If you're like most small business owners, you may be trying to do it all yourself. Outsourcing seems like a good idea to relieve some stress, but do you really need a bookkeeper? The answer is YES!
First things first: A bookkeeper has to be a person you trust to help your business shine. A good bookkeeper will typically take charge of a business's financial compliance component. This includes capturing all financial transactions that flow through the business in order to show managers the financial health of the organization. When bookkeeping is done on an ongoing basis, owners/managers can see how the business is performing at any given time. This is important in order to make sound financial decisions which often come up quickly.
Imagine hearing of a fantastic opportunity and having no idea whether your business can afford to jump on it!
Logistically, your bookkeeper may be responsible for:
Recording income from all sources with correct workflows to show how, when, where, and from whom your income is being received - including any related fees and commissions.
Recording expenses paid via multiple channels (credit cards, lines of credit, cash, and of course checking) ensuring charges are categorized correctly and in line with generally accepted accounting principles.
Reconciling each bank and credit card account to confirm that the business’ records match the bank statements and decoding any differences.
Properly recording all assets owned by the business, including inventory or machinery used to produce income
Properly recording all liabilities; tying amounts to amortization schedules and reconciling
Properly setting up and maintaining payroll ledgers; including tracking employee withholdings and filing quarterly payroll reports and yearly W-2s (or acting as a liaison with your payroll company; communicating setup and bringing in totals correctly to the accounting system.)
Assisting with the preparation of internal financial reports for management’s review
EXPLAINING all of the above in a way that is useful and helpful. (THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART!)
All the numbers in the world don’t help you run your business better if you don’t know what they MEAN to your business. Finding a bookkeeper with the heart of a teacher will help you feel confident in your strategy and you’ll have the expertise at your fingertips to know when your business is ready for that next step or that amazing opportunity.
Best of all, when you’re ready to jump, you have your own cheering section helping you reach for the stars.
Always cheering for you,
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