What Do Bookkeepers Do?
Adding a bookkeeper to your team could be the piece of the puzzle you’re missing in growing your business and helping you take charge of your business’s finances.
Bookkeepers partner with you to offer financial advice, provide you with accurate financial reporting and help with your cash flow management — ultimately saving you time and money while also giving you peace of mind that everything financial is documented and executed correctly.
The options are endless for what a bookkeeper can do for you and your business, but we’ll list a few below to give you an idea.
- Pay client’s bills weekly
- Reconcile bank statements
- Journal and data entry
- Accounts receivable aging weekly
- Accounts payable aging weekly
- Balance sheet monthly
- Budget-to-actual monthly basis
- Debit/credit card reconciliation
What is a Bookkeeper?
Simply put, bookkeepers are professionals who have an accurate eye for detail who manage and record all of a business’s financial transactions.
Bookkeepers track the financial transactions of your business using a debit and credit system to ultimately lay the groundwork for an accountant.
They make sure systems are in place to pay your employees and send invoices on time, prepare files for your accountant, and produce weekly and monthly reports so you have a better idea of how to continue to grow your business.
Want to learn more about the basics of what a bookkeeper is and what they do? We have a resource for that.
Bookkeeper Responsibilities
Your business needs to have accurate reports of your financial data in order for it to run effectively and grow. A bookkeeper can make sure that you have all of the correct systems in place that you need for your business to be successful.
The responsibilities of your bookkeeper can be based on your specific business needs, but there are also some standard responsibilities you can hand off immediately.
A few of the core responsibilities of a bookkeeper are:
- Data Entry - This will include recording transactions and balancing accounts.
- Process Payroll and Invoicing - Bookkeepers will take over processing and sending invoices, as well as executing payroll each month for your employees and vendors so that you can focus on the relationships with your clients and employees.
- Reconcile Credit Cards and Bank Accounts - Imagine this being taken care of for you and you not having to spend countless minutes or hours making sure everything adds up.
- Produce Reports and Balance Sheet - Do you have a monthly subscription you’re paying for that is no longer serving your business? How do you even find that out? A bookkeeper will be able to spot if you are unnecessarily spending money by using a balance sheet to weigh your business’s assets and liabilities.
- Manage Weekly Bill Pay - Along with creating reports for you to see exactly where your money is going and how it is helping you business, bookkeepers handle weekly bill payments for you.
A few of the advanced responsibilities of a bookkeeper are:
- Business Strategy and Process - Our Financial Specialists can provide you clear, simple and updated financial information, accounts payable and accounts receivable, and accurate monthly and annual reports that allow you to effectively run your organization, enable you to better analyze operations and help inform all business decisions.
- Tax Filing - Your dedicated team can collect and prepare all necessary documents and forms and file your business taxes, including 1099 filings, sales tax, and quarterly filings so you’re compliant with the IRS. Your team can also prepare and file your quarterly and annual tax returns.
- CFO Services - This offering includes services like financial review and analysis, strategic profit planning and execution, cash flow projections and forecasting, and serves as a liaison with tax experts.
- E-Commerce Support - Your dedicated BELAY Financial Specialist can import and categorize e-commerce transaction data, including merchant processing fees, chargebacks, returns, sales tax, and more for deeper insights into your financials and revenue forecasting for increased profits.
What’s the Difference Between a Bookkeeper & Accountant?
We’ve mentioned bookkeepers prepare documents and files for your accountant, and maybe now you’re wondering what the difference is between bookkeeping and accounting.
In this bookkeepers vs. accountants article, we learn bookkeepers have two to four years of experience with their work being overseen by either an accountant or the small business owner they’re serving.
Bookkeepers record financial transactions which lay the foundation for accountants who interpret, classify, analyze, report and summarize financial data. An accountant can complete the tasks that a bookkeeper does, but a bookkeeper can focus solely on the processes and systems to allow a business and its accountant to be the most productive.
Why Small Businesses Should Use a Bookkeeper
A business owner can absolutely manage many of the tasks of a bookkeeper. However, when it gets to a point of taking over too many hours you could otherwise dedicate to strategic plans and relationship-building, you can start to actually save money by hiring someone to do this for you.
For a small business, bookkeepers open up opportunities for long-term savings, objective financial advice, having the time and dedicated attention to detail to make sure no errors are made or nothing is looked over, and, at the end of the day, priceless peace of mind.
Every business has needs that are unique to them and their industry, and having excellent bookkeeping systems and people in place can help reach your business’s short- and long-term goals faster.
Choosing a Bookkeeper
At this point, you may be wondering how to find a good bookkeeper.
Experience and basic number-crunching skills aside, your bookkeeper should be a proactive member of your team who has an extremely meticulous eye for detail.
Your ultimate goal is to grow your business, and you should have team members who know how to do what they do so well that they’re also able to shift their focus on how to attract new customers for you through their daily tasks and responsibilities.
At BELAY, we have an extensive interview process where we carefully vet candidates for you to ensure all of these qualities are found. Once you decide you want to hire a bookkeeper, our Client Success Consultants work with you to place someone on your team that not only is a rock star with numbers but is a good fit for you both relationally and missionally.
“That all sounds great – but isn’t a bookkeeper expensive?” you counter.
We’re so glad you asked.
The cost of a bookkeeper can vary based on the amount of hours they work each month and the complexity of your business. Lucky for you, we’ve already crunched a few numbers and weighed your options for you.
Does This Sound Like Something You Need? We Got You.
If you’re ready to pass over the bookkeeping responsibilities of your business, we have talented Virtual Bookkeepers we can’t wait to match with you.
Start today – and wonder why you waited so long!