7 Smart Ways to Eliminate Low-Value Bookkeeping Work

Bookkeeping is often seen as the necessary evil of accounting firms – a repetitive, low-margin task that keeps you and your team bogged down when you could be focusing on high-value services like advisory and strategic financial planning.

What’s worse, inefficiencies in this process are rampant. On average, accountants and bookkeepers spend nearly 5 hours each week detecting financial data errors – and over an hour correcting each error per client. That’s time that could be spent improving client relationships, scaling your practice, or delivering insights that drive financial success.

So, how can accounting firms reduce these time-consuming bookkeeping tasks and improve efficiency? Let’s dive into a few practical strategies that can transform your accounting process, free up resources, and help your team thrive.

1. Automate Bank Reconciliation

Reconciliation is essential for accurate bookkeeping, but let’s face it, it’s also one of the most tedious accounting tasks. Manually matching financial transactions from bank statements or credit card accounts to your records takes time and often leads to human errors.

‍Modern tools simplify this process. With direct integrations to bank accounts, these tools can automate reconciliation by matching transactions automatically and flagging anything that needs attention. It’s a huge step forward for accounting firms.

Cloud-based accounting software with AI-powered reconciliation features allows you to effortlessly match business transactions to financial records and quickly address any discrepancies. 

This makes compliance with accounting standards easier while keeping financial accounts accurate and up-to-date. It’s an easy way to work smarter, not harder.

2. Leverage AI for Data Entry

How much time do you or your team spend manually inputting data from invoices, receipts, and other financial documents? Data entry is one of the most repetitive and error-prone tasks in bookkeeping.

AI-powered tools, like Optical Character Recognition (OCR), make life easier by pulling data straight from scanned or uploaded documents into your accounting system. Think about invoices for example – they can automatically grab line items, categorise them, and even match them with your records.

This cuts out human errors and gives you real-time updates, so you’re not stuck waiting around. It also means your team can spend less time on the tasky work and more time on valuable tasks like client analysis or offering strategic advice.

3. Centralise and Digitise Client Communication

Chasing clients for missing documents like bank statements, receipts, or invoices is one of the most time-consuming headaches for accounting firms. Add to that the inefficiency of managing physical documents, and it’s clear that modern accounting practices need better systems.

A centralised client portal is the solution. These portals allow clients to upload financial records, respond to requests, and track their account status all in one place. Some even send automated reminders, so you don’t have to!

Pair this with document management features in cloud-based accounting software, and you can digitise receipts, invoices, and files while keeping everything organised and accessible.

This approach eliminates the (very annoying) back-and-forth and makes collaboration with remote accounting teams or bookkeeping professionals faster and more efficient. You’ll save hours each week, avoid costly mistakes during tax season, and your clients will appreciate the simplicity and clarity.

4.  Standardise Bookkeeping Processes Across Clients

Every client is different, but that doesn’t mean every process should be. If you’re managing multiple workflows for different clients, you’re introducing inefficiencies and making it harder to scale.

Instead, create a standard set of processes for bookkeeping tasks like invoice processing, categorisation, and reconciliation. Standardisation allows you to apply consistent practices across all your clients, making your team’s work more efficient and reducing training time for new hires.

For example, you could implement a uniform way to categorise expenses or a single platform for document uploads and approvals. Once your processes are streamlined, scaling your business becomes much easier.

5. Automate Recurring Tasks Like Payroll and VAT

Recurring tasks like payroll and VAT submissions are a major drain on time and resources. These tasks are routine and predictable, yet they require significant manual intervention.

Automation tools can take over these processes, calculating payroll, generating payslips, and filing VAT returns without human oversight. For example, many payroll systems now integrate directly with accounting software, syncing employee hours and tax information to generate accurate payments and submissions.

The result? Hours saved each month and a lower risk of compliance issues or missed deadlines.

6. Give Clients Instant Access to Financial Data

Clients expect transparency and actionable financial planning, which means they need easy access to their numbers and financial health. 

Instead of dealing with outdated spreadsheets or delayed reporting, you can offer them a dashboard that integrates seamlessly into your accounting process.

Dashboards can showcase critical details like cash flow, business transactions, and financial management insights. Tools like Outmin’s platform make it simple for business owners to stay in control of their company’s bookkeeping without constantly relying on you for updates. 

It’s a win-win: fewer interruptions for you and better decision-making for them.

7. Partner with Outmin for an AI-Powered Bookkeeping Solution

At Outmin, we get it: you didn’t start your firm to spend hours fixing financial transactions or chasing business owners for their paperwork. Our AI bookkeeping service is designed to eliminate the tedious bookkeeping tasks that drag down your accounting firm.

Here’s how we can help:

• Hyper-accurate Bookkeeping: We use AI to reconcile financial accounts, keeping your client’s numbers clean and up to date, without you lifting a finger.  
• Streamlined Processes: From VAT returns to financial statements, we handle the grunt work, so you can focus on delivering value to your clients.
• Valuable Client Dashboard: Clear, easy-to-use dashboard that gives you and your clients instant visibility into financial health and performance.

Outmin helps your firm save hundreds of hours annually, improve client satisfaction, and focus on billable, high-value work. By outsourcing bookkeeping tasks to Outmin, you can transform inefficiency into a competitive advantage.

Prioritise What Truly Matters

Low-value bookkeeping services don’t just drain your resources – they hold your accounting firm back from reaching its full potential. By adopting these strategies, you can:

• Save time and resources with workflow automation.
• Enhance client satisfaction with better financial management and communication.
• Focus on high-value, billable work that drives business growth and higher profit margins. 

The future of the accounting profession is smarter, more efficient, and focused on delivering value. Start eliminating inefficiencies today, and watch how it transforms your business.

Ready to optimise your practice? Book a demo with Outmin and take the first step toward a smarter, more efficient firm.