4 Characteristics of a Good Bookkeeper

Professional knowledge

It should go without saying that a bookkeeper is familiar with the appropriate ways to carry out their responsibilities.

This requires you to keep your accounts organised and maintained, as well as be familiar with any applicable tax rules and make every effort to ensure that your books conform with those laws.

In addition, this requires you to be aware of any applicable tax rules.

In addition to this, it is necessary to educate oneself on all tax regulations that may apply. 

Additionally, a qualified bookkeeper possesses a few technical skills that enable them to assist in making their task much simpler, which in turn allows them to save you both time and money.

These skills may include the following: Because they possess these talents, they can manage your books in a manner that is both accurate and efficient.

Using accounting software such as Xero, for example, may help them process and organise their accounts much more quickly, improve the recording of transactions, accelerate the process of issuing invoices, improve their payroll system, easily create purchase orders, and provide reports on your accounts.

These benefits can be obtained by using accounting software. A bookkeeper who is proficient in the use of accounting software will be able to accomplish a great deal more for you in a time that is noticeably shorter as a direct result of this.

Responsible advice-giving

If the conditions are ideal, bookkeepers can give clients the peace of mind that their financial records are being organised and preserved most effectively and efficiently as possible.

This, of course, is predicated on the optimal conditions being met. In addition, they have the capability of making the financial aspect of the organisation much easier to handle, which will save you time and let you concentrate on the things that are more important than the finances.

Despite this, a successful bookkeeper is also one who can provide advice that is both sensible and honest, particularly when confronted with difficult circumstances.

This suggests that they made an effort to learn about your company, its products and services, its customers, and its organisational structure, as well as the potential dangers to which your company may be exposed.

This indicates that in times of upheaval, which might put your company in some financial jeopardy, a bookkeeper can give information on what steps you can take to return the books back to a healthy state and offer advice on how to proceed.

In addition, this implies that a bookkeeper can give information on what steps you can take to return the books back to a healthy state in times of upheaval.

Service and expertise

Your ideal candidate for the bookkeeper position should be someone who is self-motivated and willing to work independently. It is important to keep in mind that not all business owners are also accounting experts.

If you hire a bookkeeper, you may be able to fill in any knowledge gaps that you may have quickly.

It is absolutely necessary to have expertise in the process of tracking revenues and expenditures, accurately filling out the BAS, working with the ATO, and any other activities of a similar nature.

It means that you do not need to constantly monitor them and worry about whether or not they are carrying out their duties appropriately.

You will, on the other hand, always have access to the reports, recommendations, and details you require on your financial accounts if you hire a bookkeeper who places a priority on accessibility and provides excellent customer care.

For instance, your bookkeeper and your accountant ought to be able to communicate and naturally cooperate with one another. By doing so, both parties will have a constant awareness of what it is that they are doing and the value that they are bringing to the company.

Efficiency

The role of the bookkeeper encompasses a broad range of responsibilities. At any given time, they could focus on between five and fifteen different projects simultaneously.

As a result, it is absolutely necessary to have a solid grasp of their productivity and the ability to manage their workflow effectively.

Applications such as WorkflowMax are utilised by specific accounting teams, such as the Bookkeeper Hub, to ensure that high levels of productivity and efficiency are maintained at all times.

This is done for these teams to accomplish the goal that has been set for them.

Because of how efficiently they handle their time, your bookkeeper will be able to make a discernible impact on your business.

This is because they will be able to finish tasks on time while also ensuring that each project receives the individualised attention it requires.

The reason for this is that they will be able to. They will, consequently, be in a position to contribute to the success of your company as a result of this.

Because of this, they won't need to waste hours on laborious processes, so they'll be able to provide the level of attention to detail that is required of them.

Are you making the best bookkeeping decision possible?

You should hopefully be able to use the things that were presented above as a starting point when looking for a bookkeeper.

The candidate needs to be a good fit for both the company and the team, but this is something that the two of you need to figure out together before moving forwards with the hiring process.

You should make it a point to keep an eye out for the essential qualities and skills required of a bookkeeper because they are described above; therefore, you should make it a point to keep an eye on them.

