I was recently contacted by a prospect who has been having some trouble with their current bookkeeper not doing the work timely. I explained that we do an evaluation of the books to see if there are any problems before we move forward. Upon review, I found lots of issues with the books that an expert would not make. There are so many issues that it may be more cost effective to scrap what she has and start fresh as of January 2013.
Because of the economy, many are taking jobs they may not be qualified to do. Some business owners who are hiring bookkeepers don’t know what questions to ask or what to look for when hiring someone to do this work. And even those who do may be misled by someone’s statements of experience. Just because someone has done data entry doesn’t mean they understand bookkeeping.
If you are looking for a bookkeeper, you need to make sure you are hiring an expert. They are not going to be the least expensive, so if you are shopping by price, you won’t pick them. However, think of the cost of having a poor set of books. If your bookkeeping is not accurate, you may not get all of the tax deductions you qualify for, or your income may be overstated. If your CPA has to make corrections in order to file the tax return, it is going to cost more as his/her billing rates will most likely be higher than a bookkeeping company. When you do realize the need for a good set of books, the clean-up will most likely cost more than having it done correctly in the first place.
When looking for a bookkeeper, here are some questions to ask:
- What credentials do you have? (Not everyone will have an accounting degree, but they may be certified bookkeepers, etc.)
- What experience do you have? How long have you been in business?
- What bookkeeping experience did you have before you began your own business? (This is good information for those who recently started their own company.)
- Ask them how they would handle a specific scenario in your business
- Ask for client testimonials (If they do a good job, clients will be happy to say so.)
When looking for a bookkeeper, the value of accurate information is much more important than the amount of money it costs you to get the work done. Please keep this in mind when making your decision.