Bookkeeping Benefits for Small Business, Sole Traders, and Startups

Thinking about hiring a bookkeeper for your small business or startup? Smart move. But money is often tight for tradies or sole traders, so the big question is whether it’s worth the extra expense, especially as the books are a cost most of us think we can absorb.

Registered BAS agents and bookkeepers are legitimate ‘Number Whisperers.’ Having their eyes across your accounts will ultimately save you, not just financially but time, frustration, confusion, and even potential conflict. Do you want to tell your business partner the Ute has to wait?

Your books tell a story that bookkeepers can read better than you, your partner or that generous mate could ever interpret. They are trained to clarify profit and loss statements, decode bank reconciliations, calculate payroll deposits and decipher tax returns to maximise your claims. And that’s just the beginning. Deep dive examinations of financial transactions or audits do not intimidate them. Their alphabet is numerical!

Bookkeepers Make Sense

Certified Australian bookkeepers can offer a multitude of services and management options and they know more than anyone - time is money.

1.Play To Your Strengths

Whether you are in the throes of establishing a startup, pivoting to keep your small business afloat, or facing the inconsistency of tradie worksites in a COVID-normal world, more than likely you are completely absorbed in the day-to-day operations of your business, as you should be.

At the end of a complicated and exhausting week, the last thing you want to think about is paperwork, balancing books, and stressing about cash flow. In this frame of mind are you really seeing the big picture? Are you getting a true sense of where you’re at, what needs immediate attention, and what’s coming down the road? Your bookkeeper can.

2. Respect Know-How

Not many founders, bosses, or tradies have backgrounds in bookkeeping basics. They are experts in their own fields. Don’t you want that same level of expertise when it comes to your books? Consider the effectiveness of a qualified bookkeeper equipped with the latest knowledge, education, and technology to manage the financial side of your business. The stress of cash flow, payroll, and tax returns evaporate and you get back precious time and energy to focus on what you know.

3.Fresh Eyes On Your Prize

We all want to believe we are objective when it comes to running our own business, however, a bookkeeper might be the impartial pair of eyes that your operation truly needs. Their objectivity across monthly reports, quarterly BAS, aged debt, or even debt collection might be the perspective that takes your business to the next level or prevents looming disaster.

4.Experience Equals Efficiency

We all believe we’re going to pay suppliers on time, process that Carers Leave for the 2IC, generate and issue customer invoices… oh, and before logging off… update your brilliant new employee’s information! It can get overwhelming and the instinct is to put it all on the back burner.

It just makes business sense to have a data-smart bookkeeper diligently working away in the background so there are no forgotten payments, no misallocation (or misappropriation) of funds, no surprise expenses. Nor do you have to stay up-to-date with the latest convoluted ATO practices as your bookkeeper will be 100% informed and compliant.

5. Work-Life Balance

Don’t negate the blood, sweat, and tears that went into creating your startup or the job of your dreams because you had zero time to enjoy the life it inspired. Professional payroll services, small business invoicing management, or end-of-financial-year preparation and lodgement are just a few of the hassles that qualified bookkeeping professionals can resolve for you. Don’t drown in paperwork. Respect your efforts by enjoying the rewards.

4.Invest In Your Own Business

All this expertise is within arm’s reach. Cloud-based accounting software means all you need is a phone and an internet connection and your bookkeeper does the rest. You don’t need to chase local bookkeepers as most are familiar with virtual environments.

Bookkeepers are in the business of keeping you in business. They see your success as their success, so an investment in their services demonstrates an investment in your own business. We like those numbers.