How to Hire a Bookkeeper for Your Growing Business
As a business owner, you may have considered whether or not to hire a bookkeeper. Bookkeepers can help keep your financial records organized and accurate, freeing up your time and reducing the chance of mistakes. Once you’ve decided to hire one, it’s essential to know how to hire a bookkeeper the right way. This article will explore why you need a bookkeeper, their responsibilities and essential qualities, where you can hire one online, and tips for choosing the right bookkeeper for your business.
Why You Need a Bookkeeper
#1. Organizing and Generating Accurate Records
A bookkeeper assists businesses in keeping precise and organized records of financial transactions, such as sales, expenses, and accounts payable. Having well-organized financial records allows you to take care of the financial health of your business, and plan ahead for bill payments, fundraising, or staffing decisions. A bookkeeper also helps produce accurate financial reports, such as balance sheets, profit and loss statements, and cash flow statements, and assists with cash flow management. Inaccurate financial records can lead to decisions that can potentially bankrupt your business.
#2. Saves You Time and Energy
Hiring a bookkeeper can take a lot of responsibilities and work off your shoulders. If you’re not a numbers person, tracking business transactions can be a challenge. In such cases, hiring a bookkeeper who can save you time, energy, and money is a wise decision.
#3. Can Provide Crucial Insights
A bookkeeper can review your business finances, check for discrepancies, and share insights that will help you make better business decisions. They can also streamline the bookkeeping process so that you don’t face any issues during the tax season.
Responsibilities of a Bookkeeper
A bookkeeper’s responsibilities include recording daily business transactions such as sales, inventory, and expenses. Maintaining accurate transactional records. Reconciling bank account and credit card statements, educating you about sales and other kinds of taxes involved in your business, tracking business performance against the budget, and suggesting ideas to cut business expenses wherever possible.
Qualities to Look for In a Bookkeeper
#1. Detail-Oriented and Organized
It is crucial to find a bookkeeper who is detail-oriented, focused, organized, and able to correct any errors they may detect quickly. Look for a bookkeeper who is familiar with working with your type of business so that they can detect patterns in the financial records and prevent mistakes.
#2. Proficient in Using Accounting Software
A bookkeeper should be proficient in using accounting software to streamline the process of generating financial statements and eliminate the need for manual data entry in spreadsheets.
#3. Trustworthy
Trust is an essential quality to look for in a bookkeeper since they handle crucial and delicate information that will stay between you, your business, and the bookkeeper you hire.
Places to Look to Hire a Bookkeeper
#1. Recommendations
One of the easiest and most reliable ways to hire a bookkeeper is to ask around in your network. You can also ask your network to recommend a bookkeeper they might’ve used at some point.
#2. Upwork
Upwork is a popular freelance hiring platform. You can either post a job on the platform and wait for candidates to fill out the application, or you can search for bookkeepers, review their profiles, and send offers to them. The bookkeepers on Upwork charge hourly rates and the hiring costs range from $10 to $125 per hour.
#3. QuickBooks Bookkeeper
Quickbooks offers its own certified bookkeepers who work remotely and connect with you via video call. They will update, take care of your current financials, and create a budget for the future. You also get personalized reports that help you make informed business decisions.
In addition to these steps, it’s also important to consider the candidate’s communication skills and how well they will fit in with your company culture. You want to hire someone who can effectively communicate financial information to you and other team members and who will work well with your existing team.
Another consideration is whether the candidate is a good problem-solver. Bookkeeping involves dealing with complex financial data, and there may be situations where unexpected issues arise. You want to hire someone who can think creatively to find solutions to these problems.
Overall, hiring a bookkeeper is an important decision, and taking the time to evaluate candidates thoroughly can pay off in the long run. A skilled and experienced bookkeeper can help you keep your finances in order, make better business decisions, and ultimately save you time and money.
