

If you’re comfortable with your current software, ensure your bookkeeping service supports it. Larger businesses may also hire virtual bookkeepers, but they’re more likely to have their own internal department for accounting services. Forbes Advisor analyzed 13 online bookkeeping services and considered 15 metrics such as price, features, customer service, ease of use, integrations and service level. We also looked at real customer experiences to determine if their expectations were met based on what each company promised.

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We selected these services based on their service options, pricing, customer service, reputation and more. Virtual bookkeeping, also known as cloud accounting, is when a bookkeeper or accountant works with their client remotely. This is made possible through accounting software that allows you and your bookkeeper to share an account. In this arrangement, the accountant and business must utilize the same accounting software to ensure the proper transfer and communication of files. Next, let’s take a look at a few of the best tools for virtual accounting and bookkeeping services, which have worked well for our all-virtual firm. Accounting software makes it possible to handle bookkeeping tasks on your own and automate some of them, such as categorizing and matching transactions.

One of the biggest challenges for bookkeepers lies in handling credit card receipts. All too often, these are delivered in bulk, leaving the bookkeeper to sort them out. Each receipt represents money that has already been spent, and the bookkeeper is tasked with bringing the books up to date, categorizing each expense and attributing it to the right department. Invoice automation platforms also integrate with popular accounting software like Intuit’s QuickBooks Online and more, accrual accounting so bookkeepers only need to enter invoice information in one place. 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.

The bookkeeper logs into their clients’ accounts from wherever they are, and then works online. Customize plans to include other services like accounts receivable processing, inventory reconciliation and payroll support. These tasks can be completed internally, or they can be farmed out as an external service. Every virtual bookkeeping service should have an option that includes this.

The bookkeeper can be paid as a contractor and work as little or as much as the business needs. For a bookkeeper, working virtually provides convenience in the form of schedule flexibility and the ability to work from home. Many accountants and bookkeepers lack reviews simply because they don’t ask.

Shareable online calendars reduce the back-and-forth of scheduling meetings. Because we’re a Microsoft-based firm, we use Microsoft Bookings, but another easy cloud-based solution is Calendly. Including the scheduling link in your email signature makes it even easier for people to book time to talk. Working with virtual employees is also a new challenge for many accounting and bookkeeping professionals.

A closer look at our picks for the top bookkeeping services

While pricing starts at $149 per month, it may be difficult to predict how much Wave bookkeeping will cost your business. There are no publically available pricing tiers—you’ll have to book a call with Wave to get a quote. Online bookkeeping services typically offer a dedicated contact or team — but these are still virtual bookkeepers, available by email or occasionally by phone. If you don’t want to communicate virtually, these bookkeeper interview questions can help you find a resource near you. Lots of bookkeeping services are built to run on QuickBooks, an industry leader in accounting and bookkeeping software. Some services also support Xero, another popular cloud-based accounting software.