Did you know that being organized is a skill? In a business setting, if the business owner is disorganized with the financial records of the company, this could not only affect the entrepreneur and the corporation but different parties as well such as: investors, consumers, and the BIR. Being able to provide information regarding the financial status of the company to investors is important since this could impact the cash flow of the business. If you do not provide information to the BIR and government agencies, this could result in receiving penalties which is a hassle. Now, do you have an idea of what we are talking about? Being cautious about the company’s financial records and organizing it – is the job of a bookkeeper. But first, what is the job description of a bookkeeper? A bookkeeper is an accounting professional that is responsible for maintaining and recording financial transactions of a company. Without a bookkeeper in your company, this can result in being careless with different financial transactions in your corporation. For some, they confuse an accountant with a bookkeeper, well an accountant uses the information compiled by the bookkeeper in order to prepare financial reports. The question is – Is it really worth it to hire a bookkeeper or not? Can you just record all the transactions by yourself? Let’s find out.
In order to find out if it is worth it to hire a bookkeeper or not, let us understand the pros and cons of hiring a bookkeeper:
PROS:
- Bookkeepers give you more time to prioritize your business – Being a business owner is not easy since you multitask such as overlooking your operations, marketing, etc. To be straightforward, handling financial tasks is not easy, that is why you hire a bookkeeper for them to do it for you and to make your business life easier. In this way, you can focus on running your business without thinking of any backlogs in your financial duties.
- Bookkeepers can track your finances – Some entrepreneurs are not accounting specialists, where they do not know complicated accounting terms, well do not worry since bookkeepers are here to do that for you. Bookkeepers are there to accurately maintain and oversee your finances so that when tax season is already there, you won’t have a hard time cramming and fixing your financial statements. In this way, you could have a peace of mind knowing that you have a bookkeeper to fix that all for you.
- Bookkeepers are there to guide you – One of the main reasons to hire a bookkeeper is because they can walk you through the process of your financial statements. Not only will they do the job for you, but you can also learn from them.
CONS:
- Hiring a bookkeeper is not for free – Of course when hiring professionals, you would need to pay them in exchange for their service. It can be quite expensive for a business owner since their salaries and benefits should be considered also.
- If your business is small, it is not necessary to hire a bookkeeper – If you have small transactions per month, you do not need a bookkeeper since you can handle it on your own. But, you may hire one just in case you do not know any accounting softwares or processes and just to train you.
- Learning new softwares with different bookkeepers – This is a disadvantage if you are most likely switching bookkeepers in the long run. It is important to stay with just one bookkeeper in order to just learn from one person rather than confusing yourself with multiple bookkeepers.
Now, with these advantages and disadvantages of hiring a bookkeeper, is it worth it to hire one? Can you really do all the financial statements by yourself? If you are a business owner that is organized and detailed with every transaction you are dealing with, you can handle bookkeeping on your own since you have the characteristics of a good bookkeeper. But, if you are disorganized with every settlement that you make and have no knowledge of bookkeeping systems and processes, it is better for you to hire a bookkeeper. Based on these facts given, will you hire a bookkeeper or not? Think about it.