A professional bookkeeper will be able to assist you in maintaining compliance with the applicable tax rules, thereby lowering the risk of financial loss to your business and relieving the stress that is associated with monitoring your own financial records.

Does My Small Business Need an Accountant or a Bookkeeper?

Accounting and bookkeeping are not the same things, although many owners of businesses do not have a clear understanding of the difference between the two.

It is important to be aware that accounting and bookkeeping are not the same things.

This is significant because being aware of the differences between the bookkeeping and accounting professions is necessary to ascertain whether or not your company requires the assistance of an accountant or a bookkeeper.

Stay with us if you are curious about the topic, as we are going to go over what it means to manage your finances in an effective manner, as well as how you can decide whether or not to hire an accountant or a bookkeeper.

Read on for more information, and then proceed with the reading.

Managing Your Business Finances

Your company's early mistakes in financial planning and organisation can have repercussions that are felt throughout the company for a significant amount of time after they have occurred.

Inefficient reporting problems can be difficult to fix once they have been set up, and it can be difficult to modify inefficient procedures once they have been implemented.

Nevertheless, it is of the utmost importance to ensure that your company does everything in its power to maintain a healthy and sustainable management of its finances.

This should be a top priority for your business. Naturally, if you do not have the appropriate personnel in place to take care of the finances, it will be difficult to get everything done correctly.

On the other hand, if you do not carry out these steps, it will result in complications in the years to come. This brings up the topic that will be discussed in the next section of our conversation, so let's get to it.

What’s the Difference Between an Account and a Bookkeeper?

The maintenance of financial records is the responsibility of both an accountant and a bookkeeper; however, the two professions approach this task in very different ways.

You must understand these distinctions before moving forwards to maximise the efficiency of your actions.

A bookkeeper is an individual that your company will recruit to join the team to manage the books and the information that is contained within them. 

They are accountable for staying abreast of the goings-on at the company, accurately keeping records, and keeping an eye on both the company's expenditures and revenues. The processing of invoices and payroll are two examples of the kinds of day-to-day responsibilities that fall under a bookkeeper's purview.

Accountants are responsible for the majority of the tasks that are traditionally performed by bookkeepers for a wide variety of different types of small businesses. However, it is a standard operating procedure for accountants to oversee the work of bookkeepers and keep track of the results of their efforts at all times. 

Billing clients, performing detailed analyses of activities occuring within accounts payable, and entering data into ledgers are just some of the additional tasks that frequently fall under the purview of the accountant.

Additionally, there are a variety of other jobs that are typically included within the scope of an accountant's duties.

In addition to this, they frequently manage their tax filings, maintain control of their cash flow, and generally keep an eye on their overall financial health.

So Which Option is Best for You?

Let's say you've decided it's time to make some significant adjustments to how your organisation oversees its various financial processes.

If this is the case, it is possible that it would be a wise decision to form an entirely new team to manage the responsibilities that are associated with this endeavour.

When you implement this strategy, the accounting department will most likely be staffed with a bookkeeper in addition to a senior accountant who will be responsible for supervising both the bookkeeper and the accountant.

Imagine that you are looking for someone to work alongside an existing accountant or accounting service that you already have in place and that you are looking for this person.

If this is the case, it may be in your best interest to look for a new bookkeeper or to hire a bookkeeping service, depending on the significance of the task at hand and the results you hope to achieve.

If you hire a bookkeeping service, you can rest assured that your financial information will be accurately recorded.

Hiring an In-House Team

When you decide to bring a new member of the outside world onto your team, there are both financial benefits and costs associated with that choice.

For instance, if you hire a new employee, you will be required to personally oversee their work while they are present at the office.

Nonetheless, in most cases, not only is this approach the one that results in the lowest level of output, but it is also the choice that results in the greatest expense.

Employing individuals is not only time-consuming but also expensive; however, if your company makes use of outsourced services, it may be able to outsource its bookkeeping or accounting needs to an entire team of competent specialists at a cost that is significantly lower than what would be incurred by employing individuals.

Even if you do not believe that your company is currently in a position in which it would be beneficial to add a new staff member to your team, this is something that should be taken into consideration because it is an important factor.

