Bookkeeping services are a very popular way to keep control of your income and expenses in a small business. I say small business・because a business that is classified larger than that (25 employees or more) would most likely have their own full-time or part-time bookkeeper.
Bookkeeping services almost seem to be as varied as the different types of business that they service. There are many choices for a small business as regards using bookkeeping services from doing a full set of books to just the basics of daily entries and accounts receivable and accounts payable.
Let’s be clear though, that a bookkeeper is not necessarily an accountant. An accountant is a Certified Accountant whereas a bookkeeper is usually someone who has learned bookkeeping over the years, or in more recent years has either taken some of their accountancy exams or has taken a bookkeeping course.
Outsourcing Bookkeeping Services
On the other hand it is possible to have the work outsourced and this can be done in various ways. If the bookkeeper is local a possibility could be that the weekly receipts and payments are given to the bookkeeper at the end of each week, either by scanning, mailing, courier or whatever.
If a business is such that all their paperwork needs to be on hand all day then it is possible to find bookkeepers who will visit the business premises and work there to complete their job.
Bookkeeping Services Offered:
As mentioned earlier, different businesses will use these services and take the accounts to a different level. That often depends at what stage the business operator would to like to give their accounts to their accountant.
Either depending on what can be afforded at the time or what the business owner requires, the following services are usually available from a bookkeeping service.
- Daily input of income and expenses (either done daily or weekly for example)
- Bank reconciliation which shows the true cash state of the business
- Providing Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable
- Income Statement, Balance Sheet, General Ledger
Bookkeepers can prepare the books in such a way that checks are written ready for the business owner to sign, if that is what is desired.
Business Success:
Keeping the books of a business in order is one of the most important steps in making sure that a business is liquid (in other words can pay its bills). If the accounts are not kept up to date but done say, three monthly, this can be quite disastrous for a small business, especially those that run accounts.
A very important decision a business owner can make is to take on the services of a bookkeeper if they find that they are not keeping up with the bookkeeping job. A small business may only need a bookkeeper for 4 hours a week to keep the books in order and that is cheap compared to having a business that is operating on a whim only to find out that there is not money in the bank to pay the bills.
Make enquiries of bookkeeping services, get references and find out their costs before taking anyone on, but whatever you do keep those accounts up to date
