Should You Hire a Bookkeeper or Outsource? Pros and Cons for SMEs

If you’ve ever caught yourself staring at a pile of receipts, spreadsheets, and unanswered HMRC emails thinking “I need help,” you’re not alone. But the bigger question is, should you hire someone in-house or outsource it?

At some point, every growing business hits this financial fork in the road. You’ve outgrown DIY accounting, but you’re not quite ready for a full finance team.

Welcome to the bookkeeper dilemma.

The Common Problem — Too Much Admin, Not Enough Accuracy

Let’s say you’re turning over £1m and operating with 3 directors and 12 staff. Sales are strong, but the numbers are a mess. Payroll’s late. VAT returns are guesswork. You hired a junior bookkeeper last year, but they don’t understand job costing or accruals. Sound familiar?

Alternatively, you’ve got a startup turning over £200k and you're doing it all yourself. You dread month-end. You don’t know your real margins. You’ve invoiced late. Again.

In both cases, financial admin becomes a time drain and a risk. Mistakes in bookkeeping ripple into late filings, HMRC penalties, and poor decisions. The longer you delay professional support, the costlier it becomes.

Hiring: The Pros, Cons, and Business Impact

Pros of Hiring:

• You get a physical presence, someone in the office who can absorb culture, chat with staff, and spot issues live.

  
  

• They’re always accessible during your hours, assuming they’re full-time.

  
  

• You can delegate other admin roles beyond finance.

  
  

But Here's the Catch:

• Limited skillset: Most in-house hires don’t have the expertise to go beyond data entry. Need cash flow forecasting or VAT scheme advice? You’ll still need outside help.

  
  

• Training burden: You’ll spend time onboarding, checking work, choosing software, and fixing errors. That’s time you don’t have.

  
  

• Hidden costs: It’s not just salary — there’s NI, pension, software, workspace, and sick leave to consider.

  
  

• Risk of being stuck: If they go on holiday or leave, your finance function grinds to a halt.

  
  

Business Impact

Hiring can make sense if you have consistent, high-volume admin tasks that need to be done on site. But unless you also bring in someone to oversee their work, you’re carrying the risk of errors that you may not spot until it's too late epecially if that role isnt you key expertise.

Cons of Outsourcing

Less Onsite Presence (Compared to a Hire Sitting in the Office Daily)

Impact: Some business owners value spontaneous chats or physical visibility. Outsourcing may feel “distant” at first.

JFA Fix: We bridge that gap by visiting client sites and maintaining active communication via video calls, email and messaging, so clients feel connected, not outsourced.

Trust and Control Concerns in the Beginning

Impact: Handing over financial control can feel uncomfortable. Owners worry about visibility, transparency, or losing control over the details.

JFA Fix: We start with a clear onboarding roadmap, transparent access to shared folders, and monthly check-ins. You see everything, ask anything, you’re always in the loop, not locked out.

Standard Outsourcing Firms = One-Size-Fits-All

Impact: Many outsourcing providers deliver generic reports and minimal flexibility. This can feel like “template accounting,” not tailored advice.

JFA Fix: Every client gets bespoke reporting, industry-specific insight, and flexible time allocation depending on need. We’re not an agency, we’re a strategic finance partner.

Perception of Being Just Another Client

Impact: Some outsourced teams juggle too many clients and become unresponsive. Business owners get frustrated chasing emails or waiting days for answers.

JFA Fix: We cap our client-to-staff ratio to maintain service quality. We treat each client like their business is our business. You get direct access to your accountant, not just a support inbox.

Integration With Internal Teams Can Be Slower Initially

Impact: It may take a few weeks to fully understand internal operations, team habits, and preferred workflows. There’s a bedding-in period.

JFA Fix: Our onboarding month is hands-on and in-house. We embed ourselves in your team, learn your systems, and then streamline. It’s not plug-and-play — it’s plug-and-partner.

Outsourcing: What It Really Offers

Pros of Outsourcing:

• Access to wider experience: You don’t just get a bookkeeper, you get access to FD-level thinking, tax compliance, cash flow forecasting, budgeting, and credit control.

  
  

• Fewer errors, faster insights: We use automation, peer review, and structured processes to deliver cleaner data and actionable reports, we do the regular checks and reviews so you dont have to.

  
  

• You don’t manage us: We bring the system. From software to templates to monthly reports, it’s done for you.

  
  

• No training, no HR issues: We hit the ground running, and if someone’s off, we’ve got backup.

  
  

• Remote + Onsite Hybrid: We work with your systems and team virtually but also visit onsite for deep-dive days, the best of both world.

  
  

• Always available: Communication is built into our model. You don’t need to wait until your bookkeeper’s in on Thursday, we’re reachable when decisions need to be made.

  
  

Business Impact

Outsourcing removes financial admin stress from the owner. You get a second pair of eyes (and brain) to challenge decisions, model growth scenarios, or flag risks early. That’s not just financial control, that’s business confidence.

What JFA Brings to the Table

At Jones Financial Accounts, we’re not just here to do the books. We become an extension of your business. Here’s what we offer that sets us apart:

• Hybrid Support: Remote-first with strategic on-site days to get under the skin of your business.

  
  

• Communication at all times: Calls, emails, check-ins, we’re not “just available on Mondays.”

  
  

• From Day 1: You get reports, dashboards, forecasts, not just reconciliations.

  
  

• Better decision-making: You’ll have someone who can say “No, that’s risky” or “Yes, that could work if you change this.”

  
  

• Less pressure on you: No staff to manage, no training required, no sleepless nights wondering if payroll is right.

  
  

• Scalable support: As you grow, we add what’s needed, from credit control to full management accounts, without you having to hire again and again.

So, Which One Should You Choose?

Outsourcing isn’t perfect, but with the right provider (like JFA), the typical risks are replaced by proactive systems, strategic communication, and hands-on involvement.

Instead of “you get what you pay for,” you get more than you expected and fewer headaches than managing in-house.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you want to manage someone or be advised by someone?

• Do you have time to train and oversee finance, or do you want to focus on growing?

• Would you prefer a junior admin or a team with real-world commercial experience?

  
  

If you’re serious about growing, want visibility over your numbers, and don’t want to babysit a spreadsheet every Friday, outsourcing gives you clarity, control, and capacity.

With JFA, you get:

• More accuracy

• More insight

• More time back

• And most importantly, more confidence in your decisions

  
  

And that’s what scaling companies need.

Wrapping up today’s insights, tomorrow we simplify another accounting challenge.