Bookkeeper Job Description: What Is Bookkeeping?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, bookkeepers are responsible for keeping track of accounts and recording all of a business’ transactions. Bookkeepers have been around for thousands of years and have become increasingly important as business operations, and the related transactions, have become more complex. Many businesses choose to use a bookkeeper for their day-to-day transactions, but turn to an accountant when they need detailed advice. As a result, bookkeepers and accountants usually work together closely. A bookkeeper is a professional who helps a business keep their finances in order. Their primary functions are to organize, record, and report the financial transactions of your business throughout its operational life.

Although both can prepare your tax returns, a CPA is more knowledgeable about tax codes and can represent you if you get audited by the IRS. Bookkeepers aren’t required to be certified to handle the books for their customers or employer, but licensing is available. Both the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) and the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) offer accreditation and licensing to bookkeepers. As your business grows to include more customers, vendors, and employees, keeping track of your finances on your own becomes more challenging. Namely also has expanded tools for employee profiles that accelerates the tracking and monitoring of employee salary, benefits, attendance, and leaves.

Keep an Eye on Cash Flow

Bookkeepers create financial statements, reconcile bank accounts, pay taxes/bills and can provide high-level advice on these topics. Accounting and bookkeeping have some similarities which include working with financial statements, tax planning, and day to day financial operations of the business. Both bookkeepers and accountants also act as consultants to their clients.

Our ideal candidate holds a Finance degree (preferably followed by accounting CPE courses) and is familiar with accounting software packages, like FreshBooks, Kashoo and KashFlow. Both roles must know the fundamentals of accounting like important ratios, debits vs credits and Accounts receivable vs Accounts payable. An accountant or bookkeeper must be honest, organized, detail oriented and a good communicator. Also, each role must be proficient with technology, as it has drastically changed each career path. Therefore, it’s wise to ask what tools they use to run their practice and if they have any certifications in any specific platforms. Advanced technology has also automated many routine data entry bookkeeping tasks.

Small Business Accounting Services

There are lots of regulations, and failure to comply can result in fines. A third aspect of accounting involves income tax reporting, and must be done in compliance with government regulations. In today’s world, bookkeeping is most commonly done using computer software, such as QuickBooks.

• ” It relates to data entry, math, maintaining accurate records, communicating issues, and watching an inventory or budget.
• This service is particularly unique as Intuit Payroll takes on the filing process and sends W-2s on your behalf.
• Bookkeepers who want to rest easy when it comes to handling and organizing W-2s can relax if they’d opt to use Intuit Payroll.
• Both roles must know the fundamentals of accounting like important ratios, debits vs credits and Accounts receivable vs Accounts payable.

One mistake and a dreaded letter from HMRC can soon be on your way. That’s where bookkeepers come in, as they can help make sure your business stays aligned with the relevant laws. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for an accountant in 2020 was $73,560 per year, or $35.37 per hour. However, their years of experience, your state and the complexity of your accounting needs affect the price. CFAs must also pass a challenging three-part exam that had a pass rate of only 39% in September 2021. The point here is that hiring a CFA means bringing highly advanced accounting knowledge to your business.

What Are Bookkeeping Services, Exactly? Let Us Explain.

With this platform, users can run payroll within a few minutes and with minimal error. After which, users can then generate custom reports to get an idea of compensation trends as well as ensure that all employees are properly compensated. You give it your time, expertise, and ideas, you market your products and services and hire qualified employees, you design benefits packages, maintain insurance, and have a dedicated space. Having visibility of accurate financial statements also will set a company up for future growth. The value of this is immeasurable as it insulates your business from many costly and dangerous risks. Many times, a bookkeeper job description and that of an accountant are lumped together into one category.

A bookkeeper can serve as a whistleblower, coming across issues that can be indicative of real problems. However, it is the accountant’s job to see huge, overarching issues and also provide possible solutions. If a small business has a shoestring budget, the owner could do the bookkeeping by him or herself. Hiring a bookkeeper would make sense if the small business owner needs to free up more time.

What are the Duties of a Real Estate Bookkeeper?

Accountants use the information bookkeepers create to make important decisions that will improve a company’s bottom line and can offer tax and estate planning advice. Knowing the similarities and differences between these two roles will help the connection between bookkeepers, bookkeeping and payroll accountants, and business owners which will improve a company’s bottom line. Your bookkeeper can help calculate your payroll and in some cases, even manage employee benefits if you have employees. Depending on your industry, your payroll requirements can vary widely.

• It has saved significant time which has resulted in many bookkeepers and accountants adding advisory services to their clients.
• His main areas of expertise are blockchain technologies, cryptocurrencies, and the use of biometrics in fintech solutions.
• A bookkeeping service does more than just record payables and receivables, or manage payroll services, they guarantee the security, scalability, and success of your business.

Your second option is to hire an in-house bookkeeper, which could be quite costly. Keep reading to learn more about the services a bookkeeper can provide for your business and the benefits of having a professional keeping your books. Do you want to spend less time pouring over your books and have more time to spend with your family or devote to the crucial aspects of running your business?

Keep You Prepared For Tax

Bookkeeping forms the foundation of accounting by tracking everyday business activity. An accountant uses these financial records to assess a business’s financial health and make strategic recommendations. There’s some crossover between the two, as both bookkeepers and accountants typically help prepare financial statements and tax returns. A bookkeeper will often focus on managing one or more types of accounts.

Outsourcing a bookkeeper can reduce this stress and help you keep work from spilling over into your personal life. By working with a company that handles bookkeeping services, like S.H. Block Tax Services, you can pick and choose which services you want and only pay for what your business needs.

Preparing the Books For an Accountant

When you hire a payroll service or small business bookkeeper to help with payroll processing and calculations, your stress levels will drop. Financial professionals can keep the business running by managing payroll, invoicing, and other financial services. So, you can focus on building the business and expanding for future growth.

And if you are not tracking your expenses, your bookkeeper will have a very difficult time calculating your loss. Both of these figures will be important to you and they say everything about the overall health of your business. By creating a financial statement, your bookkeeper can help you better understand your business and measure its success.