Why a Bookkeeper?

I may be preaching to the converted here, but who knows who you’ve sent this to. In general, if I’m chatting to someone as a new client they’ve already made the decision to have a bookkeeper, but in normal conversation or with potential referral partners, I get asked this a lot.

Why a bookkeeper? What’s the difference between them and an accountant? Do I really need one and what will they add to my business? All in good time my friend, all in good time.

A bookkeeper is a much more transactional role than an accountant, in general. Your bookkeeper is going to come in and handle the day-to-day running of the finances or accounts, and do things like payroll, daily reconciliations from the bank account, data entry, receivables and payables, and potentially your BAS lodgements as well. They will get a real handle of how the business is performing in real time and can help you make some on-the-spot financial decisions as they generally have a good overview of your accounts from working on them consistently.

They may also help you with payroll items like running a payroll and collating timesheets, as well as ensuring that you meet your superannuation obligations. The name “bookkeeper” came from keeping the books, and that is what they do, so very often we find ourselves as general allrounders, which can really help businesses out.

One of the main tasks of bookkeepers, and in particular those that are registered as BAS agents, is to make sure you are tax compliant and your obligations to the ATO are met in terms of GST and PAYG, and that they are correct and on time. This can take a huge amount of pressure off you, as you know you’re in good hands if you’re with a trustworthy bookkeeping business (shameless plug here – check out our services and drop us a line).

The other thing that some bookkeepers can offer is training in your preferred accounting software and add-ons. Here at Dollars + Sense we use Xero for our accounting software exclusively, and a variety of add-ons depending on the needs of your business. While we offer a full bookkeeping service and consulting services, we can also train you to get up to speed with doing a lot of the day-to-day tasks yourself so that you can manage your cashflow a bit better, and spend money in higher yielding services, like costings and cashflows.

With their indepth knowledge of multiple businesses and in particular, your business; a bookkeeper can be an invaluable resource and advisor as they are able to pick up trends quite quickly – like out of the ordinary expenditure, or a staff member taking every Monday off! They can be one of the greatest assets in your business if that’s what you are looking for!