Life After COVID: How a Bookkeeper Can Help Your Business Recover

COVID-19 may not be entirely behind us, but the protections businesses enjoyed at the start of the pandemic are mostly gone or coming to an end. For example, JobKeeper is no longer in operation in Australia, and creditors are allowed to pressure companies who owe as little as $10,000. In New Zealand, some wage subsidy programmes are still available as of March 2021, but only if your city activates an Alert Level 3 for seven days.  In short, your organisation needs a plan for the future of your finances and business recovery. 

An experienced bookkeeper can help you get your paperwork in order which can help your accountant advise you on how to create a path toward profit. Instead of going it alone, consider how you can build a team of financial experts who can take you from the brink of insolvency to thriving once again. 

What roles does a finance team play in your business?

An outsourced finance team does a lot more than process your payroll and track your transactions. With the right people, an outsourced finance team can become a vital part of your internal team as well. 

Some of the most important tasks a fiance team for business include:

• Financial reporting and forecasting. Accurate reporting can help your accountant forecast profits and losses. Forecasting will help you remain profitable after COVID and scale at a realistic rate and. 
• Track down accounts receivable. Your outsourced financial team can chase invoices that went unpaid during the pandemic, which will help you balance your books on the other side of COVID.
• Identify cash flow problems. Are you low on funds at the end of the month? Your outsourced financial experts can send you reporting and insights so you can create strategies for keeping more cash on hand.
• Prepare financial statements for your accountant. Navigating PAYG instalments correctly reduces the risk of incurring government fines and penalties, especially as COVID era protections are lifted.  

How can an outsourced internal finance team help business recovery after COVID-19?

Businesses with an exit strategy in place are more likely to survive any crisis in one piece. In terms of COVID-19, this means being ready when payroll assistance and other forbearances are done for good. And even then, you may still need some help. Can you maintain a solid financial position moving forward without a trusted financial team? Unlikely.

In a post-COVID world, Visory’s financial experts can meet with your accountant and senior staff to help you establish a business recovery timeline—with contingencies included (what happens if there are new travel restrictions down the line?). Our bookkeeping and financial experts can help create a new budget for the next few years; your services/prices/expenses may have changed during COVID. With data and insights, you can determine when you’re ready to bring employees back full-time and evaluate the current salary structure for any necessary changes.  Having in-depth and accurate reporting and insights is essential for your accountant to make the right decisions. Visory can supply your business with an expert back office team that can give your business the reporting it needs to create strategies for recovery and help your team interpret the data. 

Finally, you’ll also need accurate financial records if you wish to ask for a bank loan. Your business recovery will require an expert financial team that is well versed in what businesses are being offered at each stage of post-COVID aid. Your accountant will maintain your general ledger and be on standby to request government aid if it becomes available. They can file applications, complete the necessary reports, and handle any appropriated funds. Visory can ensure that your accountant and back-office staff have the reporting and insights required to apply for a loan.

Why you should outsource your back office

You may not be able to in-house back office support on the heels of COVID. Many businesses have had to cut staff or roll back hours. When you outsource your bookkeeping and greater reporting needs, you can access a whole team of financial experts while saving money. 

An outside bookkeeping service like Visory can also give you an unbiased view of your business. You have been through an emotional few years, and an outsider can be objective about the necessary steps to recover fully. These decisions may include raising your prices, eliminating some services, or making other difficult changes that would be hard to admit are necessary on your own. 

Visory has a clear pricing plan that makes it simple to budget in the future. We know that many businesses in Australia and New Zealand are facing insolvency. Our team includes people with years of back-office support in various industries who can scale your services up and down as necessary. Plus, our financial experts and services are at the ready when you require an additional bookkeeping service, payroll, or other help. 

Having an expert team on your side can make all the difference in times of uncertainty. Surviving COVID as a small business means accurate books and a realistic plan for the future. Visory can help you with business recovery and more, including ongoing payroll and bookkeeping services.