The Search for Bookkeeping Services – Common Questions and Answers
To start off: DO NOT USE SOMEONE who suggests you use Quickbooks Desktop in 2019. They will rip you off, and they enjoy the lack of transparency.
A business that I started just out of college had started to make a lot of money and be fairly successful. We had a large amount of transactions, and right away, the bookkeeping became difficult. We had monthly paying members, and it was hard to keep track of invoices, payments, and fees.
This is a common problem for many small businesses and people. They want to focus on their business, and it’s incredibly hard to get it off the ground, let alone how much time it takes to market your business. Then, life happens, and your books get backed up.
Then, April 15th rolls around, and you need to do your taxes. You get scared by bills and debt collectors, and you end up overpaying everyone. Does this sound familiar? If it does, keep reading.
These are common problems in the initial stages.
Search for Bookkeeping Services – Problem #1.
“I don’t even know where to start. How is some random person going to be able to understand all the ins and outs of my business and the intricacies? Only I know that, and it’s all in my head!”
Search for Bookkeeping Services – Problem #2
“I don’t feel comfortable showing anyone my books or giving people access to my records. What if they take advantage or steal from me?”
Search for Bookkeeping Services – Problem #3
“I just use Excel to manage all my books. I don’t want to spend any money on bookkeeping software.”
To save you headaches and confusion, here are the answers to these common problems. I had to learn all of this the HARD WAY. I feel like everyone should know this, so I am giving it away for free.
Answers to the Search for Bookkeeping Services.
#1 Where Do I Start?
It is not as hard as you think. Many business owners are so entrenched in the day-to-day operations of the business that they don’t realize how easy it is for a professional bookkeeping service to quickly understand what they are doing and are trying to do.
A lot of businesses share the same characteristics from a zoomed out point of view. Money in and money out. Where it’s coming from and where is it going. What is left at the end? Something we often say at BSH Accounting is, “It’s not what you make, it’s what you keep.”
What we do is provide a 1-hour FREE consultation on a) What the chart of accounts should be (where we are going to file everything) and b) What bank do you use? How many checking, savings, and credit cards accounts do you have?
With Quickbooks online, you can attach all of your banks and credit cards very easily!
Believe me, if you have never done this exercise before, it feels like a lot of stress will be relieved from you instantly. I used to think that this process would take months.
IT SHOULD ONLY TAKE 1 DAY. YOUR BUSINESS IS NOT AS COMPLICATED AS YOU THINK.
#2 Protecting Yourself
Anytime someone is going to look at or be involved with money, I suggest you do a criminal background check. You should also review their reputation online and offline, if you can. However, a bookkeeper should never be in a position to take any money from you anyway. They should gain access to your bank through Quickbooks online’s bank connection system.
A bookkeeper is going to need your monthly bank and credit card statements to reconcile. If you don’t know what this means, ask in your free consultation with us.
Almost every bank has the option to give a bookkeeper or an accountant “VIEW ONLY” access. This makes it so we can view your bank or credit card, can download the statements if needed, but can only VIEW everything. We cannot make a bill payment or transfer money, etc.
Never give anyone YOUR admin password that you use for any of your accounts.
Yes, you can send your statements to your bookkeeper manually, but, at BSH Accounting, we prefer to make the process stress-free and as efficient as possible. No wasting anyone’s time here.
#3 I use Excel. QB is scary.
This can be fine. However, studies have shown that Quickbooks saves your company time and money. If you spend money on something, and it can get you a simple return, then it’s an investment, not a cost, and should strongly be considered.
If you do not currently use Quickbooks Online, we can get you a ProAdvisor (Our QB Proadvisor Certification Profile) for 50{52c9cf208d0d542f039a0ddfdd72d72338bf613ee84d29bef24b603d6b886926} off your subscription.
Excel cannot pull the reports you can use to help your business be more efficient and improve. You can’t compare projects year to year, and you can’t see how you are doing in this quarter compared to last quarter—or even last year’s quarter. You can’t run quick reports to see if you made a payment or see how much everyone is getting paid, so on and so forth.
Excel also cannot always show true and accurate financial records. If you have partners and investors, there is no way to know if these are completely accurate. Bank accounts and credit card statements reconciled through Quickbooks are a much more complete and accurate picture of your finances. Again, you can run reports on your balance sheet that excel simply will not be able to do. Excel is good for databases and storing contacts—not your finances.
Tip: The invoices and accounts receivable part will save you money. Most people are lacking here, and they simplify this process, making it very easy for people to pay you and pay you ON TIME.
Good Bookkeeping Services Save You At Tax Time:
- Save money on tax preparation, because you can simply hand your profit and loss, balance sheet, and general ledger to your CPA.
- Use the Ask Accountant Function.
- Give Your CPA access easily to your QB Online account.
- You can provide a 1099 and W2 to people much easier.
- Maximize your deductions.
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There you have it: the 3 problems with finding bookkeeping services. Again, I highly recommend you use Quickbooks Online ProAdvisor. DO NOT USE SOMEONE who suggests you use Quickbooks Desktop in 2019. They will rip you off. They enjoy the lack of transparency.
With your financial data in Quickbooks online, you can check your finances on your cell phone app.
For a free consultation with BSH Accounting to get your bookkeeping efficiently handled and managed, click here to fill out this form. You can also call 310-654-2047 or e-mail brian@www.bshaccounting.com. If you mention you found us through this blog article, you will get 1 free hour of consulting and services.