Using Professional Training Services

If you already have a team assembled, but you want to improve or update their abilities in bookkeeping only, we can help you make that happen. It is a wonderful way to guarantee that the method of bookkeeping that your company uses is the correct one without having to invest a significant amount of money.

You can accomplish this by providing your employees with access to professionally developed training courses that teach them new skills.

Your employees will have the ability to reduce the number of accounting and bookkeeping errors that are committed, which will ensure that your business will be able to effectively deal with all financial issues that may be brought about as a direct result of those additional abilities and talents.

If you believe that a professional bookkeeping training service would be beneficial to your company and that you would like to find out more information, please do not be reluctant to get in touch with our staff at The Bookkeeper Hub.

We will provide you with assistance to get you started on the path to regaining control of the financial aspects of your small business and getting them to the place where you want them to be moving forward.

5 Tips to Keep Your Bookkeeping Up-to-date

Keeping your books up to date is essential if you want to ensure that they are always accurate, that they are always ready to assist you in delivering financial insights about the business, or that you are well prepared for the arrival of the taxman. Keeping your books up to date also ensures that they are always ready to assist you in delivering financial insights about the business. 

Keeping your books up to date is essential if you want to ensure that they are always accurate, that they are always ready to assist you in delivering financial insights about the business, or that you are well prepared for the arrival of the taxman.

Keeping your books up to date also ensures that they are always ready to assist you in delivering financial insights about the business. Making sure that you are always prepared is the key to success in all of these endeavours.

You don't want to put yourself through the extreme crunch that occurs in the days leading up to tax season because doing so might cause you stress and, even worse, cause you to make mistakes with your finances.

For this reason, you don't want to put yourself through the extreme crunch that occurs in the days leading up to tax season. As a result, you should do everything in your power to steer clear of this predicament.

As a consequence of this, the following are a few essential guidelines to keep in mind regarding the upkeep of accurate bookkeeping.

Make it routine

The easiest thing you can do to keep from falling further and further behind is to schedule regular time in which you can sit down, bring your books up to date, and prevent yourself from falling further and further behind.

It is recommended that you do this in the morning because this is the time of day when most of us are feeling energised and eager to get started. Scheduling a day or block of time once a week or once a month will ensure that all of your books are always up to date.

The easiest thing you can do to keep from falling further and further behind is to schedule regular time in which you can sit down, bring your books up to date, and prevent yourself from falling further and further behind.

It is recommended that you do this in the morning because this is the time of day when most of us are feeling energised and eager to get started. 

Scheduling a day or block of time once a week or once a month will ensure that all of your books are always up to date.

This also gives you a wonderful opportunity to monitor the fluctuation of your cash flow from month to month and to keep a more accurate record of unpaid bills, which enables you to pursue payment from your customers at the appropriate times more effectively.

Organisation is crucial

You need to be aware of the locations of the relevant details so that you can access them when it is time to update your books or if you are required to justify them.

This is the case regardless of whether the copies are kept in a digital or a physical format for storage.

This entails maintaining your books, invoices, petty cash accounts, and receipts in a month-by-month order to make it easier to track down specific facts whenever you require them.

You should keep any receipts and invoices that haven't been accounted for in your bookkeeping in a storage area that is separate from where you keep the rest of your paperwork.

Without this, it is easy to forget to take them into account, which will undoubtedly lead to errors further down the road. It is highly recommended that you keep both paper and digital copies of your records, with at least one of the digital copies of your data being stored in the cloud.

This will ensure that you have backups to rely on if you lose the older manuscripts. It's possible that scanning all of your paper documents will make it much easier to organise and manage them.

Take the time to reconcile your books.

You should make it a habit to check that the information in your books is consistent with the transactions that can be seen in your bank account.

Checking this information should be a regular part of your routine. You really ought to make this a regular part of your routine.

This could be an efficient way to check that your books are correct and to initiate an investigation if they do not match up with one another. 

Check to see that your records contain an accurate tally of each one of the outstanding invoices and reoccurring bills that haven't been paid in or out yet.

In addition to this, it is a smart move to ensure that you have a separate account for your business in addition to the account you use for personal finances.

Because of this, it is much simpler to avoid becoming confused about which expenses relate to personal spending and which relate to spending incurred for the purpose of the business.

