Does Your Bookkeeper Provide these Essential Services to You?

Whether you choose to work with us or to go elsewhere, these are qualities to look for when seeking a bookkeeper. (Of course, we’d rather you work with us!)

Communication
A good bookkeeper keeps you informed about progress (or delays) and is easy to reach when you have questions. She needs to keep you organized by taking the initiative for following up and keeping you on track to meet deadlines. A little nagging can be very effective.

Organization
Aside from a tendency toward perfectionism and an excellent filing system, your bookkeeper also needs to know the best technology to use to streamline your accounting processes. She is exacting in reporting the appropriate details and reconciling accounts.

Liaison and Relationship Building
A good bookkeeper will act as a go-between for you and your accountant, able to bridge the terminology and jargon communication gap. She will also be able to source appropriate accounting services if you’re in need. As well, she’ll be accomplished at working as part of a team with your own staff.

Problem Solving and Tenacity
You don’t want someone who’s going to flee as soon as they see your shoebox filing system. Ideally you want a bookkeeper who enjoys a challenge and will stick with it when things get rough. Bookkeeping work is tedious and can be frustrating – you want someone to stay the course (and to make the course better).

Flexibility
Accounting is complex and you want a bookkeeper who can evaluate options and select the best for you. Flexibility may be important for other reasons, too, such as if you need someone to work at your location, or to work odd hours, or to work long hours to meet deadlines.

Trustworthiness
You want to feel your bookkeeper has your best interests at heart, that when she is working for you, she is treating your money like it is her own. Trustworthiness can be easier defined by what it is not: unresponsive to inquiries, secretive about pricing, missing deadlines, and murky practices.

If you're looking for a bookkeeper with these qualities, please get in touch.

Just Because You Know How to Do Your Own Bookkeeping...

Are you still insisting that you do your own bookkeeping because you know how?

It is imperative that you maintain a current set of books. Canada Revenue Agency can audit you at any time with little notice. If you are not keeping up, think about the things happening around you that are causing you such unnecessary stress.

CRA is likely hounding you because you haven't filed last year’s taxes or, worse, HST and payroll remittances. They have likely decided to send you an assessment of what they feel you owe and it is due just like any other bill.

Your cash flow is suffering and now you need to take a loan out to cover expenses until your backlog of receivables and payables are cleared up. But, wait, you don't have any statements to show the lender. Your accountant is telling you to hire a bookkeeper if you can't keep up... in the end causing much stress and money that didn't have to be spent trying to get things caught up.

You haven't reconciled your bank accounts in months. Oopsie, was that an NSF charge on the last statement?

Your vendor won't ship your orders because you haven't paid for the last few. You swear you did but can't prove it.

Your clients are loving their extended credit terms! (Good for them, not you.)

Does this sound familiar? Don't try to be the expert in everything. Very few people can handle everything in a timely fashion and they are normally those workaholics we never want to be.

Just because you know how to do your own bookkeeping, doesn't mean you should.

Freedom Comes from Hiring Experts

There is a belief among small business owners. They believe by doing everything themselves they can save money and time. I am here to tell you - by experience - this is wrong.

After running a small business for over 10 years I have learned that I am capable of wearing many hats but it's best to let those who are experts in their fields work for you. A business owner who is chief cook and bottle washer will have challenges growing their business.

You probably believe you can do your bookkeeping and taxes because you know how. And that's great. Then the challenge becomes time. Accounting work is time consuming, generally error prone, and subject to deadlines. If you are not up to date, CRA is on your back and you have no clue how your business is doing. Very risky!

There is no greater freedom than the feeling of letting go of some of those responsibilities. Hire an expert to take care of it for you, whether it's your accounting, marketing, sales, HR or the many other experts who can help you run your business smoothly.