If you think you don’t need a bookkeeper, think again. If you’ve been considering whether or not it’s time to hire a bookkeeper, here are some things to contemplate your financial fate:
1. If you don’t really know what you’re doing but think you can figure it out. Though systems like Quicken and Quickbooks are designed to be end-user friendly, they can be confusing for the non-professional. Most of the books we’ve worked on are small business owners who came to us after not being able to figure it out and messed it up. Trust us, most of the owner’s money spent is clean up of their own mess. If you don’t know what a Chart of Accounts is or really understand why and how they are set one up, my advice would be to stay away.
2. Maybe you took some Accounting courses and actually understand what you’re doing. However, the only problem is, you’re not organized. If you’re not sure if you are considered an organized individual or not, ask yourself this; Do most of your cash receipts and bank slips end up on your night stand after you empty your pockets at the day? If you said yes, just think, you could be emptying them all onto your bookkeeper’s desk.
3. If your memory is less than perfect. If you don’t remember what you had for breakfast this morning; you’ll never remember what you paid and to whom two weeks from now when you get around to doing it yourself. Let’s face it; if you’re a one man show with a couple of employees, you are probably trying to wear too many hats as it is anyway. You just can’t. Something’s got to give and it will be your memory.
4. There is someone between you and the bill collector. This alone is worth it especially if cash flow is tight, like it is for so many small businesses. Having a bookkeeper brings you credibility as well as actually being able to stay on track with payment deadlines, cash discounts and vendor communication. You have enough phone calls and employees to motivate, leave the worry behind.
5. There is now someone between you and your accountant that understand what your accountant is saying. They have a language of their own. Bookkeepers understand the needs of your accountant, how the numbers relate to a business income tax return and the state and federal regulations you need to abide to.
6. You actually know how much money you have in the account. It’s not your on-line bank balance or ATM balance when you last took money out. Your bookkeeper will know what bills were paid and checks that went out that haven’t cleared yet. Your bank register balance is your true balance. This can save you hundreds in overdraft fees and earned trustworthiness with your vendors.
7. You just don’t have the time. Your time is valuable and if you’re small enough, in addition to any people you have, you actually have billable time. Anytime left over needs to be spent getting clients, improving productivity and creating a vision for your next goal.
As you can see, having a bookkeeper is well worth their weight in gold. You don’t have to hire someone full-time. Many freelance bookkeepers expect to work part-time hours. However, at the very least you should have someone come in to reconcile the monthly bank statements and pay some bills. You’ll want to find any mistakes early and we all make them. It’s best not to find out when you’re bringing your mess to your accountant at the end of the year. They will most likely turn around and hand it off to a bookkeeper to straighten out anyway and bill you out at a higher hourly rate than what a bookkeeper would have, had you hired one to begin with.
For more business tips, free ebooks and other sources for small businesses, please visit [http://www.rightfit4life.com]http://www.rightfit4life.com.
By Lynda Barton
