When you first started out in business you probably had all good intentions of managing as much of the business as possible by yourself. Maybe you were trying to keep your costs low or you felt that you needed to be in control of all of your financial information. Whatever the reason, generally there comes a time for all small business owners when they realise that they need assistance to keep things running smoothly, particularly when it comes to record-keeping and transactions. So why use a bookkeeper? We’ll outline 3 ways that they can help your business to thrive. There are many different professional support services available for business owners and, as we covered in our last blog post, there is a difference between bookkeeping and accounting. While they are different services, they are actually complementary and for your business to run smoothly you ideally need both. You may have already engaged a good accountant to help advise you on ways to grow your business, how to stay tax compliant and minimise business costs but why use a bookkeeper too?
Reasons To Use A Bookkeeper:
Reason #1: Saves You Time And Money
Most business owners are time-poor and the task of keeping accurate financial records, ensuring all transactions are recorded, usually gets deferred until it becomes absolutely necessary e.g. the BAS is due or it is tax time. Engaging a qualified bookkeeper saves you the time of having to review all your transactions, particularly if you have put off the task for a few months.
You will also save money in the longer term as a good bookkeeper will help ensure you pay bills on time, avoiding interest and late payment fees. They will also streamline your current business systems and processes, ensuring your financial records are in top shape and your business running as efficiently as it can be. Having accurate financial records can also help you get credit from banks or other lending organisations, should you need it AND it will help your accountant spend less time dissecting your data and more time using the data to offer valuable insights to help you grow your business.
Reason #2: Allows You To Focus On Growing The Business
As the business grows so does the paperwork and record-keeping. Most business owners reach a point where they realise that they are spending too much time every week chasing payments, reviewing supplier invoices or processing their payroll. A bookkeeper can take on all these tasks and more and free up your time to focus on the things that will help your business to grow.
How much time have you spent in the last week trying to keep track of your sales, payments, purchases and receipts? And if you haven’t been doing this regularly, it is obviously going to be a big job when you get around to doing it and take a substantial chunk of your time to reconcile all of your transactions. How much more effective would you be if you were focusing on the thing you really love: your business?
Reason #3: Gives You Peace Of Mind
You can’t be an expert in everything. Ensuring your business is complying with the latest tax regulations outlined by the ATO and ASIC, such as ongoing changes to superannuation law, is one area where you really should be engaging the services of professionals. Engaging a well-qualified bookkeeper will help you stay out of hot water with the ATO and give you the peace of mind that all monthly, quarterly and annual deadlines are met for BAS, tax, and superannuation and your business is compliant. And if you have fallen behind a bookkeeper can also help bring your lodgments up to date and work with the ATO to manage existing debt and get your business running efficiently again.
At Numera Bookkeeping Services, we provide more than most traditional bookkeepers. With significant experience across a wide range of industry sectors, we are able to support you with all the standard bookkeeping services as well as BAS preparation and lodgment, accounting software support for packages including Xero, MYOB, Quickbooks and Reckon. If you need the services of a local accountant, our referral partners, MGI South Queensland are on hand to offer more detailed accounting advice. Work with the Brisbane bookkeepers you can trust. Give us a call today on 07 3002 4880 or email [email protected] to find out how we can help your business.