A Certified Bookkeeper Helps Your Business Run Better
Bookkeeping is a critical task for any business. It ensures that bills are paid on time, invoices are accurate and sent in a timely manner, and everyone gets their paycheck. Without good bookkeeping, financial records can fall into disarray, and your business can inadvertently wind up with a costly, time-consuming mess that jeopardizes your credit rating. So we’d like to share the top 4 reasons to hire a certified bookkeeper and how that decision might benefit your small business.
Hiring a certified bookkeeper is an easy way to ensure your financial records are accurate and prevent costly financial errors. A bookkeeping professional with certification has demonstrated that they’re proficient with all aspects of bookkeeping, adhere to accepted best practices for bookkeeping, and possess the qualifications necessary to manage your books. And hiring a certified bookkeeper may be one of your best investments.
At Accounting Meister, we invest in professional certifications to demonstrate our commitment to excellence and our expertise in accounting, bookkeeping, and accounting software like QuickBooks®. We can help you with your bookkeeping needs, whether you want to hire a certified bookkeeper, need bookkeeping training or tutoring, or want to work with a trusted virtual bookkeeping service. Contact us for more details.
What Is a Certified Bookkeeper?
A certified bookkeeper has taken the time to study and pass a rigorous, multi-part examination designed to test their knowledge of standard bookkeeping practices. When a bookkeeper achieves a Certified Bookkeeper (CB) designation from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) or Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) designation from the National Association of Certified Bookkeepers (NACPB), you can depend on them to have a thorough, working knowledge of essential bookkeeping principles and functions.
While these two certifications are considered the gold standard for bookkeeping professionals, bookkeepers may also have certifications in various types of accounting software, like QuickBooks®. Businesses who need an online bookkeeper also may want their bookkeeper to have ProAdvisor certification on QuickBooks® Online.
How Are Certified Bookkeepers Different From Accountants?
Bookkeepers deal with a business’s day-in and day-out needs, like A/R, A/P, and invoicing. An accountant generally deals with big-picture thinking and can provide insight into patterns, trends, and growth potential. Accountants also work on more complex financial documents, like P&L statements or corporate tax returns.
A certified bookkeeper is highly knowledgeable about every aspect of standard bookkeeping, but they don’t do in-depth analysis or forecasting like an accountant. While the two fields are intertwined and share portions of a common knowledge base, bookkeepers are more attuned to the day-to-day financial needs of a business.
At Accounting Meister, we can help you understand the basics of bookkeeping or accounting with training and tutorials that will bolster your knowledge of these essential functions. Contact us for more information on our independent training and self-paced QuickBooks® tutorials, as well as our individual tutoring.
Why Is Bookkeeping Certification Important?
“Bookkeeper” is often a broad term applied to anyone connected to maintaining a business’s books – whether they have received formal training from an accredited institution or not. Challenges can arise when the tasks these individuals must perform exceed the limits of their knowledge. When people receive on-the-job training on a business’s books, they may or may not learn laws, regulations, and industry best practices that apply to managing a business’s books.
With a certified bookkeeper, you don’t have to wonder if a person has gaps in their knowledge. You can be confident that they’re well-qualified for any bookkeeping tasks you may need to be done, such as accruals, deferrals, adjustments, depreciation, payroll, and fraud protection.
4 Reasons Why You Should Hire a Certified Bookkeeper
Hiring a Certified Bookkeeper Frees Up Personnel
Successful businesses have financial activity on most days, whether they’re paying bills, depositing checks from customers, or issuing paychecks. Without a certified bookkeeper, you may be relying on assembling an ad hoc bookkeeping crew from your existing administrative staff. In all likelihood, your team already has their hands full with regular duties, so adding expense reporting or tracking a petty cash fund to their plates may result in poor quality work.
Even if your team has the time for additional tasks, they may not have the know-how. And when bookkeeping duties wind up with business owners or other managers, it invariably takes away time from things like team building, cultivating customer relationships, and strategic planning. A certified bookkeeper knows how to handle all standard bookkeeping functions, and hiring one will free others to work on the things they do best.
At Accounting Meister, bookkeeping and accounting services are the focus of our business. You never have to worry about dealing with under-trained personnel when you work with us.
Reduce Small Business Bookkeeping Errors
Accuracy is the key to good bookkeeping, and when you hire a certified bookkeeper, you’re working with a tested professional. You’re far less likely to find accounting errors with a certified bookkeeper than with an uncertified person. A certified bookkeeper understands how to perform tasks like double-entry accounting, which ensures that your books are maintained correctly. To keep their certification, certified bookkeepers must be re-certified annually, so they’re consistently staying abreast of the latest news, rules, regulations, and best practices.
Limit Access to Sensitive Records
Financial records hold a tremendous amount of personal, privileged information about a business, from your EIN to your customers, your bank account and balance, and credit card accounts. Payroll records may contain social security numbers and other sensitive employee information. Limiting access to these records is the best way to ensure they stay secure.
When you hire a certified bookkeeper, you can rely on them to understand the importance of protecting sensitive information. In many cases, when they assume control of the books, no one else has a reason to access these types of records. This automatically reduces the chances that protected data will be viewed, stolen, or accidentally released.
Keep Your Financial Information Organized and Accessible
Bookkeepers are well-known for their attention to detail and devotion to being organized. When you hire a certified bookkeeper, you’ll be taking a vital step towards making sure you can access financial records and reports at any time. With their impressive understanding of how to set up and maintain accurate books, certified bookkeepers are one of the best ways to ensure your business keeps accurate, orderly records.
At Accounting Meister, we’re dedicated to helping people with their bookkeeping and accounting needs. We provide these services for small and medium-sized businesses, and we offer tutoring, training, and consulting to help individuals learn about these crucial functions. Contact us today for information, or schedule a free, 15-minute consultation.
