Why Hire a Bookkeeper?

A lot of small business owners prefer to do the bookkeeping them selves, which is great if you have a good understanding of what you are doing and the implications of doing it wrong.  There are a few reasons you might want a little help with your books, and there are a few options that you have when working with a professional.  Here are just four reasons why a professional might be helpful:

1.  CPA's charge A LOT more then a bookkeeper.   At year end, if your Accountant has to do a lot of work to get your financial documents in order for the taxes, they are going to charge an arm and a leg.  A bookkeeper is going to charge significantly less to do the same work.  A bookkeeper can help through out the year so that you are not incurring such a large expense at one time.

2.  A little support can go a long way.   You could resume your normal day to day operations, and focus on growing your business rather then deal with something that is not your specialty.    This will give you the opportunity to focus on the business that you are passionate about.  You would hire a contractor to do physical upgrades to your business, why not hire a professional to help you with the financial side of the business?  The consequences of errors can be great.

3.  Save Time and Money.  If you are not focused or not organized, you can make mistakes, and might have a hard time finding those mistakes later on down the road.  If you miss expenses, there will be tax implications.    If you are missing important info regarding those expenses, and an audit comes up, you might have trouble if you have not properly recorded the information.   The more time that you, the business owner, spends on these matters, the less time you are spending  finding new business, or expanding upon your current business.

4.  You might be missing something important.   If there is a category you don't quite understand, a professional might be able to help you sort it out. A professional can help you determine if there are other expenses that you should be including in your books.  You might also be misrepresenting your financial documents.  If you hire a professional you know that it will be done right, and you can get a better snap shot of what is going on with your business.  Are you really as profitable as you thought you were?  Are there areas that clearly need improvement, now that you have a better idea of what is going on financially?  Is your business doing better then you thought it was doing?

Some things you might want to consider:  You don't need to hire a professional to do everything for you.  You can hire someone just enough to help supplement what you are already doing.  You might be comfortable with the invoicing and the accounts payable, but some one can help with reconciliation, and financial document preparations. The right bookkeeper should give you service options, depending on what you are looking for such as:

On Site or Off Site Servicing
Weekly, Monthly, or Quarterly Assistance
Annual Help for Tax Prep
Consultation and Education, to help you get going in the right direction.
*See my list of services to get a better idea of your options