How to Hire a Bookkeeper: Considerations + Free Job Template

Small business owners and solo entrepreneurs may take on bookkeeping tasks themselves, but it can cost a lot in effort and time away from the heart of their business. Being attentive to your business as it’s growing is crucial when it comes to reaching your goals. Luckily, bookkeepers and bookkeeping software are here to take the stress out of daily administrative tasks and sort out that mountain of paperwork. Focus on your business and hire a virtual bookkeeper with QuickBooks Live Bookkeeping.

With their Wave Advisor service, Wave promises to handle your bookkeeping for you, using their free cloud-based accounting software. While pricing starts at $149 per month, it may be difficult to predict how much Wave bookkeeping will cost your business. There are no publically available pricing tiers—you’ll have to book a call with Wave to get a quote. When it comes to the business’s bookkeeping and tax consequences, a small business owner should consider getting advice from a professional to answer the question of “do I need a CPA?

Pros & Cons of Hiring a Bookkeeper

When not working, she enjoys hiking and spending time with her dog. Keeper is the top-rated all-in-one business expense tracker, tax filing service, and personal accountant. This option is often used by small to medium-sized businesses that only need a couple of hours’ worth of bookkeeping every month. A bookkeeper is someone who tracks and records the money going in and out of a business on a daily basis. This article covers what exactly a bookkeeper does, how bookkeepers are different from accountants, and why you might want to consider hiring one.

They can share that information using cloud-based accounting software. That means they can access your financials hire a bookkeeper securely online, from anywhere. It lets them share reports about the financial status of your business.

Firm of the Future

Wave bookkeeping is a good choice if you already use apps from the Wave suite of tools. However, if you stick to a strict budget for your business, Wave may not be for you—it’s hard to predict how much it will cost per month unless you speak with one of their salespeople. Typically, the person must have completed an accounting degree and acquired the minimum required hours in public accounting.

And you’d hire an accountant to handle official reporting and high level business advice. They can also offer day-to-day support for small business owners. In fact a good bookkeeper is your partner in keeping things running smoothly within your business. Bookkeeping covers many different industries, so it’s important to make sure that the person you hire is familiar with the industry your business operates in.

Tax-ready financial statements

These professionals stay updated on accounting regulations and standards. They track financial performances against budgets and make improvement recommendations. This is crucial when devising a training plan template to ensure compliance and accuracy. The Federal Reserve Bank reports that businesses that have good financial records have a much greater chance of securing financing to expand.

To save time, use our free bookkeeper job description template, which you can tweak according to your business needs. And, continue reading for other considerations when you are looking for a bookkeeper. Bookkeeping qualifications do not include formal certifications or licenses. However, certified professionals may enjoy advantages in the job market.

How much does a bookkeeper typically cost?

This typically comes at the end of the financial year, when clients’ books need to be “closed” for tax season. Your bookkeeper may not be able to devote as much attention to your business during this time of year as they normally would. The time a bookkeeper puts into your business is determined by how many transactions you process per month, whether you have employees, and how complex your industry is.

Bookkeeping professionals can do a regular expense review and follow up on overdue payments. Bookkeepers enter data into an accounting system and classify it. They make sure everything is compliant with accounting regulations and standards. If it detects malware, it’s a sign that you either need to beef up your security measures, or hand off the burden of bookkeeping security to a pro. Suppose you just found out that, since your home is more than 50 miles from your place of work, you’re allowed to deduct some of the cost of commuting. More likely, you’ll be caught in an email or phone back-and-forth as the two of you puzzle your way through a year’s worth of uncategorized expenses and income.