Bookkeepers; Why They Could Be Your Small Businesses’ Best Friend

As a small business owner, we often wear a number of different hats in order to keep our businesses running. From accountant to marketer, sales extraordinaire, creator, website guru, social media manager, copywriter, designer… the list really does go on! While taking on a number of these roles yourself is often a more cost effective option compared to hiring an entire team, there’s also something to be said about knowing where your strengths do and don’t lie, and learning when to ask for help.

One aspect that small business owners often do need help with is their bookkeeping. Unfortunately, bookkeeping is also one of the first things to be neglected when trying to juggle everything, with other tasks often seen as more important. While neglecting your bookkeeping may seem relatively harmless, it can actually have some long-term negative consequences on the success of your business. There are a number of benefits to hiring a professional bookkeeper to assist you - keep reading to find out why they could be your small businesses’ new best friend!

How A Bookkeeper Can Help You Grow:

A common misconception about bookkeepers is that our job consists mainly of data entry. While tracking your incoming and outgoing figures might be part of our role, a good bookkeeper will also do much, much more! When it comes down to it, most businesses have two goals. Number one, to improve their sales and profitability, and two, to keep their costs low and streamline processes as much as possible (without compromising on quality or accuracy). Both of these areas are ones in which a good bookkeeper can assist you with. Working closely with your businesses’ finances each day provides us with valuable insights that allow us to analyse, review and put into plan active strategies that will assist you and your business to grow, scale and increase profit margins.

Remember - when you’re not dedicating enough time to your books, it’s easy to miss important expenses, issue late invoices, not realise when your stock is running low, log incomings and outgoings incorrectly and forget to keep receipts and other documentation you’ll need for tax time! With the help of a bookkeeper, you can not only stay on top of your current figures, but also actively work toward scaling your business to the next level.

What To Look For:

With so many bookkeepers out there, it can seem like a scary and daunting task trying to find one that’s the right fit for your business. The easiest way to ensure you’re making the right choice is to identify your non-negotiables. We recommend looking for someone who has established a positive name for themselves in the industry. Always seek reviews and don’t be afraid to ask if they can point you toward clients who can speak to you about the timeliness, efficiency, and confidentiality of their services. As bookkeeping is such an important and crucial aspect of your business, it’s also important that the person you choose is able to communicate with you regularly and keep you up to date with essential information and changes.

Don’t forget that not all businesses are the same and not all financial advice is going to apply to you and your circumstances. When choosing your bookkeeper, you should look for someone who has a successful history working within your industry and who is able to tailor their services directly your needs.

The Importance Of Qualifications & Registrations

Another important thing you should look for in a bookkeeper is the proper qualifications and registrations. These include:

• Qualifications - at the very least, they should have their Certificate IV in Bookkeeping or Accounting. If they are to perform BAS or GST related activities for your business, they should also have completed relevant courses for both.
• Registrations - your bookkeeper should always be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board in order to work as a BAS Agent. Having affiliations with the ICB (Institute of Certified Bookkeepers) and IPA (Institute of Public Accountants) are also highly regarded, as both of these institutes require certain qualifications in order to register with them and they help to maintain certain standards across their members.
• Insurance - your bookkeeper must also have Professional Indemnity Insurance to cover both you and them.

 At the end of the day, your time as a business owner is best spent on the tasks that you do best. Investing in a bookkeeper to help maintain the financial aspect of your business will not only free up your time which can be better spent elsewhere, but it will also provide you with valuable insights that may otherwise have been missed.