Every business, whether large or small, can benefit from the assistance of a professional bookkeeping service. The exact role of that bookkeeping service may vary according to the size and needs of the business, but they are an integral part of the process nonetheless. By working with a professional service you can prevent wasted time, save money, and focus on more important aspects of growing your company.
So many companies try to handle their own bookkeeping completely in-house while they are still small. And while it may work, for the time being, it slows business down considerably and greatly reduces efficiency. Furthermore, records are rarely properly maintained, which leads to poor business decisions in the future.
Instead of taking this questionable route, you should focus on finding the best bookkeeper Melbourne has to offer from day one. But how do you know which Melbourne bookkeeper is right for your business?
What Day-To-Day Services Do They Offer?
As with any paid service, there are some service providers interested in making as much money as possible by providing as few services as needed. That’s the exact opposite of what you would expect from a company that claims to have the best bookkeeper Melbourne has to offer. The best bookkeepers will offer a list of day-to-day services, though you may only require one or two of them.
Some of the standard services you should absolutely expect to be offered by your bookkeeper include daily entries, invoicing, statements, budget preparation, budget monitoring, reconciliations, financial statement preparation, management reporting, monthly business performance reviews, and annual budget reviews.
It’s entirely possible that your business will not need some of these services at first, but it’s important that they offered. As your small business grows you will need the additional services in the future. You want to be able to stay with the same bookkeeper rather than finding a new service provider as your company expands.
Do They Use The Cloud?
Cloud accounting has been one of the most significant advancements in the field in the past several decades. Unfortunately, there are still a number of bookkeeping and accounting services that have yet to move forward with this new technology. If you’re interested in finding the best bookkeeper for your business, then you need a bookkeeper who can work with the latest technology.
With the use of cloud accounting software hosted on remote servers, the best accounting companies can over their services in a fashion similar to the software as a service(SaaS) model. The advantages of this model are reduced overhead, easier upgrades, and improved data security. It means that all of the necessary work and equipment is kept out of your place of business, thus saving your valuable space and resources.
With a cloud accounting approach, the necessary data is sent from your business to the accounting firm via computer each day. All of the work is handled off-site at the accounting firm by qualified employees using the latest software. The finalised reports are then sent back to the company as needed.
Only basic applications will be installed on your work computers and none of the accounting functions are handled at your place of business.
This also adds several layers of additional security to the process. First, all of the data should be backed up at the accounting firm and there should be a disaster recovery protocol in place. If something happens to the computers or network at your place of business, all of your accounting data will remain safe and secure. Finally, the best bookkeeping companies will always utilise the latest and most powerful digital security measures.
Do They Support Your Software?
Most small businesses already have preferred accounting programs that they have been using to track their financial information. The best Bookkeeper Melbourne has to offer will support the major brands so that you aren’t forced to change your software preferences because of the bookkeeper.
Most major accounting firms should at least support Quickbooks, Xero, and MYOB. When choosing the right bookkeeper for your business, make sure they support the software that you are already using.
Use of the major brands like Quickbooks makes it much easier to find an accounting firm that will support your software. If you haven’t already chosen an accounting software, then starting with one of the three previously mentioned is a great choice. They offer a large number of features and cloud accounting capabilities.
Getting Back To What’s Important
Bookkeeping is a time consuming and stressful task for most people. It’s even worse if you’re trying to run a business while also keeping up with the books. The more time you spend focusing on accounting, the less time you can spend focusing on your core business needs.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that bookkeeping should be ignored. Instead, you should let a third-party professional bookkeeping service handle it for you so that you can get back to what’s important: growing your business.
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