Even the most cost-conscious business owner may eventually require outside assistance. Bookkeeping is an excellent example of a task that most business owners will want to give to someone else because it takes a lot of time, is complicated, and is prone to mistakes.
Bringing in outside professional bookkeeping for a small business to manage your bookkeeping should mean that everything is taken care of without your involvement; however, this is only sometimes the case. Sometimes, a connection in accounting needs to be fixed because of a need for more resources or a different way of doing business. If you still need to determine whether your current bookkeeper is meeting your needs, here are three signs that you should look into other options before the tax season begins.
step # 1: you need to receive your books on schedule.
This is easy to understand: you pay a local bookkeeper to keep accurate records and turn in the books on time, which you need more time to do yourself. If this is consistently not occurring, this is a significant red flag.
The majority of businesses will want to close their books monthly. This includes reconciling your records against your bank statement to ensure their accuracy. Your financial statements are derived from your books; if your books are open, you may need to find out if you can rely on the information in your financial statements. Because accurate financial accounts are crucial for budgeting, figuring out how healthy your organization is, and keeping track of your burn rate, their absence is a huge problem.
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If your accounting bookkeeper does not deliver your books promptly, consider switching bookkeeping service providers.
step #2: your bookkeeper needs to answer your questions.
You want to deal with an accounting partner, not a vendor, for something as vital to your firm as your financial records. Yes, you are paying a bookkeeper to manage this for you, but there may be occasions when you need additional information about what’s happening in your finances. Your expert bookkeeper should be willing and able to answer any questions.
This does not mean, however, that you should expect your bookkeeper to drop everything to speak with you at any moment—partnership is a two-way street, and you are likely not your bookkeeper’s only client. However, requesting time to discuss your work with them is very reasonable.
Your bookkeeper should be willing to explain why they do things a certain way and listen to any issues you may have. If your current bookkeeper always ignores your questions about your books or gives you vague answers, they might not be the best person for your business.
sign #3: you keep bookkeeping, finding faults.
Everyone makes mistakes at some point, including bookkeepers. If, however, your books are consistently returned with errors, this is a warning indicator.
We’ve discussed that reliable, actionable financial statements require clean accounting records. If you often discover bookkeeping errors, it undermines the credibility of your financial statements, which in turn casts doubt on the business decisions you made based on that information. This problem is made worse because hiring a bookkeeper isn’t worth it if you have to check and change the records yourself all the time. You are not receiving your time back.
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There could be many reasons your books have many things that could be improved. One common reason is that your bookkeepers need more time to check their work as thoroughly as they would like because they need more staff. If your books are complicated or have a lot of industry-specific issues, your bookkeeper may need to learn about how your business works.
conclusion
No matter the reason, if you can’t trust the quality of your records, it’s time to find a different way to keep your books.
Your financial documents are the foundation of your business. Ultimately, you must have trust that you will receive your books when you need them, in good condition, and that your queries and concerns will be answered. If it is not happening and you need more confidence and excellence, it indicates that something needs to change.
Countick is a terrific option if you need a dedicated bookkeeper or financial manager and are searching for another, better option.