Accounting software may also directly integrate bank statements, enabling you to more easily identify areas in which the two data sets do and do not correspond.

This can be a very helpful feature.

Make use of bookkeeping software

You may have the impression that you have a method that is well-organized and effective written down in your notebook, and for all we know, this perception may very well be accurate on your part.

On the other hand, if you want your books to be managed effectively, this is by no means the most efficient method. 

Bookkeeping software such as Xero is not only ready for use in a business setting, but it also comes equipped with a plethora of automatic functions that can relieve you of a significant amount of the work that is normally associated with bookkeeping. This will save you a significant amount of time as well as effort.

If you are unsure how to use the software that you need, you can access the video training classes that The Bookkeeper Hub provides for Xero. 

These classes can be accessed through The Bookkeeper Hub.

Whether you want to know how to start using the programme as soon as possible or if you want to receive training on a level that is equivalent to that of a full-fledged professional bookkeeper, we can help you make the most of the best software that is currently available.

Whether you want to know how to start using the programme as soon as possible or if you want to receive training on a level that is equivalent to that of a full-fledged professional book-keeper

Hire a bookkeeper

This piece of advice has been saved for last because we are aware that the majority of business owners are going to look for any opportunity to reduce the amount of money they are spending.

However, although the information that was presented to you can make it simpler for you to keep your books up to date on your own, you may find that you simply do not have the time to do so, and that you would rather focus your efforts on developing and expanding the company instead. 

If this is the case, you may conclude that hiring an accountant is the best option for you.

Bookkeepers who have received extensive training and are connected to cloud-based software may not only be able to assist you in ensuring that your records are continually brought up to date but also may be able to save you as much as 95 per cent of the time that you spend on bookkeeping.

Bookkeepers who have received extensive training and are connected to cloud-based software.

The Bookkeeper Hub is here to help you with all your bookkeeping needs to ensure that your records are always up-to-date and accurate.

If you are interested in learning how to manage your own bookkeeping effectively and efficiently, please do not hesitate to contact us.

If, on the other hand, you would prefer to have someone else handle as much of the bookkeeping on your behalf as possible, please also do not hesitate to contact us.

Improving your business with better time management

Your "to-do" list may, at times, become so lengthy that you feel like you are unable to give each of the works the amount of attention that you would like to give them. It is also possible that it will require you to spend more time at the office or to deal with work matters outside of business hours. This would cut into your free time and throw off balance in your life between the time you spend working and playing.

Implementing these straightforward strategies and tools for time management may make it simpler for you to get the most out of the time you spend at work and to concentrate on the things that are most important to you.

Monitor your time

Are you familiar with the age-old business adage that states, "You can't manage what you don't measure?" The same can be said for one's ability to manage their time efficiently. If you don't track how you spend your time, any effort you make to improve your ability to manage your time effectively will be a game of chance. Imagine that you do not keep track of the places you visit or the activities you engage in. In that case, you will not be able to evaluate the efficacy of the time management practises you are currently using, nor will you be able to identify time-wasting activities or responsibilities that could be delegated.

To get started, keep a journal in which you record the things you do daily, along with the amount of time you spend doing each activity.

This will help you get a handle on where to begin. This can be done in an as simple manner or as high-tech as you see fit, ranging from scribbled notes on a weekly timesheet to an Excel spreadsheet that automatically tallies the minutes and hours worked for you.

The method that you choose will depend on your preferences. Your individual preferences will determine which method you ultimately go with. You can depend on modern technology to carry out these responsibilities on your behalf, which is something you should do.

Before you write off this idea and decide that the amount of additional time you will waste tracking your time is not worth the effort, try out a variety of paid-for and free time management tools that can help to simplify this task and make it easier for you to complete.

This endeavour can be simplified with the assistance of a wide variety of tools for managing time, which is all readily available.

In addition, there are a lot of other solutions that you can choose from, such as Harvest or Toggl. Most of these solutions have features that can be expanded to cover total staff time management and connected with your billing system.

You are not required to keep track of how you spend your time or monitor it in any way, but doing so may be beneficial to you.

Despite this, you are not required to keep track of how you spend your time or monitor how you spend it in any way. After a few weeks, you will have a very good idea of how you spend most of your days, weeks, and months.

