Your Bookkeeper is such a vital part of your team: they handle everything from payables and receivables to payroll, manage your financial reporting, collaborate with your accountant for tax preparation, and help you maintain compliance. One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that most business owners fail to put the right person in that slot for way too long.
This could be for any number of reasons.
Perhaps it’s because you have a sense that as the Owner, you should be able to handle all of this yourself.
Maybe it comes from a belief that you can save that money if you just do it yourself.
Or perhaps it comes from a place of simply not knowing what a good Bookkeeper should do for you and how long it should take.
All of these are completely understandable (I have worked through all of these over the years and have helped a lot of my coaching clients do the same), but it’s time to discover what the right Bookkeeper can do for you.
Hiring the Right Bookkeeper
What I do know from talking with thousands of small business owners is that many are overpaying for bookkeeping services. Rather than just paying a qualified Bookkeeper to handle things quickly and effectively, many are paying an underqualified person to do a mediocre job in twice the time.
In my experience, this is where education and understanding are the keys that empower an owner to not only find the right Bookkeeper, but to also have clarity on what that person can do to make their life better. (Seriously – I wouldn’t trade mine for anything!)
Each business and owner will have different needs, but following are some traits to consider when hiring a Bookkeeper:
- Accuracy and attention to detail
- Organizational skills
- Ethical integrity
- Knowledge of accounting skills (this is important to check!)
- Problem solving and analytical skills
- Communication skills
- Time management
- Adaptability
Of courses, it’s also a good sign if they have experience or prior knowledge of your industry. There are regulations or ways of doing things that are inherent to many different industries, and it’s especially important to follow them when it comes to your finances. However, these can be learned by the right candidate.
Outsourcing vs. In-House Bookkeeping
Traditionally, small businesses have either hired an in-house Bookkeeper or (as is more common at first) handed that hat to the owner or another employee.
There are both pros and cons to this approach (though it tends to lean more heavily toward the “cons” for many businesses). With an in-house Bookkeeper, they’ll be available whenever you need them. You’ll know what they’re doing, and it may be easier to manage them.
However, there are some downsides to think about. You’ll need to provide them with enough work to fill their hours – and if your business is cyclical, that can be an issue. The fact that they are an in-house employee also means you’ll need to consider benefits, which will affect costs.
And if your in-house Bookkeeper isn’t actually a Bookkeeper…well, that can cause a lot of problems as you grow. Paying a qualified person to do it right the first time can save you a lot of time, money, and stress, even if the up-front costs might be a bit higher.
The other option is to outsource your bookkeeping, which is something more and more business owners are moving toward. Outsourcing to the right person allows them to keep their costs down and bring on an industry-experienced, qualified Bookkeeper without having to worry about their local candidate pool.
What Can a Great Bookkeeper Do for You?
Good Bookkeepers, whether they are an outsourced vendor or an in-house, full-time person, can do so many tasks to compile information and synthesize it down for you. This will allow you, as the owner, to quickly ascertain key information and trends so you can make informed decisions.
There are probably times when you wonder where to find specific information. You may want to know which services or products you sell the most of, which are most profitable (there is a difference), or which clients bring you the most return business. Your Bookkeeper can run the reports that will give you all of that information.
However, you may also want to know which niches or types of clients are your most profitable to work with so your marketing team can better target them. You might want to evaluate employee productivity and ROI so that you can figure out where building or streamlining of systems needs to happen. Your Bookkeeper can also help you find this information.
If you’re a business owner who has worked with an incredible Bookkeeper, you know that finding the right person is an absolute game changer who reduces the amount of stress and concerns you face every single day.
I encourage you to pay it forward and share with others that there are key ways to work with a great Bookkeeper – and if they don’t know how, encourage them to learn this information so they can take control of their numbers, their business, and their future. (My team is happy to help!)