Signs that you need a new Bookkeeper

*Remunerated Post*

Over time even the most savvy of business owners need to employ someone from outside their business to help on tasks that they want to offload.

Bookkeeping services is among the top areas that they seek to have done externally and it’s no surprise why – It takes up a large amount of time, extremely detailed and is prime to lend itself to mistakes being made.

So in bringing in an external bookkeeper you can trust that everything is handled properly and you need not worry about anything going wrong, right?… Not necessarily.

If you currently have a bookkeeping service handling your business affairs, you need to feel reassured that the relationship is working correctly, especially if you are experiencing resourcing issues. With tax season rapidly approaching and the need to ensure the job is done right, you need to be assured that certain areas are covered in the working relationship with your bookkeeper.

As you are paying the bookkeeper to do the job you don’t have time for yourself such as staying on top of records and delivering them on time, if it is not being done regularly then there is the first big warning sign for you.

If you are like most companies who employ a bookkeeper you will want to do a monthly close on books, including reconciling your bank statement to confirm accuracy. With financial statements coming from your books, you need to trust the information in your statements. Financial statements are vital towards your budgeting, evaluating and managing your burn rate and is a serious liability if you don’t have them.

If your books are not reaching you in a timely manner then you need to look into another provider for your books.

There will be times where you are going to want more details on the status of your books and your bookkeeper should know the answers to any queries on them. As bookkeeper’s do have a majority of clients you will need to schedule time with them to discuss your books. As a paid professional your bookkeeper will work with you on explaining any concerns and strategies to better help your business thrive. If your current provider regularly ignores questions and issues regarding your books or does not provide you with full answers, then they are not right for your business.

Everybody is able to make mistakes over time and bookkeepers are not exempt themselves on occasion. If your books have regular inconsistencies and errors then it is a huge red flag.

Finding frequent mistakes throughout your books affects your ability to present accurate and trusted statements which in turn raises questions over business decisions made. If you yourself are having to correct books on a regular basis, then what are you paying a bookkeeper for anyway?

Noted there could be a number of reasons your books come back in error from your bookkeeper. It could be a stretched service from being understaffed which leads to not being able to adequately double check your books. If your books fall under a more complex structure, the provider may not be totally in tune with the business needs.

If you are experiencing any of the above then you need to focus your time and energies on another bookkeeping provider. With your books being a foundation of your business, you need assurance that your books will be presented accurately and promptly with any concerns addressed. If you don’t have that assurance currently then you need to call on another professional service in bookkeeper Manchester.