Being a bookkeeper means making sure that all the money is accounted for and is being recorded at the right place. It also means balancing out everything when it comes to paying bills and such. But there are some things you can do to be a better bookkeeper. Here are a few strategies.
Reconcile the Books Daily
This may seem like a tedious task, but it’s one that will save you significant time in the future. If you spend the time daily to update the income and expenditures in the right places (this includes, bank accounts, accounts receivables, credit statements, etc) you won’t have to do more work at the end. Finding a difference on a daily basis for things that happened in the last 24 hours (or three days if the weekend passed), will be a lot more manageable than doing it all at once at the end of the month, or every two weeks. Block out the time at the end of the day and get that done, it will help you stay more organized when it comes to the finances.
Accurate Bookkeeping can Help Grow the Business
Bookkeeping means seeing what is coming in and out and gives you the ability to create a working budget and make changes. Maybe you see that too much is coming out for the cleaning services, you can save money there by hiring someone else, and as the bookkeeper, you can see the changes within the next billing cycle. You can also create a budget for the office and bring it up to the management. Most likely they will want to do whatever they can to save money and increase their profit and being the bookkeeper gives you direct access to give an accurate representation of where the money is going, and where savings can be made.
Call Up Your Accountant in November
This might seem silly but the benefit of this is important. When you have your tax professional look at your books before January 1st they can tell you what your tax liability is going to look like. They can also make some recommendations as to how to make your tax liability better for your company. Knowing if you are going to owe before you do is a lot easier and less stress-inducing than finding out on the tax day.
Network…Always Network
Having a network, a professional network, surrounded by like-minded people is really important. Rules and regulations, as well as best practice, is always changing. Having others around in order to discuss those changes, or learn one that you didn’t know about is imperative to keeping your own business up and running smoothly (although you should also be aware of the changes). Plus, you can set up quid pro quo with them, if you want someone to look at your books with a second set of eyes, you can do the same for them.
Ideally, being an effective bookkeeper means being organized, diligent, and aware of what is going on in the business financially. It also means putting yourself out there and offering up suggestions that can lead to a better financial situation for your company or those positioned higher up.