When it comes to handling the finances of your business, it is important to keep in mind that you might not be able to serve as both your bookkeeper and business owner. So how can you choose a bookkeeper to fit your needs? By working with your tax professional or accountant, such as MVW Services in Artesia, CA, who can assist you in determining the type of bookkeeper that you will need for your particular business. Below are four tips to keep in mind when choosing a bookkeeper or accountant for your business.
When it comes to bookkeepers, these individuals are tracking the financial health of your business. Therefore, it is important to know if they can be trusted with your finances on a daily basis. So you will want to be sure to check all of their references, run a background check, and even do a Google search on their name. While anyone can say that they are a qualified bookkeeper, you may be giving an individual access to your books that is not really qualified.
This could open your business up to potential fraud and even potential embezzlement. While you might be able to reduce the risk of fraud by working with a service, it is still important to do a complete background check on the service itself. However, you should be able to hold the service accountable for any wrongdoing on the part of their employees.
Does your potential bookkeeper have the ability to integrate your various applications to your accounting system? Any outside systems that you currently have in place need to work with the accounting software. If the integration is not done properly, it can make a much bigger mess for your bookkeeper to straighten out and is not very cost effective for your business.
These outside apps can track a variety of expenses, invoices and even mileage on your vehicle that is business related. By using these apps, your business can take advantage of a variety of options to track information related to your business throughout the day. This information can be transferred to your bookkeeper seamless through integration, so that your books can be updated on a daily basis.
Using a bookkeeper or bookkeeping service to handle your accounting services, you will need to determine if their fees are a reasonable expense for your business. Be sure to get a clear scope of work regarding what they will be responsible for and what you will have to complete on your own. You should be willing to negotiate the fee and the scope of work. If you need to have additional work done outside of the scope of work, then you need to find out what the costs of any additional work will be.
Depending on the individual or service, you may be charged an hourly fee or a fixed rate based on a scope of work. Therefore, it is important to shop around for the best fees and services for your specific business. At the same time, be sure that they can handle working in your location or if you want them to be remote, then determine if they have the software to work remotely.
If you have a potential bookkeeper, you need to determine if they can work with your current software. However, if you have not yet chosen a software, find out which one they would recommend based on your needs. They should also be able to produce qualifications and certifications to show how proficient they are with that particular software.
Quickbooks is common for financial management in the U.S., but worldwide businesses use Xero. A potential bookkeeper should be able to work with either system comfortably. If you use various apps, make sure that they can use them comfortably and are trained in setup, implementation and troubleshooting of those particular apps. They should also be able to recommend apps that might fit your business, especially if you are just starting out.
Finally, you need to feel comfortable with your bookkeeper. After all, this is someone that you will work closely with over the course of your business. So the relationship should be positive. Therefore, if your personalities are not compatible, it might be worth continuing your search. In the end, finding a bookkeeper is a critical task in the life of your business.
Click on the link below to connect with a tax professional or accountant in the office of MVW Services in Artesia, CA, to assist you in finding a bookkeeper or service that can work best for your business.
