We’re Back!
Hello fellow business owners! Fa
ll is upon us and it’s time to head indoors and curl up with a blanket, fireplace and a good book or Netflix marathon. I trust that business is going well and you are prospering as you deserve. We continue to grow and have added an additional team member to accommodate the work load and have updated the website to reflect this. Check it out here. We are also humbled by being chosen, for the third year in a row, as Consumer Choice Awards winner for Payroll Services in London, Ontario. Click here to see our little promotional video.
What Your Bookkeeper Wants You to Know
What follows is a list of things you should understand about your relationship with your bookkeeper.
- Presuming you have a qualified and competent bookkeeper, you should have the utmost trust in their abilities. If you do not, you may want to consider switching to one you are more comfortable with. Lack of trust in your bookkeeper’s skills is awkward and is a disservice to both you and the bookkeeper. Looking for qualified bookkeeper? See this article on how to find one.
- The more organized you are with your paperwork the easier it is for the bookkeeper to work on your books. There is a direct relationship between the organization of the business owner and the cost to do the bookkeeping. If you bring in a shoe box, or worse, a garbage bag (we’ve had it happen!), we have to sort through all of that which takes time. Thus, you will be paying to have the bookkeeper do this simple task. If you can, organize everything on a cloud application and give your bookkeeper access to it. If you are keen to do so, you can use an app like Dext or Hubdoc, to upload and store all your documentation. That information can then be imported into your accounting software. Our firm is not a big fan of this option. First of all there is a cost associated with it. Other reasons shall be left for another day.
- This is a big one that we have had a fair bit of recent experience with. If you insist that you do some of the bookkeeping while your bookkeeper does other tasks, be prepared that everything may not be as reliable as you (and your bookkeeper) would like. The fact is, if you do not have an accounting background, you likely will not understand what is happening in the background
of your accounting software as you enter transactions. Depending on the issue, there is no guarantee that your bookkeeper will catch incorrect entries. It is possible, and highly likely, that the books may ‘balance’ at the end of the month, but information in the background is not correct. When this happens, the business owner often blames the bookkeeper for doing something wrong which is not necessarily the case. This, in turn, creates friction and, possibly, animosity between the bookkeeper and the business owners. Further, the errors will later need to be corrected by either the bookkeeper or your accountant at year end (if it is even caught then) which drives up the cost of the year end work that they do. Our firm now has a clause in our contract that states that if you are doing some of the bookkeeping, the reliability of the financial reports cannot be guaranteed. Every bookkeeper should have their own ideas of what they would like you to know about how they work and hopefully they share that information with you but these are some general ideas.
Final Thoughts
Your bookkeeper and accountant should be a trusted and valued part of your financial team. No matter the size of your business, the benefit you receive from having these relationships is immeasurable. The right dynamic between all parties is crucial for accurate and dependable financial statements. Working closely with these team members will ensure you get the information you need to propel your business forward. If you’re looking for an exceptional bookkeeper, check out this article on how to go about finding one.
Until next time!
