What do bookkeepers do?
Are you starting to think it's time you got help with your bookkeeping? In this article, we highlight what exactly a bookkeeper does in your business.
Understanding the services that bookkeepers provide to your business, will help you understand exactly how they can not only save you time but help your business grow.
The right bookkeeper for your business is someone you can trust, and a partner that's right there with you every step of the way as you grow your business.
Firstly, let's understand what a bookkeeper does for their clients
This might seem obvious, but knowing what a bookkeeper does is important - so often, we see clients get accountants and bookkeepers mixed up.
In a nutshell, the role of a bookkeeper is to provide accurate and up-to-date financial information about your business. The important financial information they provide is often collated into a report that business owners, accountants and CFOs can use to make key strategic decisions. Accurate and up-to-date bookkeeping allows business owners to truly understand their financial position. Without this key information, life in business can become stressful. To break this down further, let's look at some of the more specific functions a bookkeeper focuses on.
What does a small business bookkeeper do?
Bank Reconciliation: This is the process of cross-referencing your bank statements with your books, ensuring your financial information is an accurate reflection of your business's standings.
Data Entry: The process of recording all financial transactions and balancing your books, usually on a weekly basis.
Monthly reporting: Presenting all the key financial information of your business in a way that's easy to digest, giving you a clear understanding of how your business is tracking financially.
Additional duties of a small business bookkeeper
Payroll: We're often asked "can a bookkeeper do payroll?" Yes, bookkeepers can do payroll. This involves ensuring your staff are paid correctly and on time every week. For most growing small businesses, managing payroll is often tedious and takes time. Having a professional bookkeeper handle this ensures you don't make any mistakes with one of the most important functions in your business.
Accounts Receivable: Falling behind on your invoices and not chasing up overdue accounts can seriously hurt cash flow in your business - and as we know, cash flow is the lifeblood of your business. Having a bookkeeper handle your invoicing gives you the best chance of avoiding cash flow problems as you grow your business.
Accounts Payable: Maintaining strong relationships with suppliers is often key to business success, and this certainly can't be done if you're not paying them on time. Having a bookkeeper manage this will make sure you avoid phone calls from disgruntled suppliers.
What does a senior bookkeeper do?
Virtual CFO: The team here at Accolution are not only bookkeepers but we are chartered accountants too. We have a 360-degree understanding of what it takes to properly manage a business's financials and we can act as your virtual CFO in your small business. We operate remotely and can ensure you make well-informed decisions around everything to do with your business's financials.
Cloud Accounting Platform Establishment: Whether you need to move away from paper-based accounting, or simply clean up and optimise your existing cloud-based accounting software, a good bookkeeper can assist you in this process. If this is something you need assistance with, the team here at Accolution are certified experts with Xero, Quickbooks and Odoo.
BAS & IAS Lodging: A registered BAS agent cross-checks all of your accounts, accurately prepares and lodges your BAS statement on time, and verifies your GST, ensuring that your overall business is compliant with the ATO.
Engaging with a trusted BAS advisor also means maximising your tax credits or liaising with the tax department should you need an extension on your tax payments.
Is it time you got on top of your bookkeeping?
We understand the stress that comes with handling the day-to-day operations of a small business. And while we can't help with everything, we can certainly help with your bookkeeping. We offer simple fixed-price online bookkeeping and work on a remote basis. If you're ready to free up your time and make managing your books one less thing to worry about, don't hesitate to reach out to us here so we can tell you more about how we can help.