Key Tips On Hiring A Bookkeeping and Accounting Service For Your Finances
For months after opening your business, you can see that it has been doing well in the industry. The number of your customers are increasing every week, and you can see you’re earning more and more profit. You also noticed that your store is getting busier. And although you can still manage your finances now, you want to be prepared; you want to hire a bookkeeping and accounting service to help with your finances in the long run. You believe that these are the best people to ensure that everything is in check with your business’ finances.
Hiring a bookkeeping and accounting service for your finances can do wonders for your business. But given that this is a very risky role to fit in, you should carefully choose which to hire. Working with the wrong company might end up in bankruptcy, and you don’t want that to happen, right? Ask these questions below when you’re about to hire a bookkeeping and accounting service:
1. What is the scope of the bookkeeping work?
This question is important because this is when you’ll learn what the service provider can and can’t provide. This will also help you set your expectations. Some bookkeepers will act as management accountants and help interpret your business’ figures while some bookkeepers only do data entry. You should work with a bookkeeping and accounting service which will do the following:
- Enter supplier bills and pay suppliers.
- Prepare reports such as balance sheets and profit and loss statements.
- Raise sales invoices and follow up debtors.
- Reconcile bank transaction.
2. Are they registered and qualified?
Many bookkeepers will have a diploma and accounting degree. But if you’re looking for someone who is up to your states’ standards, you should make sure that you’ll be working with a bookkeeper who is a registered BAS agent. BAS agents are registered with the Tax Practitioners’ Board. Qualification and registration requirements per country vary though. You should ask your bookkeeper about this and make sure that they are registered to file sales tax in your country.
3. How familiar are they with your industry?
Sure, the service provider you’re eyeing to hire might be operating for years but do they actually have experience in working with your industry? If they didn’t in the past, this could require time for adjustment. If they have, ask them about their previous clients, issues faced and what were the solutions they made. You don’t want to work with a bookkeeping and accounting service which don’t know how to handle your industry’s problems, right?
4. How do they communicate with your clients?
Since you’ll be entrusting your finances with a bookkeeping and accounting service, it’s vital that you know how you can communicate with them. Regular communication is important especially during the first few months of working together. Ask if you’ll be keeping in touch through calls, e-mails or personal appointments. This should be clear during your first meeting to avoid miscommunication moving forward.
5. How do they price their service?
Price is one of the deciding factors of whether or not you’re going to hire a bookkeeping accounting service. You should work with someone who’ll give you the service you need within a reasonable price range. You don’t want to hire an expensive service and then end up cutting the budget for your customers and employees just to pay for them.
Generally, bookkeepers are charged with a fixed rate. When you’ll work with someone who follows this payment structure, ask what is included in that fixed rate. Also, inquire if there are any additional charges for their services.
In Conclusion
Anything that deals with your business’ finances should be carefully thought of every time. You don’t want to waste your resources for expenses that won’t be helpful for your business – and working with a bookkeeping service is no exemption. Keep in mind the things presented in this article as this will help you work with the best bookkeeping and accounting services apt for your business!
About the writer: Abigail Mallard loves numbers, and as a content writer she believes explaining technical concepts, especially those in business and finance, is a challenge she can always strive to surpass. As a contributor to Bookkeeping.com, she strives to ensure her pieces are able to explain technical financial and accounting concepts to her readers in order to ensure they get a basic gist of what they need to know about their finances should they so desire.
