What is a Bookkeeper - The SMB Guide

"Being entrepreneurial doesn't end at starting a business; it means constantly striving to perfect your business model and quickly and continually adapting to change," Forbes.

As a scrappy young startup, or relatively new SMB, your business finances are undoubtedly at the top of your priority list. Without running a fiercely lean budget these days even the most innovative entrepreneurs have a hard time making it.

Managing business costs can feel like a full-time job on its own; from managing utility accounts, paying rent for industrial or office space, paying employee wages and salaries, equipment expenses, licenses, permits, insurance, taxes, advertising, marketing, all the way to maintenance, the list feels seemingly endless. Understanding a few basics about bookkeeping and accounting services will ensure your company can select an adequate solution for all of your financial needs.

What is a bookkeeper and what do they do?

1. A bookkeeper is someone who keeps financial records of your businesses affairs, balances your company budget, and manages customer accounts.
2. Bookkeepers and accounting professionals assist companies when dealing with professional vendors, attorneys, bankers, and tax professionals.

If you can't help but envision an old lady wearing glasses penciling in numbers into her beat-up old accounting book when you hear the term bookkeeper, you're not alone. Unfortunately, it's not just about balancing the checkbooks, filling in the charts, and crunching the numbers these days. And, just as the business world has undergone a massive transformation, so has the world of accounting and bookkeeping.

Now companies can benefit from virtual bookkeeping, more accurate financial reporting, and smarter software solutions:

1. Virtual Bookkeeping: Online bookkeeping allows companies to receive the same benefits as an in-house accountant, while utilizing the most up-to date software and tools available.
2. Financial Reporting: Thorough financial reports ensure a reliable reporting system resulting in more accurate analysis.
3. Comprehensive Accounting Software Program: A complete accounting software program and service should enable companies to accurately forecast cash-flow, manage labor costs, generate variable and fixed expense reports, and plan for debt paying and reduction.

Young startup companies can easily get lost in the over-whelming world of accounting and make simple errors that can have significant financial effects; leading them to hemorrhage money, and believe their business is not capable of being profitable or successful. Wasteful spending is typically not an error most SMBs even realize they are making. Proper accounting practices will provide visibility into all areas of the business, decreasing the likelihood of costly mistakes. Therefore, companies can easily identify if their products or services are priced too low, the goods they are depending on are priced too high, if salaries don't match employee productivity, and can assist them in establishing creative solutions to improve the company's bottom-line.

What accounting services will do for your business:

1. Improve collections,
2. Make your company more profitable,
3. Maximize company cash,
4. Save your staff time,
5. Make year-end financial reporting easy,
6. Ensure that you are paying the correct amount of taxes, filing the smartest way for your business, and making sure you're sending out the proper tax forms,
7. Advise you on deductions and business expenses,
8. Make audits worry free,
9. Help you make sense of complicated financial statements, laws, and regulations, and
10. Manage accounts payable, and receivable.

Many young companies pay more than their fair share of taxes in fear of the IRS, miss out on yearly rebates and refunds, over-pay for goods and services, and hemorrhage money through simple mistakes and human error. With such incredibly competitive markets, over-paying just isn't a feasible option, and running your SMB on a lean budget is essential to your long-term success. Making your company successful goes hand-in-hand with protecting yourself, your business, and company assets, contact us for a robust accounting solution that can make your business more profitable and successful today.