Ep10 When to Get Help in Your Business: Bookkeeping, Payroll and Letting Go

You don’t have to do it all yourself. In this episode, Nicola explores when it’s time to get help in your business, whether that’s bringing in a bookkeeper, outsourcing payroll, hiring a virtual assistant, or letting go of tasks that drain your time and energy.

You’ll hear how to decide which responsibilities to delegate, what to keep in-house, and how to build a support team that helps your business run smoothly without costing the earth. Nicola also shares practical tips on choosing the right people, setting clear expectations, and overcoming the fear of losing control.

If you’ve been feeling stretched thin or struggling to hand things over, this episode will help you see delegation as a strength, not a sign of weakness, and show how the right support can free you up to focus on growth.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to know when it’s time to get help in your business.
• The difference between outsourcing admin, finance, and strategic work.
• How to delegate effectively without losing control.

Resources & Links:

I’ve written a book that expands on the topics in this podcast and comes with a companion guide. Learn more at www.thenumbersquarter.co.uk/book.

About the Podcast:

The Balanced Business – The Director’s Handbook is a 12‑part podcast series hosted by Bedford‑based Chartered Accountant Nicola Hageman. Designed for UK small business owners and company directors, the podcast explains how to run a Limited company with more clarity, confidence, and control. Each episode covers a practical topic – from choosing your business structure and staying compliant with HMRC to budgeting, VAT, systems, and delegating. The series is based on Nicola’s book and companion guide, available at www.thenumbersquarter.co.uk/book.

About Nicola and The Numbers Quarter:

Nicola Hageman is the founder of The Numbers Quarter, a friendly and approachable accountancy practice based in Bedford. She specialises in helping owner‑managed businesses grow their profits, plan for the future, and reduce stress. Nicola is known for her plain‑speaking advice and passion for aligning personal and business goals.

Connect with Nicola:

• Instagram – www.instagram.com/nicola_hageman
• LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/nicolahageman
• Website – www.thenumbersquarter.co.uk

