It’s worth investing in a professional to take care of your bookkeeping for you, so you can focus on other important things. We believe it’s better to choose a firm that already knows your business inside and out!
Firstly, why do you need a bookkeeper?
Running a business requires a lot of time and attention divided across a wide range of responsibilities.
Unfortunately, juggling these responsibilities can mean you don’t have the proper time to dedicate to tasks such as bookkeeping. And it ends up getting put off, and pushed into whatever time you can spare (usually late on a Sunday evening when you’d rather be doing anything else).
But if you don’t attend to your financials properly, it could result in costly errors and inaccuracies.
Such as:
- Data-entry errors
- Lost documentation (such as proof of purchase for expenses)
- Missed opportunities for tax reductions
- Inaccurate calculations
- Books that are out of date
- Payroll delays or inaccuracies
- Late payments to suppliers
- Slow invoicing and increased debtor days – which impacts cash flow
- Fines or compliance issues
- Not using the right software (or overpaying for what you do use)
Bookkeeping for businesses requires a specific skillset, and not every business owner has that skillset (which is perfectly okay). You’re in business because of an idea or skillset that you excel in – not because you know the ins and outs of Quickbooks.
It is also something that is constantly evolving with new rule changes and regulations. If you miss important details or deadlines, you could run into compliance problems, putting your revenue and reputation at risk.
Having a bookkeeper means someone else is taking care of BAS lodgements and reporting. A licensed professional is on top of your employee payroll, and making sure they’re being paid the correct amount of superannuation. You know every balance and reconciliation will be seen by qualified eyes. You don’t have to lose sleep over it.
After a hard week of managing supplier orders, or rescheduling the team roster for the tenth time, or calling your office landlord about that problem that still hasn’t been fixed, the last thing you feel like is putting your bookkeeping hat on. And professional bookkeepers exist so you don’t have to.
Secondly, what is the benefit of using your accounting firm’s in-house bookkeeping team (rather than a third party)?
So, we’ve established the benefits of hiring a bookkeeper.
But, what are the benefits of having your accounting firm take care of your bookkeeping?
- Collaboration – They work under the same roof, so they can easily confer on your financials and discuss the impacts holistically. There are plenty of situations where information from your BAS could impact your year-end tax return, and vice-versa. Effective collaboration can also result in faster turnaround time for you and a bigger tax return.
- You only have to deal with one business for both. There is no need for you to be sending things to and from a third party. Any information we have on file for you is available to your accountant and your bookkeeper.
- Software – We use the best accounting and bookkeeping software for all areas of our business, which means your data is also up-to-date, accurate and secure.
- If you’ve never had a bookkeeper before, the transition is easy – because we already know you and your business.
- We’re on top of all changing legislation across both disciplines. So nothing falls through the cracks and you know you’re compliant across the board.
- Accountants are experts at negotiating with the ATO. And we can negotiate on your behalf on bookkeeping and accounting matters.
- You get benefits beyond just bookkeeping and accounting. We offer business consultations, financial health checks, self-managed super funds, retirement and business planning, asset protection.
- You know you’re supporting a business that hires local talent. We don’t outsource our bookkeeping department, everything is done “in-house”.
- It gives your accountants timely information to work with if the bookkeepers are readily accessible to the whole team. This will ensure they can respond quicker to changes and be more agile if cash flow issues arise, for example.
- You can be fully informed about your financial position, so you can make more informed decisions about your tax and business (there is a huge amount of value in this!).
- If you’re selling your business, you’ll have access to real-time accounts information and cash flow data, which will increase the value of your business. All the systems will already be set up and you’ll have a bookkeeper who takes care of your accounts and is familiar with how the business operates. We can also provide you with the most up-to-date, accurate financial information about your business which can make the sales negotiations run more smoothly.
Same firm, but separate specialities: the winning combination!
One of the concerns some people have with having an accountant complete their bookkeeping, is that accountants don’t necessarily have bookkeeping-specific experience and qualifications.
However, we avoid this issue by having a dedicated bookkeeping department made up of qualified and experienced bookkeepers, that do just that. Our accountants are accountants and our bookkeepers are bookkeepers. They each have their own speciality, expertise and qualifications. But with the benefits of working under the same roof and being able to collaborate and confer on your financials to achieve the best results for you.
We know your books, why not let us keep them for you? As your accountant, we understand how you like to do things. So we can tailor our bookkeeping services to your specific needs.
All our Bookkeepers are also Xero Certified, so you know you’re in qualified hands!
We recently merged our practice and Aintree Group provided sensible and professional advice throughout the process.
We also work closely with Sue from the Bookkeeping department and have found her to have an exceptional understanding of our industry and our ongoing requirements, which has been a huge benefit to our business. Sue has an excellent work ethic, is diligent, professional and a pleasure to work with.
We highly recommend Aintree Group and their Bookkeeping services.
Anthony Bourke
