1. Your time is PRECIOUS and you should use it for the activities which will generate the most profit or enjoyment as a business owner.  If you hate writing up your books and keep putting it off each quarter, you know this is not a job which is bringing you joy.  Chances are you would make more use of the time if you spent it talking to customers, organising the workload for next week and making sure your team are getting their tasks completed.

We only get so many hours each week, so passing an afternoon of paperwork/figurework on to a bookkeeping business will free you up to use the limited amount of time and energy we all get.  A phrase which sums this up well is 'play to your strengths'.  If you didn't start a business because you wanted to file VAT returns, use the time to do the work you were planning to do instead.

2. Our knowledge of the best software to use, the best techniques for managing the data and whether or not each type of cost carries VAT means that we are better placed to do the work.  If you go to bed worried that HMRC will pick up your mistakes or that you may be paying too much VAT as you are too scared to claim anything back, you would get peace of mind from using a bookkeeper.

Accountants also file VAT returns correctly, the benefit to a bookkeeping business would be that the work would be done every week or month so that you are always up to date.  In a lot of cases accountants will leave the bookkeeping until the VAT return is due and then the questions they are asking are about costs from 3 or 4 months ago.  Staying up to date means you are asked questions about last week rather than last quarter.

3. As a bookkeeping business owner, I understand the challenges of dealing with staff, having to pay VAT, winning work and juggling family life as I am also a small business owner.  I will not judge you for hating paperwork or wishing the minimum wage wouldn't keep changing, as I face the same challenges.  Having someone to talk to who gets why you are working at the weekend and knows why it feels lonely at times can make a big difference.  We can offer support from the end of the phone when the business is weighing you down.