Although you might think you’re saving money by managing your cash flow, you can do more harm than good to your money management. This content is for information purposes only and should not be considered legal, accounting, or tax https://www.bookstime.com/articles/how-to-hire-a-bookkeeper advice, or a substitute for obtaining such advice specific to your business. No assurance is given that the information is comprehensive in its coverage or that it is suitable in dealing with a customer’s particular situation.

You can concentrate on tasks and projects that will drive business growth, safe in the knowledge that your bookkeeping is being taken care of by an expert. You need a bookkeeper to handle your records and books, and of course, we need them to be very well-organized and equipped with the necessary administrative skills. Some sectors may require different records or requirements than others, so you should look for a bookkeeper with a great amount of knowledge on your industry. It is important not to rush when hiring a bookkeeper, since they will play a significant role in the growth and development of your small business. They’ll work with your records and with the money that comes and goes out of your business, so you should invest time and great effort in order to find someone you can truly trust.

How to write a great bookkeeper job description

You can focus on doing the tasks you love without having to slug through the tasks you dread. Bookkeepers are essential for any business that wants to make sound financial decisions and keep their books balanced every year. Without hiring a bookkeeper, you could make costly mistakes and may be more at risk for an IRS audit. There are several reasons why hiring a bookkeeper is a smart move for small business owners. First and foremost, it frees you up to focus on what you alone can do.

You can usually ask for references of customers similar to you, so you can get an honest picture of what it’s like working with that firm. A firm may employ a range of bookkeepers, from beginners to experts. It’s important to ask if they guarantee a certain level of quality, so the accuracy doesn’t change from person to person. There are lots of places online to find a quality freelance bookkeeper, but Upwork.com is a good place to start.

Additional benefits of hiring a bookkeeper

While there is a little bit of time and organization required on the front end to get a bookkeeper up to speed, it’s often far less than you might imagine. Here are a few of the most common reasons small business owners drag their feet when it comes to hiring a bookkeeper. To hire a bookkeeper, you may need to pay as little as $10 per hour for basic data entry or as much as $75 for a senior bookkeeper with a bit of accounting expertise. If a bookkeeper is an accountant, they may charge $150 per hour or more. Unlike certified public accountants, bookkeepers do not need professional qualifications. In fact, there’s no requirement for any formal training, with many bookkeepers learning their craft on the job.

• On average, freelance bookkeepers charge lower rates than firms do, since they have less overhead.
• This is the ideal platform to use if you are trying to source full-time bookkeepers.
• Great bookkeepers will get to know your specific financial needs and can even provide you with expert insights into your business’s finances.
• When business picks up and you’ve got a lot on your plate, delegating the task of bookkeeping makes sense as you focus on the bigger picture.

Just look for a bookkeeper with high reviews from other customers like you. A local freelance bookkeeper should be able to visit your business in person in order to collect and organize your paperwork. Unless your business has roughly thirty or more employees, or over a million dollars annual revenue, you probably don’t need to hire a full-time, in-house bookkeeper. Whoever you hire needs to be trusted with the everyday details of your business finances. It’s often the case that your bookkeeper will be the constant accounting contact for your business. They’ll be best placed to answer questions about where the money is coming from, and where it’s going.

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If your business is growing along and doing your own bookkeeping is overwhelming you, it’s usually right. If you own a small business, you might be used to doing many tasks independently. For example, you may be responsible for contacting your suppliers, marketing your products, monitoring sales, and responding to customer inquiries and complaints.

• That’s why it’s important to find a bookkeeper who knows what they’re doing.
• After the skills tests have been completed, you’ll need to ask the successful candidates to attend an interview.
• A good bookkeeper keeps your books clean and makes it easy for you to review and query the entries.
• If you choose not to hire a bookkeeper, fire won’t rain down from the sky.
• Now you have written your job description, your next challenge is to source the right bookkeeper candidates.
• Digital bookkeeping is usually a cloud-based process of tracking records, and is the preferred method for most small businesses today.

This can help you better determine whether bookkeeping is worth the hours it takes you to complete on your own. If you’re unsure whether you’re ready to hire a bookkeeper, consider these major benefits and how they can positively affect your work days and business success. If your business is new and your bookkeeping is minimal, you may be able to do your own bookkeeping with a simple spreadsheet.

How to Interview a Freelance Bookkeeper

Trusting the financial details of your business with anyone is a big step. There are many bookkeeping businesses, so you’ll have plenty of choice. You could contact one directly, or you could ask if your business partners or clients have any recommendations. Otherwise you could end up with several months‘ worth of receipts and invoices to be processed.

Further, it could also mean hiring a bookkeeper to keep track of and record the business’ financial transactions. As the company gets bigger, more people are needed in order to perform this task more efficiently. Not many founders have backgrounds in finance or even a working knowledge of accounts payable, accounts receivable and taxes. It’s better that a professional who took courses and was certified in these areas handle those aspects of the business. Some bookkeepers do provide tax preparation services, but usually, they’ll be doing it from their own experience, as not all bookkeepers are professional tax advisors.

Bookkeepers do not analyze these numbers or offer financial advice. Bookkeepers are the backbone of a company’s accounting department. If a bookkeeper fails in their duties, that failure can have a major impact on cash flow, strategic financial decisions, and legal tax obligations. That makes finding the right bookkeeping talent an absolute must. Ultimately, a bookkeeper’s chief duty is to maintain accurate financial records so that, at any given time, you can assess your business’s financial strength.

• Some bookkeepers don’t actually keep daily records, something that you might want and be used to.
• Keep in mind that you will be looking for bookkeeping candidates that best suit your company’s culture.
• A make-or-buy decision is a common problem that businesses large and small have to solve.
• That’s because there is a reduced level of risk for human error, lack of knowledge, missed payments and tax obligation due dates and delayed accounts receivable.
• Your bookkeeping candidates should know a lot about accounting software or learn more about the software you use in your organization.

The cost of using these agencies depends on the type of service you need. Any bookkeeper worth his or her salt has honed their skills and has experience with most of the situations you’d encounter on a day-by-day basis. In fact, many bookkeepers have likely seen — and resolved — issues that would confuse, frustrate, and befuddle someone in another line of work, or even a relatively seasoned DIYer.

Preparing financial statements

For business owners who aren’t as detail oriented, having someone else handle the books is a big stress reliever. And even if you are good with details, wouldn’t you rather focus that time and attention on growing your business? Still, it’s important to know where your business stands financially all the time. It’s important to remember that bookkeepers aren’t necessarily accountants.

In many cases, the situation of a business owner who’s just starting out may be simple enough for them to perform their own bookkeeping. On top of that, the volume of transactions each month might be minimal enough that bookkeeping might not even be a time-consuming task. Bookkeepers are an extra expense you’ll have to think about when it comes to assessing the company’s financial health. But, it’s worth keeping in mind that bookkeepers will have many different clients, so they may not always be working on your business or they might prioritise someone else over you.