As recently as 10-15 years ago, as a small business you would most likely picture your Bookkeeper as someone writing in great big hardback A3 ledgers, in various colour pens, whilst furiously tapping away on their calculator, excitedly shouting “I balanced it” at various points through the day.

Today’s computer environment has changed all that, and although we have clients who still keep what we class as “manual” records, we very rarely see “The Books” these days. More frequently, we see bookkeeping records kept using spreadsheets, or other computer generated documents.

With the sudden and rapid evolution of computers, almost everyone now uses their computer more and more, so it is a natural progression that you would want to keep your records yourself.  This sounds like a good idea in principal, not only from a cost saving point of view, but it also gives you a much better understanding of the financial position of your business if you keep on top of the numbers yourself.

All good ideas come with drawbacks though, and it’s worth considering the following points if you already keep your own books, or are thinking about starting to do so.

1. How much time are you spending doing the record keeping?

You are probably either adding to the time you actually spend at work / home carrying out this work, or you are not doing the other jobs in the business that you could be doing in the time spent on the books; maybe bringing in extra sales, training staff etc. Every hour really adds up!

It’s also likely that a good bookkeeper will prepare your records in an accurate and precise fashion, in a fraction of the time it will take you, as your expertise will lie elsewhere in the business.

2. Are you bookkeeping in a format that is going to be useful to your accountant at year end to produce the accounts?

You may well keep a great record from your perspective, but what your accountant may actually need may be totally different. This could mean that they have to re-do the work anyway, and you will be charged more than you would have paid in the first place.

3. Are you confident that you know what you can and can’t claim for, and how to treat certain unusual items?

It’s considered that a Bookkeeper in their professional capacity would have good up to date knowledge as legislation changes etc, and would be offering you their experience and knowledge as well as just doing the number crunching.

4. Do you know what to do with the numbers, after you add them up?

Getting the numbers down and adding them up is one thing, but now do you actually know how to interpret them, and use them in your business to increase your profits? Can you tell if there are patterns and trends emerging that could assist your business growth? A good bookkeeper will naturally see these things as they happen, and bring them to your attention as part of their role.

In a nutshell, not employing a bookkeeper could be costing you more than you think in time, effort and unnecessary mistakes.

We have combined experience of over 80 years in this area, and we can look after your bookkeeping. We will not only crunch the numbers, but provide you with a first class level of professional service, pointing out the things you wouldn’t think to ask about.  We will assist your day to day running of the business and increase your profitability. And we are far less expensive than you may think! If you would like us to come and see you for a free, no obligation overview of your current bookkeeping process, just get in touch.

[email protected]

Tel: 01656 729488