One trait shared by most successful businesses is organization. Numerous different professionals might play into keeping the establishment’s affairs tidy and straightforward. That said, a bookkeeper’s role can be particularly crucial. Read on to learn the reasons for employing a bookkeeping service on a full-time basis could prove beneficial.
Bookkeeping Overview
In general, a professional bookkeeping service keeps track of the money a specific business entity earns and spends. However, this responsibility is far more complicated than it seems. Sufficient performance of this role requires the individual in question to document every transaction the business makes, in addition to keeping these recorded ledgers readable and understandable.
Typically, bookkeepers will aid their employers in creating and maintaining four paramount financial documents, including:
The Balance Sheet
This document provides a summary of the entity in question’s financial health.
The Cash Flow Statement
This record details the sums of cash that enter and exit the business in question.
The Income Statement
This financial statement lists the earnings and expenses of the business over a specific duration.
Equity Changes Statement
This record highlights how other investments or miscellaneous earnings have changed over specific timeframes.
In addition to preparing these key financial documents, bookkeepers might also be asked to execute other vital duties such as remitting invoices and other charges, pay down debts, handle all pertinent bank transactions, process payroll and maintain a budget.
Bookkeepers do not require any formal education or training to maintain that title. That said, most individuals who label themselves as such possess extensive experience performing tasks like payroll, accounts receivable, and basic accounting.
Reasons To Employ A Bookkeeper On A Full-Time Basis
Certain entities do not employ a bookkeeper’s services permanently. However, many financial institutions caution against this practice because of the benefits of hiring a professional full-time, including:
Time For Other Business-Related Activities
Proprietors hiring bookkeepers are not forced to devote significant time to handling financial records keeping themselves. Rather, said subjects could perform other critical roles like marketing their businesses, advertising, establishing important contacts, interacting with customers, and any other additional tasks needed to build the establishment and keeping said entity successful.
Mistake Prevention
Even the slightest financial record-keeping errors could have significant adverse consequences on a business’s bottom line. Therefore, maintaining meticulous and accurate records is often key to preventing such mistakes.
Superior Organization
Since bookkeeping typically involves performing numerous critical but tedious tasks requiring the utmost focus and concentration, bookkeepers usually possess superior organizational skills. Organization is pertinent to keeping proper and adequate records.
Time Management
One specific subskill well-organized people typically demonstrate is optimal time management. Properly allotting the necessary time for each important function increases the chances that said responsibility would be addressed with the utmost skill and accuracy.
An Outsider’s Perspective
After reviewing a business’s records for extended durations, bookkeepers might provide an outsider’s perspective on the establishment’s professional practices. For example, a bookkeeper might identify ways in which the entity in question could engage in money-saving actions like cutting costs, tightening its budget, limiting unnecessary spending, and utilizing existing resources with greater efficiency.
Ensure Bills Are Paid In A Timely Fashion
Sometimes even homeowners experience a certain degree of difficulty keeping up with all of their bills. When one considers all the correspondences and communications a business receives, missing a bill here or there is plausible. However, an experienced bookkeeper will quickly familiarize themselves with all pertinent charges the business faces and promptly address said expenses appropriately.
Paying Employees
The cornerstone of any business is its employees. As hardworking and dedicated as many staffers are, employers must realize that their employees are not working for their health. Said individuals have bills and responsibilities like everyone else and therefore need to be paid promptly. Reputable bookkeepers understand this fact and often place a significant emphasis on ensuring the business’s workforce is paid on time.
