Is a Bookkeeper Necessary? Firstly, what is it they do?
A bookkeeper’s job is to enter your transactions into an accounting system, as well as categorise, review and reconcile them. The reason this is important in business, is so that you, the business owner can see where you are spending and making money. It’s the basis on which you make most of your business decisions.
A bookkeeper can also handle accounts payable (billing) and accounts receivable (invoicing), helping you keep control of your incoming and outgoing money.
Every business needs bookkeeping. Some business owners even have a go at tackling this themselves. However, you, the savvy business owner, know you need to focus on what you’re good at. We see it all too often, without a bookkeeper you could end up:
- Becoming too busy to concentrate on other parts of your business (like selling, creating, or growing)
- Getting behind on getting your money owed, into the business
- Being late getting your invoices out in time
- Keeping your invoices and bills in a box right until the end of the year
- Not having the knowledge about your accounts to make valuable business decisions
- Having no idea on what you’re spending or making
- Having a nightmare of a time when it comes to getting your paperwork together for end of year.
- Spending too much time on bookkeeping, rather then getting on with the business
All this can be fixed so easily, and economically with a bookkeeper.
In just a few hours a month, a dedicated bookkeeper can handle these functions for you. The time spent depends on the size and complexity of your business. You will have regular updates as to your profit and loss statement and balance sheet. This frees you up to spending more time on actually running your business, generating real value and revenue.
Imagine what else you could be getting on with while your bookkeeper gets these important elements taken care of. Getting bogged down in your company bookkeeping could be costing you a huge amount in revenue, not only because you could be concentrating on making more profit, but also because you’ll have the insight at your fingertips to make those important growth decisions.
Look at how much your time is valued at, and how much you could be losing by getting bogged down in your bookkeeping. It makes business sense for so many reasons.
Advantages to having a bookkeeper
Keeping in touch with your financial position – your books are kept regularly up to date, meaning that at any point in the year, you have your finger on the pulse of exactly where your business is.
Financial Reports
Profit and loss statement – which summarises the revenues, costs, and expenses incurred during a specified period
Balance sheet – statement of a business’s assets, liabilities and shareholders equity
These ensure you can make those all important decisions based on up to date information. It also helps when you’re looking to raise capital to expand
Payroll
This is a headache that many business owners do not want. There is so much to think about here, for instance:
- Sick Pay and SSP
- Salary Calculations
- National Insurance Payments
- Pension Contributions
- PAYE Payments (and due dates)
- Payslips
- P60’s
- P45’s
- Auto Enrolment & Pension Contributions
Having a bookkeeper take care of this is a very easy option.
HMRC filing
Having this done accurately and on time is very important. No one wants the headache of incorrect, or late accounts when it comes to HMRC, so it’s important to have the peace of mind that this is all done properly.
And finally, where do you find a good bookkeeper?
Swann Systems obviously! We have the support you need, whether you need full Servicing from processing to filing, or minimal Servicing with support options , we work with you to keep your business on track. Get in touch today to see how we can help you.
