Accounting

A new client recently told me of the problems he had trying to find a good bookkeeper and I thought it was a topic that may be worth sharing with you here.

When you get to the point in a new business venture that keeping the books yourself becomes an intolerable extra burden on already stretched time resources, how do you source, test, trial and finally secure someone to do the bookkeeping for you?

Do you - trust to picking the right advert in the yellow pages? listen to another business person about their bookkeeper? jump on the first person you come across that shows an interest in bookkeeping? ask your accountant? (If you have one), look for a bookkeeping institute website for member information? advertise yourself? ask one of you members of staff to deal with it?

I had not really considered it from a business persons view before but now I have, I can see the difficulties you face when tackling such an important decision.

Important decision I hear you ask? Yes.. IMPORTANT!

Your business records are the cornerstone of your business. You are legally obliged to keep them in the first place, keep them up to date in the second place, and have them as the main defense when the Tax Office or VAT Office come calling. Your bank manager will also either be impressed if you keep your books well and support you when you ask, or will run a mile when you look for an overdraft or loan simply because he cannot see any sense or method in your business due to your lack of quality records.

Neat and accurate records represent a good quality business, and untidy, incomplete records show your overall approach to your business - untidy, unreliable and confused.

A good bookkeeper is therefore VITAL to your business - but how do you find such a beast??

My best advice is to search Google and go the the website of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.

This is because you cannot take any chances with people dabbling with your records. Each member of this institute has proven themselves in examination that they have a solid knowledge and understanding of bookkeeping and all associated issues. You can trust each member to act in a professional manner and keep your detailed, personal information completely confidential.

You can rest assured that the Tax Office and VAT Office will have no chance of undermining any records kept by a member and your bank manager will be seriously impressed.

Why take a chance on such a important job being left to Auntie Joan, or Fred in sales just because they say they can work a computer bookkeeping package? There is simply no substitute for experience!

Any ICB qualified bookkeeper will be a significant asset to your business and far outweigh their cost with the service they provide.

-Ray

Ray Stewart is the MD of Coalville Business Services Limited. He writes articles and reports about bookkeeping and business growth strategies, the two areas of business he is most passionate about. His bookkeeping business website is at http://expertbookkeeping.info and is a free resource for people looking for simple answers to bookkeeping questions and a chance to speak to him for free if you can’t find the answer you are looking for. You can also visit his private blog at http://raystewart.biz and subscribe to the RSS feed there to keep right up to date.