It is crucial to find a bookkeeper who is detail-oriented, focused, organized, and able to correct any errors they may detect quickly. Mindbody is a best-in-class software platform that has a whole arsenal of tools to help you streamline processes and maximize productivity. If you’re a large organisation with a multi-disciplined finance department, it’s likely they’ll be tasked with just the core bookkeeping duties like data entry and bank reconciliation. Robert Half can help the people we place securely access necessary data and applications, including virtual desktops. For workers who lack the necessary equipment at home, we can quickly provide technology tools to help them jump into action immediately.
Using your job board of choice, you can scan for bookkeepers in your area with the experience you seek. To save time, use our free bookkeeper job description template, which you can tweak according to your business needs. And continue reading for other considerations when you are looking for a bookkeeper. Cameron McCool writes for Bench, the online bookkeeping service that pairs you with a dedicated bookkeeping team and elegant software to do your books for you.
- If you’re worried about not having someone you can count on everyday, and don’t mind paying a bit more, a bookkeeping firm is a smart choice.
- If you’re a small company, they may essentially cover all financial requirements, using an external accounting firm where necessary – such as for preparing and filing your tax return.
- After you’ve figured out what type of bookkeeper you need, determine what bookkeeping process best suits your company.
However, for medium-sized companies or huge corporations, they will need to seek the help of licensed accountants. 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. Accountants will typically handle your small business’ higher-level financial tasks, like tax planning and business structuring.
RESOURCES
This resource will help you develop an onboarding checklist for new hires. Access all Xero features for 30 days, then decide which plan best suits your business. So both of them can both give you advice about where your business is right now – and where it’s heading.
You can access your account through a mobile app for on-the-go tracking. If you’re racing to get your books prepared for tax season and you feel generally behind on your taxes, you may want to hire a bookkeeper to handle that for you. If you don’t have your books clean and your financial records organized, you’ll have a harder time filing your taxes.
If you’re like most business owners, you’re not interested in recording all the details of every financial transaction yourself. When you need high-level business advice and official reports, then you need an accountant. Both professionals will be trusted with the details of your business finances so you can do what you do best — running your business. Bookkeepers are a necessity for any business today, and prudent business owners consider hiring one when their company reaches a certain size. There are a host of benefits to hiring a bookkeeper, but it can be difficult to know exactly what kind of person and service you should be looking for.
You gain the potential to pay less in taxes.
Bookkeepers help keep your financial records organized and accurate, freeing up your time and reducing the chance of mistakes. Some cities and states have begun enacting pay transparency laws where companies must list What do you understand by the term reclassification in accounting a target salary or a salary range in the public job ad. Even if your company doesn’t have an office in one of these locations but you’re open to hiring someone remotely, you’ll need to comply with these laws.
Your bookkeeper candidates should be able to prioritize and execute tasks while keeping deadlines in mind. The time management test will let you know whether your candidates can successfully manage their time and meet deadlines with consistency. Your company culture is critical to success, and you will want your bookkeeper to have values that align with your organization’s culture.
Cons of hiring a bookkeeper
Fill out a form to give details on the bookkeeping project you need completed, provide some details on your business, and explore job profiles of potential freelancers to choose from. The financial reconciliation you are responsible for will help our organization monitor our financial transactions with accurate reports and essential data entry. Putting your confidence in a competent and experienced bookkeeper can eliminate stress from complicated accounting concepts. Great bookkeepers will get to know your specific financial needs and can even provide you with expert insights into your business’s finances.
They can share that information using cloud-based accounting software. That means they can access your financials securely online, from anywhere. It lets them share reports about the financial status of your business.
You only prepare your books ahead of tax season
So, make sure your job description is clear about the job history and experience you need. Most bookkeepers should have at least some experience with Microsoft Excel. While bookkeepers have no licensing requirements like a CPA, voluntary organizations can certify applicants. You want a bookkeeper who is up to date on relevant laws and maintains a certain skill level.
What might happen if your small business doesn’t hire a bookkeeper
These 5 fundamental questions can help alleviate these concerns and provide a good starting point for the hiring process. Being attentive to your business as it’s growing is crucial when it comes to reaching your goals. Luckily, bookkeepers and bookkeeping software are here to take the stress out of daily administrative tasks and sort out that mountain of paperwork. Focus on your business and hire a virtual bookkeeper with QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping. Take advantage of books that are 100% accurate from bookkeepers with over 10 years of experience for confidence and peace of mind.
Which type of bookkeeper should I hire?
Once deciding to hire, it’s essential to learn how to hire a bookkeeper the right way. Bookkeeping is a unique and flexible role that should meet the needs of your business. Don’t jump to hiring a CPA just because it seems like the most traditional approach. If you opt to hire a bookkeeping employee and want more in-depth tips, check out our guide to hiring employees.
We can get you connected with an experienced bookkeeper through our Xero advisor directory. Otherwise you could end up with several months’ worth of receipts and invoices to be processed. That will take time and may be difficult to do, because you’ll have forgotten which client to bill for a particular expense. Without proper bookkeeping, it would be easy for transactions to go unrecorded, left to pile up until the end of a financial period. Mistakes could be made and important details could be lost or forgotten.
This knowledge can inspire business leaders at any stage to make better and more informed decisions for future growth opportunities. With your small business, you’re faced with the decision to prepare your books by yourself or to outsource your bookkeeping for someone else to perform. While there isn’t a single best answer that applies to all businesses, there are factors you should consider to come to a decision you’re most comfortable with. A make-or-buy decision is a common problem that businesses large and small have to solve. Small businesses have an even more difficult time deciding if it’s best to make or buy something, as they have limited resources in both time and money.
To find a bookkeeper, you need to go where candidates are—job boards. I recommend posting to at least three different job boards so you get a good mix of applicants. To specifically seek freelance bookkeepers, check out our top picks for online bookkeeping services.