What A Bookkeeper Can Do For You

Okay, full disclosure: I might get a little chatty here. I just have so much good stuff to share!

Lately, you've probably seen tons of bookkeepers on social media talking up the benefits of hiring them. It usually sounds the same, right? "Bookkeepers offer financial clarity." "Bookkeepers save you about 10 hours a month." "Bookkeepers can save you thousands of dollars a year," and so on.

As a business owner, that all sounds fantastic, but how do you know it's true? Honestly, you won't until you take the leap and find a bookkeeper you actually trust. Building trust with someone new can be tough, kind of like hiring any new team member—you're taking a chance. But hey, that's what social media is for!

Go check out their website. Does the info make you want to learn more? Are they on social media? Do they post regularly (at least once a week)? Is their content helpful and does it make sense? Or is it the exact same stuff every other bookkeeper is posting? You’ve got a lot of questions to ask yourself, but the main one is: How will my business benefit?

Schedule a quick phone chat. Get a feel for how they communicate. Are you comfortable talking to them? Do they sound like they know their stuff? If you feel that initial sense of trust, then you can move forward and let them take a peek at your books.

A bookkeeper can only really give you an idea of your current financial health, tell you their rates, and offer suggestions by reviewing your existing records. The great thing about QuickBooks Online is you can give "accountant access" not just to CPAs (tax pros) but to your bookkeeper, too! This lets them review your past transactions, the bank feed, previous reconciliations, reports, and your chart of accounts. They can check how things have been categorized. Are the accounts set up correctly? When was the last time a reconciliation was done? Are a bunch of transactions piled up in the bank feed—especially ones that are months or even years old? What do your Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows reports look like? Can they look at them and instantly tell you if your business is thriving or if things are a mess?

The bottom line is, all those social media posts I mentioned? They're totally accurate! How can a bookkeeper give you financial clarity, save you 10 hours a month, and save you thousands annually? Well, these three benefits, plus others, are all connected.

First, they keep up with your bank feed transactions—ideally weekly—and categorize them correctly. They should know the difference between the five main accounting categories (assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses) and which accounts on your chart of accounts fall into each one. Correctly categorized transactions mean your financial reports are accurate, which leads directly to financial clarity.

Second, they reconcile your Balance Sheet accounts every month. They make sure there aren't any transactions left unreconciled. If they find any, they dig in to find out why and fix it. Once they finish the reconciliation for the current period, the only things left on the screen should be transactions for the next period.

Third, after all accounts are reconciled, they run your financial reports and send them to you. We're talking Profit and Loss, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows. These reports tell you your income/expenses, your assets/liabilities/equity, and how cash moves through your business. They should be able to read these reports and give you helpful insights into what they mean. They can also run other reports you need, especially if you hire them for extra services like A/R (Accounts Receivable) and A/P (Accounts Payable). They can tell you which customers are behind on payments or how many bills you still need to cover. Some bookkeepers can even be hired to fully manage your A/R, A/P, and more!

I could honestly keep listing benefits all day, but I don't want to lose you! When the accounting period ends (most businesses track things monthly), wouldn't you love to just breathe a sigh of relief knowing your books are totally accurate and current, all because you found a bookkeeper you trust? And you didn't have to take time away from growing your revenue? Or even miss out on family time because you were stuck working late trying to catch up on paperwork?

I'd genuinely love to talk more about how I can help you and your business! Click Book Now to schedule a free phone consulation today!

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Heather Cornia, CB