Producing invoices, chasing payments, preparing for tax deadlines, and processing payroll are all services that bookkeepers can provide to small businesses. When searching for a suitable bookkeeper, keep insurance requirements in mind. Whether you utilize the services of a sole trader bookkeeper or a well-known bookkeeping business, under the Tax Agent Services Act 2009, all bookkeepers in Australia who are registered as BAS agents are obliged to maintain Professional Indemnity insurance (TASA).
Here’s an overview of some of the tasks you can expect a bookkeeper to perform.
Table of Contents
1. Accounts Management on a Day-to-Day Basis
A bookkeeper can maintain track of all transactions in your business’s accounts on a daily basis. It’s far easier for them to keep track of your cash flow if you keep note of every sale or transaction and use software to do so. It also saves a lot of time when it comes to data entry and compiling your end-of-year accounts.
2. Keep accurate and up-to-date records
A bookkeeper will ensure that all of your company’s financial records are current. Furthermore, it will be their responsibility to alert you to any discrepancies between your books and your business accounts, ensuring that problems are resolved swiftly.
3. Ensure that businesses are compliant with the law.
Taxation may be a touchy subject. If you make a mistake, you could receive a frightening letter from HMRC. That’s where bookkeepers come in, as they can ensure that your company complies with all applicable laws.
Remember, they’re here to assist, not to generate more serious issues.
4. Make Tax Preparation a Priority
Tax deadlines, like laws and regulations, are extremely rigorous. Due to the fact that bookkeeping is rarely a top concern for many small firms, deadlines can easily be overlooked. A bookkeeper will make sure your records are accurate, so you’re always ready for tax. This will keep the taxman happy and prevent you from paying any further fines.
5. Organize your bank feeds
At its most basic level, bookkeepers manage transactions that are entered via software, such as an app. You can observe each transaction in real time, thanks to bank feeds that connect the software to your corporate bank account.
6. Accounts Payable Management
Payments on behalf of your small business are normally made by bookkeepers. Payment of supplier bills, petty cash, and costs are all examples of this.
7. Manage Accounts Receivable and Send Out Invoices
Another important task for bookkeepers is to produce invoices and send them to your clients so that you can get paid on time. A bookkeeper is also likely to handle the accounts receivable ledger, as well as pursuing late payments to ensure that your records are constantly up to date.
8. Compile financial reports
Small business bookkeepers will also be in charge of compiling some important financial statements. A profit and loss statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement are examples of these.
These financial reports highlight a company’s bottom line and operating expenses, as well as the assets and liabilities balance sheet and cash flow in and out.
9. Payroll processing
Bookkeepers provide a wide range of services. For small firms, some can handle payroll and other HR services. Assisting firms to process paychecks and tax payments is one example.
10. Dealing with foreign currency transactions
Bookkeepers also ensure that foreign currency balances are kept up to date using current exchange rates. In the contemporary era, many of them use digital bookkeeping software to rapidly analyse exchange rates without spending time performing manual analysis.
11. Conduct a stocktake
Bookkeepers also create inventory reports for small enterprises by counting stock items. If there are any disparities, they notify the company so that problems can be addressed swiftly.
Stocktaking is usually performed at the end of a company’s fiscal year, with the results appearing in reports like profit and loss statements.
12. Pay attention to cash flow
One of the most important things a bookkeeper does for a small business is to ensure that they don’t run out of cash on a daily basis. They can achieve this by keeping an eye on the revenue-to-expense ratio and providing further advice if the company requires extra cash to function.
13. Getting ready for an accountant
It is the responsibility of the bookkeeper to ensure that the accounts are valid and up-to-date when the accountant needs them. This enables an accountant to use their expertise to offer business advice and file tax returns.
Is a Bookkeeper Required for My Small Business?
Yes, in a word. All of the aforementioned factors, however, do not automatically imply that you should hire a professional. While it may appear to be a difficult job, it is actually pretty simple if you know what you’re doing.
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You can see that bookkeeping is something you can handle for your business relatively easily by reading up on it, taking advantage of government hosted workshops and webinars, or even learning hands-on with a digital bookkeeping tool.
