I recently read as blog post by Melanie Power who is the Director – Power Finance and Head of Bookkeeping at the online bookkeeping software company, Xero. In her article, she discussed 6 tips on how to work well with your bookkeeper and let them know you appreciate them. Here is what she had to say:
How’s your relationship with your bookkeeper? Are you best friends? Do you only speak once a year?
Your relationship with your bookkeeper should be on your priority list. In fact, your bookkeeper should be your closest confidant and biggest ally in business.
Too many small business owners have an on-again-off-again relationship with a financial advisor. But, according to a recent study conducted by Xero, more than 65 percent of failed entrepreneurs blamed financial issues for their downfall. Forming a strong relationship with a bookkeeper can make the difference between success and failure.
Beyond organizing your financial information, bookkeepers can help with putting the “words behind the numbers” and tell you the story about what is really going on in the life of your business, plus also liaise with your tax preparer to assist with compliance. Plus, an experienced bookkeeper who’s familiar with your business can help you navigate many nuances, like your operational systems and cloud integration with apps to help create efficiencies.
But the path to a productive experience with a bookkeeper starts with building a foundation for a long-term relationship, not settling for compliance or audit. Here are six tips for getting your relationship off on the right foot:
1. Get organized
Don’t walk into your first meeting with a bookkeeper with scraps of paper, unopened envelopes and illegible receipts. You’ll ultimately save energy and money if you spend a little extra time upfront: organize paperwork and set up your business on online banking and cloud-based money management tools. If you’re paying a bookkeeper by the hour, it will make it easier for them to work efficiently and it will give her a clearer window into your business.
In the next post, I’ll discuss three more tips to make it easy to work with your bookkeeper. Stay tuned!
