What Does a Bookkeeper Do and When Does My Business Need One

As a liaison between departments, a bookkeeper interacts with department heads on a daily basis to discuss inventory needs. If merchandise, products or office supplies are running low, the bookkeeper must order more. If the company doesn’t have department heads or employees who are responsible for tracking and maintaining inventory, it might be the bookkeeper’s job to record these inventory levels. Bookkeepers often need to get receipts for company purchases made by coworkers, reimburse employees for expenditures, create travel vouchers, disperse petty cash and record receipts for all transactions. An organized system of receipt submission, expense account reimbursement and cash distribution can improve the lines of communication. Organization and communication help to ensure no transactions get missed, so the financial records stay current and accurate.

Accountants’ qualifications depend on their experience, licenses and certifications. To become an accountant, they must earn a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. Accountants generally must have a degree in accounting or finance to earn the title. A bookkeeper with professional certification shows they are committed to the trade, possess the skills and expertise required, and are willing to continue learning new methods and techniques. Regardless of the setting, bookkeepers must maintain a high level of accuracy and attention to detail.

Manage Fixed Assets

There are two primary areas of small business accounting that a bookkeeper is responsible for. Accountants will either quote a client a fixed price for a specific service or charge a general hourly rate. Basic services could cost as little as $20 an hour, while advanced services could be $100 or more an hour. There are no formal educational requirements to become a bookkeeper, but they must be knowledgeable about financial topics and accounting terms and strive for accuracy. A bookkeeper is not an accountant, nor should they be considered an accountant. Each sale and purchase your business conducts must be recorded in the ledger, and some items will need documentation.

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• A bookkeeper can stay on top of your business’ accounts daily for all transactions.
• While these programs are cost effective, you are paying with your time.
• Usually, the entry-level salary for both bookkeepers and accountants tends to be similar; however, the earning potential of an accountant tends to increase as their career progress.

Bookkeepers must maintain and balance financial records daily, including transactions from coworkers. It can be difficult to record those daily transactions without strong communication. Simply put, bookkeepers are professionals who have an accurate eye for detail who manage and record all of a business’s financial transactions.

Core duties

With an accurate picture of your finances, you’ll be more empowered to create and meet achievable goals. At Pilot, we have a team of expert bookkeepers using unique tools to automate the most error-prone aspects of bookkeeping. Many founders either don’t have the time or don’t have the expertise to do their own bookkeeping. The right bookkeeping solution can save you valuable time and hassle without sacrificing your financial health.

Your bookkeeper may help you generate the invoice, collect a payment, enter the transaction into the general ledger, and document the paid invoice. As a business owner, one of your primary responsibilities could be keeping tabs on your product inventory and restocking it when needed. When you order inventory, your bookkeeper collects the receipt, enters the transaction into the general ledger, and files the record into your financial database. Bookkeepers are friendly, highly organized, and have strong verbal and written communication skills. They keep tabs on everything and anything to make sure that your company’s finances stay intact, including cash flow statements, bank reconciliations (also known as reconciliation) and loss statements.

When does your business need a bookkeeper?

Outsourced bookkeeping gives you more options in today’s changing work environment. With the right experience, a fractional bookkeeper can start performing their duties and making a difference for your business right away. They can be a regular asset for the company or assist in busier seasons, providing a flexible and cost-effective solution for businesses. Although bookkeeping and accounting professionals work in tandem, the two professions carry separate credentials and approach a business’s finances in different ways.

If you’re thinking about hiring a bookkeeper or want to improve your business’s bookkeeping operations, consider your bookkeeping options. We are looking for a skilled Bookkeeper to maintain our financial records, including purchases, sales, receipts and payments. In this bookkeepers vs. accountants article, we learn bookkeepers have two to four years of experience with their work being overseen by either an accountant or the small business owner they’re serving. Your business needs to have accurate reports of your financial data in order for it to run effectively and grow.

Things that Bookkeepers Do

Bookkeepers may also assist in running payroll and generating invoices for your company. In the broadest sense, bookkeepers help businesses keep their finances intact by keeping tabs on different accounts, transactions, and reports. They organize, collect, and store the business’s financial accounts payable definition records, including cash flow statements, bank reconciliations, and loss statements. Bookkeepers make it possible for business owners and accountants to build budgets, identify trends, and plan for the future. A bookkeeper is responsible for maintaining a company’s financial records.

But as your business grows, hiring a dedicated bookkeeper or outsourcing one can lift some burden off your shoulders. The NACPB offers credentials to bookkeepers who pass tests for small business accounting, small business financial management, bookkeeping and payroll. It also offers a payroll certification, which requires additional education. In retail or other non-office environments, bookkeepers may work in a back-office or stockroom area, away from customers and other employees.