This will be the case whether you keep a journal or not.

This realisation is going to be a weight off your shoulders. If you keep a journal, this is something that will undoubtedly be the case. The amount of time that is wasted in meetings, on responsibilities that you might assign to someone else, and on things that you conduct out of habit rather than because they are necessary is likely to shock and amaze you.

Get rid of time wasters.

If you are conscious of how you spend your time, you will be in a better position to eliminate activities from your schedule that aren't necessary and that waste your time. The following is a list of examples of some common time wasters:

• Monitoring social media
• Taking care of business about e-mail correspondence
• Taking care of incoming calls on the phone
• Customers who have just walked in off the street and salespeople who have been meeting for longer periods than are required both count as foot traffic.

Your productivity may suffer as a result of the fact that you switch tasks frequently throughout the day, read and respond to new emails, and transition quickly from one activity to another.

You should schedule time in your agenda to check your messages and respond to them so that you are not sidetracked from the task at hand by the continuous influx of new communications that are arriving.

Suppose you need some time to yourself to concentrate on a task, ask a member of your team to answer the phone or take a message for you so that you can get some quiet.

You should instruct your employees not to let sales clerks in to see you without an appointment if you do not want to waste time listening to a sales pitch for office flowers or equipment that you are not considering purchasing.

This will allow you to avoid wasting time. Because of this, you won't waste time listening to the sales pitch. As a direct consequence of this, there will be no loss of time on your part.

There is a wide variety of additional tactics that can be used to either control time wasters in the workplace or get rid of them entirely.

For instance, if you're trying to get some work done, your social media accounts shouldn't be interrupting you with pop-up windows containing notifications while they're doing so. Instead of spending hours of each week performing this activity on your own, delegate it to a member of your team who will monitor particular company activities and provide daily or weekly updates.

Instead of spending hours of each week performing this activity on your own, you can save time and effort by delegating it.

Ensure that the meeting timetable is followed exactly at all times.

It is important to make a plan and allocate only a couple of minutes (yes, literally a minute or two) for each item that will be discussed on the agenda to prevent meetings from degenerating into social get-togethers and from eating into the productive time of those who are there.

This will prevent meetings from eating into the productive time of those who are there.

Assign suitable assignments

Conduct a careful analysis of the tasks you currently have to complete to determine whether or not any responsibilities could be delegated to another individual.

For instance, can you outsource some of the less complicated accounting tasks, such as managing petty cash and reconciling accounts?

What about tasks that are more general in nature, such as product development, sales and marketing responsibilities, general communication, quality control, and other activities? 

The owners of small businesses are notoriously resistant to delegating responsibilities, although they erroneously believe they can complete the work more effectively themselves.

The delegation, on the other hand, may help you reclaim some of your valuable time and provide you with the opportunity to concentrate on expanding your business rather than spending all of your time on the day-to-day operations of that firm. Delegation may also help you avoid burnout and make you more productive overall.

Create a list of the responsibilities that can be passed on to other members of your team, as well as a list of those members of your team who are qualified to take on the responsibilities that you have outlined in the list. Most workers are interested in advancing their careers within the company.

They would be appreciative if they were given a chance to broaden their skill set or take on more responsibilities in their current positions. 

You should try to make as much time available to you as possible so that you can work in a manner that is both strategic and efficient and still have time to maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Your goal should be to make as much time available to you as you possibly can.

Try not to fall into the trap of delegating only the tasks that you do not enjoy performing; rather, make an effort to delegate everything. You don't want to get caught in the trap of delegating only the responsibilities that you don't enjoy carrying out to other people.

Get organised

In the long run, you can save a significant amount of time overall by investing a small amount of effort today in establishing good procedures for your organisation.

This will allow you to save time in the short run as well. Because of this, you will be able to cut down on wasted time in the future.

You can save a significant amount of money if you develop habits and become more organised, both of which will help you establish procedures. 

This is true whether you are referring to the time spent establishing a computerised accounting system or the time spent implementing a physical or virtual filing system so that you do not waste time looking for paperwork or documents. Both of these activities are necessary to ensure that you do not waste time.

