If you’re running a business, chances are you’ve heard about bookkeepers. But, some people are confused as to what a bookkeeper actually does. The short story is, a bookkeeper is a huge asset to your business who will help you to accurately manage your financial records. They can also provide you with great insights into how your business is performing and help you to avoid potential financial issues.
But, what does a bookkeeper really do? While there is a long list of things a bookkeeper can handle, we cover some of their activities in the first part of our series of what a bookkeeper can do for you.
Assisting With Data Entry
Does your business have accounting software, such as Xero? One of the jobs that your bookkeeper will take care of is data entry. They can manage financial transactions to be recorded correctly into your accounting software. This is to ensure all financial details are accurate and up to date. Depending on your agreement with your bookkeeper, they’ll then use this information to provide you with weekly or monthly reports that track your financial progress. Your bookkeeper can help with reconciling your bank accounts to effectively record your business expenses.
Tracking Your Expenses
No matter what industry you are in, tracking your expenses is a must. All of your expenses need to be recorded and reconciled. Your bookkeeper can help track all of these expenses and inform you of any excess expenditure that may be occurring with your business. Depending on your business, you may need your bookkeeper to track this information on a fairly regular basis.
Helping You With Payroll
Payroll is something that many business owners struggle with. Ensuring timesheets are completed correctly, superannuation is paid on time and your records are kept accurately is of high importance. Your staff details, such as banking information, needs to be accurate to ensure your staff are paid correctly. Having a bookkeeper to handle your payroll means you will save a lot of time and you can ensure it is all handled correctly. You’ll be able to have peace of mind knowing that your business stays compliant.
Ensure You Stay Compliant
When it comes to running a business, there is a lot to take in. It is no easy feat, especially if you don’t have extensive experience in compliance regulations. Ensuring you stay compliant means that you are ensuring that all of your ATO compliance obligations are met so that your business is operating legally within Australia. This covers everything from taxation needs, payroll and much more.
Invoice Organisation
Depending on your own personal needs, your bookkeeper may organise and keep track of your invoices. They can prepare and send invoices and receipts to debtors when required. This can save you a lot of time dealing with paperwork and can ensure you get paid for your hard work. When you’re running a business, writing invoices can often be a big time-consumer.
Arranging Payment of Accounts
Are you always running late with paying your invoices? Are you constantly being asked to pay your invoice as it is overdue? If you have a good bookkeeper, this will be a thing of the past. Keep your business looking professional and have your bookkeeper handle the payment of your accounts. This is especially useful for times when you have multiple accounts to pay for. For example, if you run a restaurant, you may have a number of payments to make to different people. A bookkeeper will help simplify things.
No matter how you look at it, a bookkeeper is there to help your business thrive and to succeed. A good bookkeeper will help you to reach your goals and help simplify the way your business is running. In fact, this post doesn’t even begin to cover everything that a bookkeeper can do.
It’s also important to consider if your bookkeeper is compliant. When choosing a bookkeeper, you must ensure they are qualified to do the job. Most bookkeepers will have professional qualifications which allow them to be a part of a membership body. Without this, you may be choosing someone who isn’t qualified enough to handle your bookkeeping needs (nor will they be able to prepare and lodge your BAS on your behalf).
If you’re looking for a bookkeeper in Brisbane, get in touch with the team at Diverse Business Consultants. We’re the experts when it comes to Xero, bookkeeping and much more.
