What are the benefits for a US business in hiring a remote bookkeeper?
Should I trust a remote overseas bookkeeper?
As a remote bookkeeper for American clients, one of the biggest challenges I have on a daily basis is trust. I totally understand my prospects when they have issues trusting someone abroad for such an important task. If the remote professional is not even a US citizen, it gets even worse.
In my case, I am an Italian citizen that lives in Panama, Central America, and serves US clients from my office in Panama. If I were an Indian or a Filipino guy, it could be even more difficult to catch the trust of an American business owner.
How can a remote bookkeeper gain the trust of a US business owner? To prove that I am not only real but also serious and committed, I created a broad online presence. Not only this website but also a YouTube Channel and a Instagram profile where prospects can watch me in real pics and videos. Exposing myself in different kinds of platforms is very important since clients can see with their own eyes that I know what I am talking about and I have expertise in this field.
In addition to this exposure, I provide my clients with clear contracts that we sign online on renowned platforms and we process our payments through Payoneer. Basically, working with me is equal to working with a remote bookkeeper in the middle of Nevada.
I put my face, my degrees, my experience, the place where I live and everything needed to make my clients feel relaxed when hiring me. But this is a two-way play, on my side I also need to verify that I am onboarding a serious client. One of the things that I do is always charging my fees upfront so I don’t risk working hard for a new client and not getting paid.
What’s the benefit of working with a remote bookkeeper?
To be honest, I only see a BIG benefit in hiring a remote bookkeeper in a country where cost of living is a fraction of the US: the price. We can try to look for other benefits but basically a overseas bookkeeper is going to provide a similar service as a remote US-based bookkeeper at a lower rate. You can save more than 50% by hiring a remote bookkeeper outside the USA, and it’s not a minor factor of decision. Especially when a business is new spending from $500 to $1,200 a month for a bookkeper is a big weight that slows down the business growth. We at Akros Numbers start at a monthly rate of $199 which is very competitive, and charge around $500/$750 for more complex bookkeeping.
So if you feel comfortable hiring a remote bookkeeper, think about finding one outside the USA. You could save a lot of cash and still have an excellent service.
Call me if you can tolerate a little bit of mandolino accent. Luciano, your remote bookkeeper.