How to Choose the Right Bookkeeper for you!
Finding the right bookkeeper is not easy.
Most business owners I meet are very conscious of spending their hard earnt cash on only those items that will;
- Benefit their business
- Make it more profitable
- Help it grow
- Provide them with a Return on Investment!
The right bookkeeper will have a positive impact on all these things. Choosing the right bookkeeper becomes even more difficult without fully understanding what does a bookkeeper actually do! This article will help explain the bookkeepers duties and give guidelines for hiring the perfect one for you!
What does a Bookkeeper do?
Your bookkeeper plays a critical role in your success or failure. The bookkeeper must record all of your business transactions into one software program. A good bookkeeper will be a HUGE asset to your business because they have the knowledge and experience on how to accurately and efficiently manage your business’s financial records. They can also provide insight into potential financial issues in the business before they erupt!
The key roles of a great bookkeeper will include;
- Data Entry – Your bookkeeper will manage your day to day financial transactions by entering them into the system regularly and accurately, allocating them to the correct accounts and producing weekly or monthly reports that will provide you with useful information on your business performance and help with decision making
- Expense Tracking – All of you business expenses need to be recorded and reconciled. This could be checking invoices, receipts and purchase orders to delivery to ensure you are getting what you paid for. Your bookkeeper will also enter any petty cash or credit card purchases, they can also monitor who is opening what, or what equipment is costing the most to run. They will be able to identify any potential excess expenditure.
- Invoicing and Receipts – This is the single biggest key cash flow driver of every small business! Collecting money from customers. A good bookkeeper will ensure invoices are send out promptly, follow up on late payments. This role can often be the make or break for most business.
- Payroll – Having a bookkeeper will save you an enormous amount of time if your payroll is done weekly or fortnightly. If you employ staff you will know that payroll can become a large task. Paying your staff can involve checking timesheet, calculating payroll tax and superannuation, expense claims, work deductions and keeping accurate employee records.
- Compliance – Your bookkeeper can prepare your BAS in line with the ATO requirements. They will also be able to prepare any payroll tax and superannuation recored and payments. They can also do industry specific lodgement like the Taxable Payments Annual Report (TPAR) for construction.
- Financial Reporting – Finally your bookkeeper provides you with useful financial reports and be able to guide you on what areas need improving, and those that are performing well that can be taken to the next level, these include
- Profit and Loss
- Balance Sheet
- Budgets and budget comparisons
- Cash flow forecast
Bookkeepers are professionals at what they do and take care of all you financial obligations while you concentrate on doing things that require your personal attention!
Align yourself with an Astute Bookkeeper today! 
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Top tips for choosing the perfect bookkeeper for you;
- Qualifications – This is very important when hiring any professional. You want to ensure the your bookkeeper is knowledgeable, is an expert in bookkeeping, understands different software and is professional. Experience is a MUST! You do not want an inexperience newbie handling your finances no mater how many qualifications they may have!
- Responsiveness – For a great bookkeeping service your bookkeeper must be able to take your phone calls and respond to your questions in a timely manner. The need for current bookkeeping information is critical and with real-time accounting software there are no excuses for absence of data. Make sure your bookkeeper has your best interests at heart and can offer a maximum turnaround time on your questions of 24hours.
- Personality – Your bookkeeper is your closest business ally. And lets face it no-one want to work with a non personality. Therefore you need to look for an individual with excellent personalty. This means they need to be a good conversationalist and have the ability to talk freely. In the world of bookkeeping an articulate well mannered professional personality is indispensable.
- Fees and Services – Although mist business owners tend to hire a bookkeeper based on price, this should be avoided. You might get a bookkeeper offering their services at a cheaper price yet the services are poor and this will coast you in the future. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, ask for a set weekly or monthly agreement. Ensure that you understand the services being offered (get it in writing). Please do not compromise your business stability simple because of price
- Open and Honest – It is most likely that the person you hire to handle your business finances will be a stranger. Its important to hire an honest person, someone that you can trust. Organise a personal meeting with potential bookkeepers and choose the one that had open and honest forms of communications – the one that you know that you can trust.
In summary
Take your time to do your research before hiring a bookkeeper. Remember this person will help your business grow in the long run. Make sure they have a desire for excellence. Don’t accept mediocre. Don’t accept excuses for poor performance. Quality is the most important! YES it is more important than price itself when it comes to your bookkeeping.
Found this article helpful! Other topics we covered;
- 3 signs of Bad Bookkeeping
- Hazards of DIY Bookkeeping
- Financial Reporting 101: Can you afford to be doing it wrong?
- Top 5 Biggest mistakes employee make when it comes to an Employee or Contractor!
