Get the Most out of Your Bookkeeping Team

You and your bookkeeper have a symbiotic relationship. You create the numbers, the bookkeeper sorts and manages them.

A great bookkeeper just wants to make your finances a thing of beauty, and you just want to spend your time focusing on what really matters: growing your business.

Your accountant wants a clean set of books delivered to them on time, and in order, so they can prepare your tax returns efficiently. A great bookkeeper puts a smile on your accountant’s face, and increases the likelihood of a reduction in your annual bill.

The best kind of bookkeeping relationship is one of mutual trust and agreed upon expectations. Especially that last one.

How to Build a Great Bookkeeping Relationship

We’ve already built a great team for you. Here’s how to work with them:

Communication

A great bookkeeper needs solid information in order to line your numbers up like good little soldiers, and have them march for your accountant. Don’t leave us hanging - respond to questions, emails, and requests for documents as soon as you can. Delays can cost you money in the time that it takes for a bookkeeper to continuously follow up, and to reopen your file again and again.

We’re also responsible for responding to you in the same quick and helpful way.

Receipts, Receipts, Receipts

We cannot stress this enough. Find a way to get every single receipt and statement to your bookkeeper (ask us! we have ideas!). Whether you scan them, save them in a shared Dropbox or Google drive, upload them to HubDoc, or take pictures of them, find a way to get your bookkeeper easy access, as soon as possible.

Getting your receipts and statements in time helps your bookkeeper do their job on time, saving you money in the long run. When a receipt is received and verified, your bookkeeper can record the GST Input Tax Credit correctly, reducing the amount of tax you need to submit.

Not only does this reduce the amount you pay to the government and fill your bookkeeper with JOY, it also reduces the amount of time your accountant may have to spend adjusting your “uncategorized income and expense” items at the end of your fiscal year.

Don’t Mess with the Software

It’s so easy to just open up your account and start making changes. Why not? You own it, and it’s your business. But you could be confusing your bookkeeper. If you just can’t help yourself, drop your bookkeeper an email, letting them know what you’ve done so they aren’t desperately trying to make sense of a software program that appears to have gone rogue.

The time spent figuring out what you’ve done - and fixing anything that was entered incorrectly - unfortunately costs you money as well. If you see that anything has gone sideways, just get in touch with your bookkeeper and ask for an explanation.

Tools!

Here are just a few of the tools we love using  on the Admin Slayer bookkeeping team:

Quickbooks Online https://quickbooks.intuit.ca

Available anytime, as long as you have internet access, this program is fabulous for solopreneurs, internet businesses, and consultants. It grabs data directly from your bank account, sends invoices to your clients, and receives payments directly. You can add it to your phone for real time updates, and can share access with your bookkeeper, accountant, and business partners.

HubDoc  https://www.hubdoc.com

HubDoc uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to analyze your receipts and documents for usable data. You can use the phone application or a simple email to upload your documents to HubDoc, which it then converts into digital files. It will even go into your bank account, cell phone provider, and other online accounts to grab statements - saving you time, and reducing bookkeeper requests. Maximizing use of this system reduces your time, your bookkeeper’s time, and the size of your bookkeeping bill.

Dropbox or Google Drive  https://www.dropbox.com    https://www.google.com/drive

A simple way to store and share your files. Open up a Dropbox or Google Drive (free with your Gmail) account to get started. You can learn more about their security and encryption here and here.

Get Started...

Bookkeeping matters, and no matter how great the software is (some of it is pretty fantastic), you need a real human to get in there and make sure it’s done right, on time, with minimal costs and headaches. If you’re still tracking your numbers using spreadsheets, focusing on data instead of your clients, please hand it off as soon as possible.  And yes, we do that!