If you own or run your own business and handle accounting yourself, then you know how much of a time-suck it can be. Keeping track of financial transactions can be challenging and tedious to keep up with. If you’re an accountant at heart who hates tedious tasks, it’s probably not the best career choice. But if you’re ready to get back to your roots and embrace the simple joy of accounting again, then hiring a bookkeeper is one of the best things you can do for your small business. Keeping track of expenses and income, and other financial activities in a small business can be challenging enough as it is. Even if you only have one employee and don’t plan on having others in the future, sooner or later you’ll need to expand your team so that more people are available to assist with accounting duties. Here are three important things you need to know before hiring a bookkeeper for your small business so that you make the right hire:
You need a bookkeeper who understands small business accounting
Accurate accounting is the key to a healthy business. The process of tracking finances and activities is complex, and it requires training and experience to get right. Even if your bookkeeper has been in the business accounting world for years, if they don’t understand the fundamentals of accounting, it will cause problems down the road. If you choose a bookkeeper who’s good at what they do, but has no background in accounting, all of the hard work and skill required to run a business will go to waste. Knowing how to track income and expenses, and keeping your books in order, is a different skill set than knowing specific software. For example, if your bookkeeper is familiar with QuickBooks, but doesn’t know the difference between a Sales Receipt and an Expense Slip, your books will end up inaccurate. You need to find a bookkeeper who understands basic accounting principles and can explain them in layman’s terms.
You need a bookkeeper who knows how to work with different software
Businesses expand and contract, and one of the first things you’ll want to expand is your accounting team. If you’re not sure where to begin, a bookkeeper can help you find the right fit. But, that comes with the risk of hiring someone who knows how to work with different software, but has no experience with outsourcing accounting. Finding a bookkeeper who can work with multiple software solutions is essential. If you keep all of your financial activities in one program, but you also need to use Xero and MYOB for payroll, you’ll end up confused and overwhelmed. You’ll need to find a bookkeeper who can work with multiple programs, and can help you decipher which programs are best for certain tasks.
You need a bookkeeper who can answer your questions and provide solid answers
You’ll get frustrated when you ask a question, and don’t get an answer on the spot. It happens. You’ll have questions about setting up accounts and opening new business lines. You’ll have questions about payroll responsibilities and reporting. You’ll have questions about taxes, and how your business is structured and taxed. Your bookkeeper should be able to answer those questions, and more. You’ll want your bookkeeper to be available to assist you on a daily basis, and to be able to provide solid and consistent answers. There are complicated aspects of bookkeeping that can be confusing, and you want someone who can help you navigate through them.
Bookkeepers are not offered at every business, so don’t assume you’ll find one listed on Craigslist or hired off of an online service. Ensure you do your due diligence
Finding a bookkeeper is not like looking for a babysitter. It’s a serious decision that can affect your entire business. Not only that, it’s a decision that can seriously affect your family’s financial future. It’s not something you should take lightly, so ensure you do your due diligence. Ask around to see if anyone knows a good bookkeeper, and look at local business directories and online reviews. You can also hire an accountant to help you with the search, since they’ll know the best places to look.
Conclusion
Hiring a bookkeeper will allow you to spend more time managing your business and less time tracking finances. With accurate accounting, you’ll be able to focus on growth and expansion without worrying about the day-to-day tasks required to keep your books in order. When you hire a bookkeeper, you’ll make the switch to a new way of doing things that will free up your time and help you grow your business. We hope you find this article helpful in understanding what it takes to hire a bookkeeper for your business. This article will give you a better understanding of what to look for in a bookkeeper and what to expect from their services.
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