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Transcript

0:14

Hi, and welcome back to the Balanced Business Podcast. I'm Nicola Hageman from The Numbers Quarter, and you are listening to episode 10 of the Director's Handbook, the series where we talk about the nuts and bolts of running a limited company in a way that's easy to understand and genuinely useful. In today's episode, we are talking about something that feels really practical on the surface, knowing when to get help, but actually it taps into something much deeper for a lot of business owners because handing things over, especially when you've built your business from the ground up, isn't just a time management decision. It's emotional. It's about control, trust, identity, and even fear. So in this episode, we are going to explore the sign that it is time to stop doing it all yourself. What kind of help you can bring in from bookkeeping to admin to strategy, how to decide what to outsource first, and the mindset shift that makes letting go so much easier. So let's dive in. So why do so many business owners try to do it all? So let's start here because honestly, this is something I see all the time. So many of us start a business solo. You wear all the hats, you do the marketing, the service delivery, the admin, the accounts, the customer service, the tech, everything. And at first, that's just how it has to be. Maybe you don't have the money to hire anyone. Maybe you want to keep things simple. Maybe you like having control. But what happens is that as the business grows, you keep operating like it's still just you. Even when you're working evenings and weekends, even when you're doing tasks that drain your energy, and even when it's starting to cost you money or opportunities Because you're so used to being the one that does it all. It doesn't occur to you that there's another way. So if that's you, I want you to know that you're not alone, but it is something that you can change. So let's start by looking at a few signs that it might be time to bring someone in to support you.. And spoiler alert, it's usually earlier than you think. So if you are spending half your week on admin chasing invoices or fiddling with Canva, and you're not actually serving clients or doing high value work, that is a red flag. If you're putting off important things because you don't have time like updating your website or sorting your accounts or launching that idea that you've had for ages. If it always gets bumped down the list, maybe you need more hands on deck. And if you're not doing things properly or not doing them at all. If your bookkeeping's behind your tax planning's non-existent, or your emails are a bit of a mess, that is also a signal. You don't have to be perfect, but if key parts of your business aren't getting attention, something has got to give you feel constantly behind or overwhelmed, and this one's huge. If your days feel rushed, reactive, or stressful, it's probably not because you're bad at time management, it's because you've got too much on your plate. So what types of help can you bring in? There are so many ways to get support in your business, and it doesn't always mean hiring someone full time. So let's run through a few of the common options. A bookkeeper, this is usually the first financial hire, and for good reason. A bookkeeper will keep your transactions up to date, categorize everything correctly, reconcile your bank accounts, and help you understand your day to day finances it saves you hours and it avoids that mad panic when you're trying to do your VAT return or to do your year end accounts. Even just a few hours a month can make a massive difference. And then payroll support. If you've got staff or even if you're just paying yourself, Getting payroll handled properly is worth its weighting gold. It makes sure that you're paying the right amounts and that you're submitting RTI returns on time. Your payslips, your pensions, and HMRC submissions are all spot on. It's a relatively small job if there's only a couple of you, but it's easy to get wrong and the penalties just aren't worth it and then what's about a virtual assistant or a va? Now, this is a real game changer A VA can take on things like your inbox management, client onboarding, diary scheduling, social media posts. Document, formatting, events, booking, there's a whole load of things that you can pass on to a va. You can start with just a few hours a week and you can grow it from there. And the real benefit is mental space. Suddenly you're not carrying all those little tasks in your head anymore. And then tech support or website help. So if you find yourself wasting hours trying to fix your website, update a plugin or figure out email automations, it might be time to hire someone who can do it all in just 20 minutes. And then we go onto a business advisor or a coach. So if you're hitting a plateau or you are struggling to plan your next move, this can be really helpful. Someone who understands business strategy can help you set goals, spot bottlenecks, and plan for growth. It's not about telling you what to do, it's about having someone in your corner who sees the bigger picture. So a question I get asked a lot is, what should I outsource first? And the honest answer is it depends where your pain points are. But a good place to start is outsource the thing that costs you the most time or stress and bring in the least return. So if you are spending 10 hours a month doing your books and you hate every second of it, that's probably a good thing to hand off. If you're constantly behind on emails or you're not following up with your leads because your inbox is a mess, then maybe it's a va. Start small. See how it feels and go from there. Now let's talk about the emotional side for a second, because letting go of control is hard, especially when it's your business, your name, your reputation. So here are a few mindset shifts that can help. Number one done by someone else is better than waiting for perfect done by you. So yes, they might not do it exactly like you, but if it gets done and done well, that's what matters. Done is better than waiting for perfect. Number two, buying back your time is an investment. Time isn't just time. It's energy. It's space. It's headroom for strategy, creativity, rest. When you delegate, you're not just getting the job done. You're creating capacity for growth. And number three, you don't have to be good at everything. Your zone of genius might be designing or selling or building relationships, not invoicing or admin or tech, and that's okay. You are allowed to focus on what you are brilliant at and then bring in people who are brilliant at the rest. Now I've got one practical tip here. So if you are planning to bring in help, even part-time, start documenting everything that you do. Create simple checklists or how-to guides. Record short loom videos. Keep things in shared folders. The more systems you build, the easier it is to delegate and the more consistent the results. You don't need to go full corporate. Just think about how you can make someone else's life easier when they start working with you. And let's clear up a myth. Getting help doesn't mean you have to build a massive team or become a full-time manager. You can outsource just a few hours a month. You can work with freelancers, agencies, or virtual teams. You get to design the support that you need in a way that fits your values, your budgets, and your working style. And here's what I wanna leave you with. You don't have to do it all you were never meant to, and you don't earn a gold star for running yourself into the ground. The goal isn't to be the busiest person in the room. It's to build a business that actually works for you. Getting help isn't failure. It's a sign of growth. It means your business is moving to the next level. It means you're freeing yourself up to focus on the things that matter the most, the things that light you up, or the things that only you can do. So if you've been stuck in, I'll just do it myself. Maybe this is your sign to let it go. So that's it for episode 10 of the Balanced Business Podcast. I hope it helped you see that getting help isn't just practical, it's powerful. Now in our final episode of the Director's Handbook series, we are going to wrap things up with a look at what good really looks like for a business owner, the habits, the systems, and the mindset that help you stay on top of things and feel more calm, more confident, and more in control. I'm Nicola Hageman from the Numbers Quarter, and I'll see you in episode 11.