Bookkeeping is a tedious, time-consuming task that requires careful management. It’s also the source of crucial financial statements, and inaccurate ones lead to misguided business decisions.
If you think you understand your business’s books but are unsure, that’s a sign you need to hire an accounting professional. Here are three reasons why.
1. You Don’t Need to Know the Details
Whether you do your own bookkeeping, enlist a family member to do it, or hire a professional, it’s important that everyone understands what their duties are. This ensures that your financial statements are accurate and complete. It also prevents you from accidentally overlooking a mistake or making one yourself.
When you’re interviewing potential bookkeepers, ask them about their experience and expertise. You may also want to look at their LinkedIn profile and other online content to gauge how familiar they are with your industry. If they’re able to provide examples of when they have experienced unreconciled books or other accounting issues, it’s an excellent sign that they understand the big picture.
Another thing to keep an eye out for is if they’re able to respond quickly and efficiently to your requests for information or reports. If they’re consistently late, it could be a sign that they don’t have the skills to do the job. It might be a case of inexperience or simply not having the work ethic to get the job done right.
It’s also important that you don’t rely on your bookkeeper too much for advice and guidance, especially when it comes to your business finances. It’s better to err on the side of caution and seek advice from a trusted colleague or business advisor, rather than letting your bookkeeping go rogue and causing you stress come tax time. This will not only reduce your anxiety but save you money, too.
2. You Can’t Do It
If you’re constantly juggling bookkeeping tasks and sifting through accounting software, you are not spending your time on the things that can propel your business to the next level. Ask for help from The Bottom Line Bookkeeping. You are losing out on valuable time to serve customers, attract new clients, attack new business opportunities and develop your product, services and market.
Having someone else handle your books will free you up to spend time on what matters most. Don’t waste this opportunity.
A good bookkeeper should be able to provide you with useful reports and financial statements, such as profit/loss statements and balance sheets. However, if they’re consistently missing critical information or putting out inaccurate data, it may be time to consider other options.
It’s important to communicate with your bookkeeper on a regular basis and make it clear that you need a certain report by a certain date. If they regularly miss this deadline, it’s likely a sign that they aren’t up for the task or that they’re hiding something.
Your company’s financial records depend on accurate bank reconciliation. If your bookkeeper isn’t performing these essential functions on a consistent basis, it could mean they’re not managing your money well, or worse – they might be stealing from you!
If you ever feel as though your bookkeeper is talking down to you, it’s a red flag that they don’t understand standard bookkeeping terminology. This can lead to confusion and misunderstandings. They should be comfortable speaking in your language, and if they’re not, it might be time to find another solution.
A bounced check is a big deal, and it’s a major indicator that your bookkeeper needs to be replaced. It’s likely that they aren’t properly reconciling your accounts and it is allowing errors to go undetected, which can leave you vulnerable to fraud and costly bank errors.
3. You Can’t Do It Right
If you’re a small-business owner, you’re used to wearing many hats. You can confidently switch from your “chief marketing officer” hat to your “business operations manager” hat, and even don the “bookkeeper” hat at times.
But with all that work comes the feeling of dread when it’s time to do your books. If you don’t regularly work on your bookkeeping, you’ll end up with transactions that you can’t account for, which will leave you unable to properly manage your business.
LinkedIn is a great place to show off your bookkeeping skills and find new clients. Start by making sure your profile looks professional, then post often. Share bookkeeping tips, financial advice and news updates. This will keep people coming back to your LinkedIn page, which will then lead to them clicking on your website and getting in touch with you for help. Keeping in touch will also help you to grow your network and increase your chances of finding new clients.
5. You Can’t Do It Cheap
Bookkeeping requires a significant investment of time, money and energy. Even though there are automation tools like QBO and apps that eliminate double data entry, you still need to put in the time and effort to reconcile your accounts and complete a certain amount of manual data entry. If you’re going to do it yourself, ask for help from a trusted friend or hire a professional, be sure to make a consistent habit of working on your books each week – even if it’s only for an hour.
Being cheap is when your desire for more money or savings trumps other values, such as quality of life, personal and business goals or the enjoyment you get out of something. When it comes to bookkeeping, being cheap is a big risk that can lead to fraud and poor financial statements. At Neat, we believe that small-business owners deserve to wear their “bookkeeper” hat just as confidently as they do their other hats. That’s why we’re changing the way bookkeeping is done based on our two guiding philosophies: that it should be easy and that it should help you know what’s really happening in your business.