Is a bookkeeper a luxury?

Have a look at this article on Kochie’s Business Builder.

Thank you to … Klay Lamprell 04.08.09

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com.au/Article/IsABookkeeperALuxury

Hiring a bookkeeper can be tricky, especially if bookkeeping is something you don’t really understand. As with any recruitment process, you base your decision on qualifications, references, length of experience and personality. Knowledge of your particular industry can be a bonus but it’s not necessary. A highly experienced, well-qualified bookkeeper will ask the right questions and learn quickly.

You might pay more, but it can be worthwhile using a bookkeeping company rather than a sole operator. A bookkeeping company will have a few bookkeepers on staff, should conduct regular reviews of its bookkeepers’ work, should ensure their bookkeepers are up to date on all tax office rulings and software changes and will be able to supply a fill-in should your regular bookkeeper take leave for any reason.

The lowest-cost option for getting your BAS prepared and keeping basic financial records is for a bookkeeper to work directly from your bank statements. You note which are business and which are personal expenses, and the bookkeeper will enter and code the information. Some companies offer packaged fees for this, so the costs are set and there are no surprises. With this option, you can still get the regular reports that businesses benefit from, such as profit and loss and cashflow reports, as well as end-of-year reports for the accountant, which may make your tax returns less expensive.

Whichever style of bookkeeping service you choose, knowing that your financial records are being kept accurately and that you’re doing everything right as far as the tax office is concerned will give you peace of mind. More than that, the time you used to spend dancing clumsily around ATO deadlines can now be spent catching up on industry developments, training staff and, most importantly, growing your business