Both of these things need to be done to guarantee that you are not squandering any of your time.

If your time tracking shows that you spend a lot of time responding to fundamental sales questions, you could, for instance, save time by writing up some template responses that you (or an employee) could personalise to respond to specific inquiries.

If your time tracking shows that you spend a lot of time responding to fundamental sales questions, you could also save time by writing up some template responses.

If your time tracking reveals that you spend a lot of time responding to fundamental sales questions, one way to save time is to write up some template responses.

This will allow you to respond quickly to similar questions in the future.

By doing this, you will be able to save time without sacrificing the quality of the responses that you provide, which is a huge benefit. In a similar vein, if you add a page to your website that addresses commonly asked questions, you will be able to reclaim some of the time that you had lost in the past. By utilising software that manages interactions with customers, it is possible to save a significant amount of time and effort. 

Imagine for a moment that you no longer have to rush from one emergency situation at your company to the next because you now have more spare time.

In such a scenario, you will most likely be able to identify various ways in which you can work smarter rather than harder, as well as ways in which you may find ways to boost the productivity of your workforce. In addition, you will likely be able to identify various ways in which you can find ways to boost the productivity of your workforce.

Create a prioritised "to-do" list

It is very easy to become preoccupied with the matter at hand, which in some businesses may be referred to as the "problem of the day." At this juncture, a "to-do list" can be of great assistance to you.

Keeping your attention on the task at hand is significantly easier if you have it spelt out for you in the form of a detailed list, complete with a date on which each item on the list is expected to be finished.

You can ensure that the tasks that are most important to you are finished by the due date by putting them in the order of importance so that you can ensure that other jobs do not slip your mind and become forgotten.

It might come as a surprise, but checking items off of your to-do list can be an extremely motivating activity.

Be productive during those times.

It is in your best interest to work during times when you will be most productive. Every person has their own particular routine and tastes in food and entertainment.

If you're the kind of person who comes alive and is most motivated in the wee hours of the morning, then it's a good idea to schedule some time in your schedule specifically for completing important responsibilities.

It is a good idea to schedule more mundane chores or small creative projects in the afternoon, when you are likely to be in a less productive cycle than earlier in the day. It is best to avoid holding meetings to plan periodic production when you are operating at your highest level of productivity.

If you're not a morning person and don't feel like you're functioning at your best until after your second cup of coffee, it's a good idea to get those typical tasks out of the way first thing in the morning.

This will help you feel more in control of your day.

The next thing you need to do is either begin working on the most important projects or schedule the most important meetings for a time when you can give them your very best effort. If you're not a morning person and don't feel like you're functioning at your best until after your second cup of coffee, it's a good idea to get those typical tasks out of the way first thing in the morning. This will help you feel more in control of your day.

Get the assistance or tools you need

To ensure that your workers are as productive and effective as possible while they are performing their duties for you, you must provide them with all of the tools that are required for the job.

Because of this, you will be able to ensure that they are successful in the work that they do.

You, as the sole owner of the company, are held to the same standards as everyone else because of this. It is impossible to carry out one's responsibilities promptly and effectively if one does not have access to the necessary resources, such as the necessary personnel or the necessary pieces of equipment.

You should not take this as a sign that you should immediately go out and purchase an iPad2 if you have no use for a product of this kind.

On the other hand, this indicates that you shouldn't continue to struggle and waste hours to finish a work when investing in technology will enable you to complete the task in a way that is significantly more productive for you.

You should do this because investing in technology will enable you to finish the work in a way that is significantly more productive for you.

It is seldom a good idea to try to cut costs by relying on technology that has become obsolete.

This approach is unlikely to be successful. You should make a rough estimate of the amount of time it will save you, then compare this number to the amount of money it will cost you to invest in equipment, software, training, or staff. This will help you determine whether or not it is worth it for you to invest. 

You will be able to determine more clearly with the help of this information whether or not it would be beneficial for you to invest.

This cost-benefit analysis can tell you very quickly whether or not it is worthwhile to invest by determining whether or not the cash flow of your company is sufficient to support the purchase.

Find out whether or not it would be financially beneficial for your company to invest in the tools or support that you require and decide whether or not to proceed with the purchase.