What's Really Eating your Time and Profit?

If you’re still doing your own bookkeeping and admin, and your back office feels messy, this one’s for you.

We all know time is money, most business owners miss:
every hour you spend on low-value tasks is an hour stolen from high-value growth.

That’s the real killer: opportunity cost.

So, let’s talk about it, and more importantly, how to stop it.

💡 What is Opportunity Cost?

It’s what you give up when you choose one thing over another. In business, that usually means trading time that could grow your business for tasks that just keep it ticking over. And the worst part? You rarely realise it’s happening - until you’re burnt out and wondering why growth is stuck.

🏢 Everyone Has a Back Office

Every business has a back office, from one-person bands to teams of fifty.
It’s the engine that keeps things moving: your admin, bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, and systems.

When it’s running smoothly, your business runs efficiently.
When it’s not, you end up stuck in the weeds, spending your energy keeping things going instead of growing.

Sorting your back office isn’t just for big companies, it’s how every business owner gains control, confidence, and space to grow.

📊 The £10, £100, £1,000, and £10,000 Job Framework

This isn’t about how much you pay someone. It’s about how much each task is worth in terms of your time and what it could be earning you.

🧾 £10 Jobs – Admin & Back-Office Tasks

Inbox clutter. Scheduling. Data entry. Social Media Posting.
These are necessary, but not your job.

If your back office systems are in disarray, you’ll spend hours chasing receipts and juggling tasks that don’t grow your bottom line.

These are things someone else should be doing. Every time you get bogged down in these, you’re saying no to bigger opportunities.

📉 £100 Jobs – Bookkeeping & Financial Admin

Reconciling accounts. Payroll. Invoicing. Credit Control.

Important? Yes. But your zone of genius? Probably not. Let your bookkeeper and accountant handle this. It's their thing.

With the right systems in place, your back office runs quietly in the background while you focus on growth.

🚀 £1,000 Jobs – Growth Activities

Client calls. Strategy planning. Sales conversations.
This is where the magic happens.

But to stay in this zone, your back office has to run like clockwork.
If you’re still spending evenings reconciling spreadsheets, you’ll never have the headspace to focus on scaling.

🏗️ £10,000 Jobs – Vision & Scaling

Planning new offers. Building partnerships. Expanding into new markets.

This is CEO territory, the big-picture work that transforms your business.

These are the game changers. But you’ll never get to them if you’re still doing your own payroll.

But you’ll never get there if you’re still micromanaging payroll or chasing invoices.
Sorting your back office is the key to unlocking your £10,000 time.

👥 The Dream Team: Bookkeeper, Accountant & Business Advisor

✅ Bookkeeper = Gets the money in, the bills paid, and keeps your financials neat
✅ Accountant = Optimises tax, preps your reports, and helps you plan
✅ Business Advisor = Streamlines the lot, helps you grow faster and smarter

Hiring them isn’t a cost - it’s an investment. One that buys back your most precious resource: time.

🔥 The Hidden Cost of Doing It All

Still doing your own bookkeeping? That’s not saving money - it’s costing you:

• Time you can’t get back

• Energy you could use elsewhere

• Growth that’s being delayed

• Stress you shouldn’t be carrying

And that’s before you factor in errors, missed tax planning, or late-night panics with spreadsheets.

🧠 Ask Yourself: Where Is Your Time Best Spent?

Every business owner has the same 24 hours. The difference? Smart ones protect their time like gold. So:

• Are you doing £10 tasks when you should be thinking like a £10,000 CEO?

• Are you keeping busy or creating real growth?

• Are you buying your time back - or burning it?

🎯 Final Word

You can’t scale a business while juggling everything yourself. Not without sacrificing your evenings, weekends, and sanity.

Outsource the £10 and £100 jobs. Focus on your £1,000 and £10,000 work. That’s how you scale.

Ready to stop leaking time and money?
Profit & Growth Accountants help business owners like you fix the chaos, reclaim their hours, and finally grow their business.

👉 Listen to Get Your Shift Together: The Business Fixer Podcast or Contact Profit & Growth Accountants Team and let’s see where you’re leaking value.