Hiring the right bookkeeper can be a daunting process especially for the small business owners. You need to find a bookkeeper with a strong financial management and accounting skills to help you make sense of the complex numbers. A great bookkeeper will stay on top of the technological advancements in accounting software to help you to automate some of the bookkeeping processes that can increase accuracy and automate some of the bookkeeping for you. You’ll probably find quite a few bookkeepers in your community, but knowing which one is the right fit can make the decision making difficult. Read on to find out what qualities to look out for to help you choose the right bookkeeper.

Characteristics of an Excellent Bookkeeper

There are bookkeepers with all kinds of specializations and experience. Depending on your industry and business requirements, following qualities are what should help you make the suitable choice.

Accreditation and Training

All bookkeepers should have some form of formal accounting or bookkeeping training. At the very least, they should be accredited with BAS (Business Activity Statement) Agency. A bookkeeper with BAS accreditation simply means that they met the requirements in regards to the minimum amount of experience, adequate knowledge, and skills required to prepare a financial statement in lieu with the accounting practices and tax rules and regulations.

Trustworthiness

Professional bookkeepers are required to retain their relationship with their client sacred. All financial information is required to remain secure and confidential. It is imperative to choose a bookkeeper you feel comfortable with since you will be sharing all business sensitive information with them.  Not feeling comfortable in sharing such information with them will affect the quality of their service and your ability to receive the best value for your money. Transparency is important.

State-of-the-art Technology

A great bookkeeper will make it a point to do his homework. He will keep updated with the latest industry news and any technological advancements that can assist your business increase its efficiency and accuracy.  Over the past years, the landscape of the accounting industry has changed dramatically. Thanks to the latest technology, bookkeepers are able to make the entire process seamless and more precise. A good bookkeeper will encourage you to implement more cost-efficient processes that will save you money and time. Based on the recent study, implementing a use of bookkeeping software will save you up to 10 hours of work each week.

Awareness of Things that You May Not Know

They should remain transparent on the scope of their skills and knowledge. For instance, if you are hiring a BAS agency, they need to be aware that they are not certified to provide FBT and income tax advice. They should not be scared to admit their lack of knowledge about a certain area.

They Ask the Right Question

Business owners hate receiving questions from the person they hire; however, asking questions is a sign that you are hiring the right bookkeeper. The information that they will receive from you is necessary to ensure accurate allocation of transactions. It is important that they will ask questions rather than just making guesstimates. You wouldn’t want your computer purchase to be allocated with the equipment expenses since it should be categorized as hardware purchases.

Hiring the right bookkeeper will support you in managing your cash flow. They also need to be committed in understanding the needs of your business which will help you save time and resources. Ke Wang CPA has a list of the professionally trained bookkeepers that will address your immediate and long-term business goals.