Is it necessary to enlist the services of a bookkeeper? For small business proprietors, the concise response typically leans towards "yes." Accessing precise, current financial data is imperative for making well-informed business choices.
Occasionally, novice business proprietors opt to manage their own books, often to cut costs. However, numerous entrepreneurs falter in their bookkeeping duties when:
Their business starts expanding
They shift their attention to other priorities
To thoroughly explore the reasons behind hiring a bookkeeper for your business, we must delve deeper into the responsibilities of these professionals—and how delegating your bookkeeping tasks can save time, ensure financial clarity, and alleviate numerical anxieties.
What are the duties of a bookkeeper?
A bookkeeper's role entails documenting, reconciling, and reporting the daily business transactions of your company.
Their responsibilities usually encompass:
Documenting your daily sales and expenditure activities
Conducting monthly reconciliations of credit card and bank accounts
Producing monthly and yearly financial statements such as balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements
Experienced bookkeepers are adept at utilizing accounting software and employing appropriate accounting techniques to organize and monitor your financial information.
By guaranteeing the accuracy and timeliness of all your financial reports, they offer valuable insights into your business's performance, enabling you to make more informed decisions.
What are the advantages of hiring a bookkeeper over handling it yourself?
There are numerous compelling reasons why enlisting a professional to oversee your books will advantage your business.
1. Bookkeeping consumes a significant portion of your precious time
If you're not a bookkeeping consultant, it's probable that bookkeeping isn't your primary duty—and there's a strong argument for why it shouldn't be.
All the precious time you invest
Entering data into your accounting system
Confirming the cashing of your checks
Segmenting and filing taxes for your accounts receivable and accounts payable transactions
...is time that could be more effectively utilized in managing your business!
If you find yourself dedicating more time than desired to bookkeeping, it's likely the right moment to make the decision and enlist the services of a proficient bookkeeper. By delegating your accounting responsibilities, you can allocate more time to market your business, enhance operations, or achieve a better work-life balance.
2. Maintaining the currency of your books can pose a challenge
With numerous priorities competing for your focus as a business owner, it can be difficult to remain abreast of your financial undertakings.
However, without accurate and timely bookkeeping, it's simple for transactions to accumulate and remain unrecorded until the conclusion of a financial period. This can result in not only errors but also the loss or omission of crucial details.
One of the fundamental aspects of a bookkeeper's role involves:
Establishing and overseeing a structured document storage system
Classifying and logging receipts and invoices according to expense category
Securing access to source documents for all your transactions in case of request by the CRA
Employing a bookkeeper not only ensures your business is prepared for audits but also alleviates concerns regarding unpaid bills, late fees, or strained vendor relationships.
By guaranteeing the accuracy and timeliness of all your incoming and outgoing transactions, a bookkeeper can also assist in bolstering your business credit, thereby facilitating the process of securing a loan when necessary.
3. Numbers are not your forte
It's not uncommon for a business owner to wear many hats or for the intricacy of their bookkeeping to expand alongside their business. What's uncommon is for a small business owner to also possess formal training as a bookkeeper or to excel in numerical tasks.
Assuming the role of a do-it-yourself bookkeeper usually entails the responsibility of tracking and comprehending:
Debits and credits
Inventory expenses and business costs
Invoices, payroll, tax filings, budgets—and the intricacies of double-entry bookkeeping
The level of knowledge and dedication needed to handle such tasks can be daunting, even for the most eager entrepreneur!
Conversely, professional bookkeepers are trained or educated to manage all your intricate financial particulars: from configuring and tailoring your business's chart of accounts to computing your sales tax obligations. Competent bookkeepers can even aid in interpreting your financial figures.
You may not necessarily require the services of a full-time bookkeeper. However, opting for a part-time bookkeeper or outsourcing to a professional bookkeeping firm can assist in sidestepping costly bookkeeping mistakes while ensuring seamless management of your finances.
Now might be the ideal time to bring a bookkeeper on board.
Carefully assess your present circumstances: Are you delaying your bookkeeping tasks? Are your books becoming increasingly complex? Are you investing excessive time in bookkeeping duties?
If you responded affirmatively to any of these inquiries, then now might indeed be the opportune moment to consider hiring a bookkeeper.
Enlisting a bookkeeper to classify and document your business transactions isn't solely the most effective method for maintaining organized and current financial information, but it can also streamline the process of:
Attend to more urgent business matters
Effectively handle your cash flow
Make more informed business choices
Whether you're contemplating hiring internally or utilizing external bookkeeping services, it's crucial to regard the value a bookkeeper offers as a long-term investment: an initial cost that ultimately yields time and cost savings. However, it's essential to ensure that the individual you select is trustworthy. Entrusting your business's financial intricacies to someone is a significant decision. Therefore, conduct thorough research before engaging a bookkeeper—and keep in mind that Bluemount is available to assist.