If you run a business, hiring a bookkeeper is one of the most important decisions you’ll make. This role is vital for your organization because this person will be documenting your business transactions, aiding in tax preparation, and ensuring that you are prepared to understand and react on financial data. The right bookkeeper can even help clean up the mistakes of previous bookkeepers, or investigate your records for issues.. If you hire the wrong person, your financial reports may be inaccurate, and some business transactions won’t make sense. In this guide, here are some of the things to look at to ensure you don’t end up with the wrong person.
Your Business Needs
The bookkeeping services your business needs won’t be the same as those of another business. Usually, bookkeeping services include financial analysis, cash flow management, reporting, and bank reconciliation. You may realize that outsourcing your accounting operations is much more cost-efficient than hiring in-house because there are days you won’t need the services of a bookkeeper. Once you understand your business needs, finding someone suitable for the role is easy. Thankfully, there are services out there that can help without having to even be close by, companies like Remote Quality Bookkeeping.
Experience
Another factor to consider is whether the bookkeeper has experience at work. This is particularly important if you’re outsourcing the services, because you don’t have the time to train someone to do the job. An experienced person will anticipate your needs and challenges even before they arise. They can also connect you to other valuable people, such as financial advisors, to help you streamline your business finances.
Technology Literacy
Now more than ever, technology has become a basic need for businesses, and it’s being used in almost all aspects. A bookkeeper should be able to incorporate software to help you manage your books to save time and money.
Understands Tax Basics
While you don’t expect a bookkeeper to have memorized the Internal Revenue Code, they need to have a basic understanding of how taxes work. For instance, they should know the difference between an income statement and a balance sheet. This will reduce your work because the bookkeeper can now handle some of the financial tasks you were handling.
Good Communication Skills
In most cases, the person who approves a transaction isn’t the person who records it. That’s why a good bookkeeper must also be a detective. They need to ask questions like where a bill comes from and why the manager didn’t sign for a particular expense. A bookkeeper who isn’t comfortable asking the rest of the team these questions may overlook some entries that should be flagged.
Efficient
Another factor to consider when looking for a bookkeeper is someone who is efficient or pays attention to details. Errors can cost your business a ton of money. Someone who easily identifies mistakes when balancing your accounts will help you reduce business costs and avoid financial issues in the future.
Proper Training and Education
Last but not least, you want a bookkeeper who has undergone proper training and education in accounting. Even if they don’t have master’s degrees, they should understand business finance and accounting.
Running a business comes with many responsibilities, one of which involves hiring the right bookkeeper.
These tips can help you find the right hire to meet the needs of the business. Other helpful resources can aid in guiding you to the right decision for your business. As stated above, all businesses are different, so if you can find a guide or recommendation from someone in your industry, you may find that even more helpful.
