New business startups face a lot of challenges in their initial stages. One of the primary issues they deal with is bookkeeping and accounting. Without a professional bookkeeper, the financial recording is haphazard. Mismanagement of transaction data and financial records leads to losses that businesses can’t overcome.
Fortunately, bookkeeping services for small businesses are now available to provide startups with the right guidance in accounting and recording transactions. They regularly update the financial records and provide annual, monthly, and even bi-weekly reports.
A trusted bookkeeper will present the true financial condition of your business, helping you to make better decisions related to funds, investments, and expenses.
Finding a professional bookkeeper for your startup
To find a bookkeeper, it is always advised to start by asking your contacts if they are availing the services of a professional one. Hiring a bookkeeper through a reference ensures that people already trust the person or firm providing bookkeeping services for small businesses.
What Does a Bookkeeper Do?Know the job descriptions of Bookkeeper in Canada
In Canada, trusted bookkeepers can be hard to find. To hire someone for bookkeeping in Etobicoke, you can ask for references and conduct your own research. If you are not getting the right match through a reference, the sole responsibility depends on your shoulders.
There are a few factors you need to consider before finding a professional bookkeeper for your startup. It will ensure that an experienced individual or firm is managing your financial transactions and they meet your requirements.
Bookkeeping requirements
Before finding a bookkeeper, it is a good practice to identify the activities your bookkeeper will perform. Are you hiring someone just for calculating your taxes or a full-time bookkeeper to maintain your financial transactions?
There are specialists for every accounting activity, and they use various accounting software for managing them. Once you identify why you need to hire bookkeeping in Etobicoke for your business, you can start looking at the right place and for the right people.
Business understanding
A bookkeeper keeps your startups accurate and updated.
The professional bookkeeper you hire must have a complete understanding of the business you operate and the industry you work in. You must ensure that the bookkeeper can run along with your business. He or she must understand who you bill, where do you spend most of your money, what are the sources of income, etc.
Often, an incomplete understanding of the business results in costly errors. Hiring bookkeeping services for small businesses becomes easy when the bookkeeper knows what the pace of transactions in your startup is. Assuming any financial transaction can lead to inconsistent accounting and recording.
Bookkeeping expertise
One of the primary factors to assess is the expertise of the professional bookkeeper you are hiring. If you are hiring an all-in-one bookkeeping specialist, tell them all the financial activities of your business and how the bookkeeper can manage them. You must ask questions about different types of accounts to ensure that the person has appropriate knowledge.
In today’s technologically advanced world, bookkeeping in Mississauga also requires the use of accounting software. Ask the person or firm you are hiring whether they can work with the software you use for bookkeeping. It is a big plus point to hire someone who has already worked with your bookkeeping software.
Communication skills
When you hire a professional bookkeeper, you must always find someone with excellent communication skills. The bookkeeper must be able to communicate financial information without using any accounting jargon. You must ensure that the bookkeeper can provide their insights from financial data and communicate them with all the stakeholders.
The bookkeeper should educate you on financial ideas that you are unfamiliar with. Often, the stakeholders in the startup are not aware of technical, financial terms. While hiring someone who provides bookkeeping services for small business, confirm that the person is willing to educate you and walk you through new and necessary concepts of accounting.
Commitment to work
You must hire a bookkeeper who shows commitment to work and your business. Startups usually have frequent transactions of income and expenses. The bookkeeper must be flexible and available at any time you need them. You must find someone who doesn’t stick to their 9 to 5 routine but is ready to take on bookkeeping tasks as and when the need arises.
During various times in a year, when there is a massive outflow of money, the bookkeeper needs to be on their toes. Always ask the professional bookkeeper if he or she is ready to work long hours and get busy for days. Of course, it also means that the bookkeeper would not be required to do work at seasons when there are low transactions.
Few tips for hiring a bookkeeper in Ontario
Hiring a trusted bookkeeper requires careful analysis because the person or firm will manage and record the entire accounting aspect of your business. For instance, in Etobicoke, Mississauga, and surrounding areas there are several bookkeeping services for small businesses, but professionals are rare. Here are a few tips for hiring a professional bookkeeper that will save you tons of money and effort –
Hire a local bookkeeper or firm whom you can meet whenever necessary. If you are hiring someone full-time, it will be easier for them to commute to work and be available whenever you need their services.
It is recommended to hire a contractual professional bookkeeper because it will save you the cost of hiring someone full time. Most businesses do not have regular transactions and can work with a contractual bookkeeper.
You should find a bookkeeper who has a finance or accounting related degree. It will ensure that you are hiring bookkeeping services for small businesses from an expert. Degree holders are trained professionals, and they know all the ins and outs of accounting.
Finding the right bookkeeper ensures that your accounting records are in safe hands. Professional bookkeepers will find anomalies that are invisible to the untrained eye. He or she will provide valuable insights from your financial information and present actionable steps from the accounting reports.
