by: The Invisible Woman
Part of a new series of blog posts from the Super Heroes on the LMN Support Team.
Many companies often wonder what a bookkeeper does and why one is necessary. Bookkeepers’ key roles include but are not limited to recording daily financial transactions, creating invoices for services rendered, creating and balancing general ledgers and completing payroll duties. These roles are time consuming and require meticulous and detail-oriented eyes to complete daily tasks successfully.
The size of the business and the number of daily transactions dictates the complexity of the bookkeepers role. The larger the business, the more vital it becomes to hire a professional bookkeeper to track and document a business’ transactions. This allows for the business owners or CEOs to focus on other aspects of the business that generates more revenue.
It is one thing to have ideas that generate revenue, but only accurate bookkeeping and ledgering pin down which ideas are indeed profitable. This is where the role of a bookkeeper expands. The added value that a bookkeeper brings goes above and beyond the repetitive work that he/she performs; a bookkeeper will identify and bring to the company’s attention all the areas of the business that can be improved for profitability reasons. A great way to track is using the Accounting Month End Procedures put together by LMN.
For example, a bookkeeper may require official receipts for all transactions that are incurred by employees or staff. Although this may not seem important, a bookkeeper knows the value of keeping official receipts. Along with tracking daily expenses and legitimizing claims, a bookkeeper knows that with an official receipt, the business can claim certain expenses that can’t otherwise be claimed without a receipt. On an official gas receipt, for example, a business can claim taxes if a copy of the receipt is provided (that proves to the government how much taxes was remitted) that otherwise cannot be claimed without a receipt. Use a great checklist for your Accounts Receivable Procedures.
Likewise, there are many aspects of bookkeeping that may seem redundant or fruitless that actually proves beneficial for a company, under the advise of a bookkeeper. As well, since an experienced bookkeeper has likely seen other successful systems in place at other businesses, suggestions to improve certain trends at the current business can be suggested. A bookkeeper brings with him/her a wealth of knowledge and know-hows on how businesses can operate successfully. Suffice to say investing in a bookkeeper is always a great idea to jump start a business’ revenue. Are you ready for this season?
Some great links for your Bookkeeper – AR Checklist
