10 Questions to ask when interviewing a Bookkeeper
You don’t need to be a manager to hire the right professional. What you need is to know what you’re looking for. Once that’s determined the next step is knowing what questions to ask based on your defined parameters. In searching for the right Bookkeeper for your business, the answers given should be clear, precise, and these answers should reveal the truth of what they have to offer. Let’s take a closer look at the 10 of the most important questions to ask.
1. What services do you provide? Determine if the company can accommodate you by way of their list of services. If not, decide if you’re willing to compromise or barter.
2. What industries do you have experience in? Best practice is to hire a company that knows your industry. To do otherwise will cost you time and money.
3. What Software or applications are used? A good company will have experience using a menu of different software. And they can determine what best suits your needs.
4. Who will be working on my company files? Know who the primary contact person is. You should also know who will be working on your daily files. Generally they will not be the same person. Make sure you have their contact information and specified methods of communication.
5. What is your method of delivery and turnaround? Determine the best method to deliver your files. Examples are; by fax, by email, by courier, or ftp (online).
Verifying the amount of time it takes to complete certain tasks depends on the task itself. Have them give you a schedule of when work is to be completed.
6. How are services delivered? See if your Bookkeeper can perform the services at your office or remotely. The latter is more preferable these days because it saves on overhead expenses such as travel and workplace accommodations.
7. What is your review process? You need to know that the work your Bookkeeper performs is accurate. Check the level of experience of the staff person who will be handling your files. Also, verify that your work does go through a review process at the company before it is delivered to you.
8. Do you work closely with CPAs? Most Bookkeepers have a relationship with an accounting/CPA firm. Especially for tax purposes. Go over with them the process by which they report your information to your accountant or CPA.
9. Do you have any guarantees? In today’s market, to stay competitive, most companies will offer a money back guarantee or trial period. Take full advantage of these offers. If you’re not happy, make sure you regain ownership of your information.
10. What security systems do you have in place? Privacy of your company files builds trust. Make sure the Bookkeeper has systems in place to ensure that your information is secured and not released unless authorized to.
Your journey to finding the right Bookkeeper is not as difficult as it may seem. With good preparation and a little patience, you can be on your way to making the best choice for your needs.
Partnering for your success
Jacqueline E. Williams
Financial Strategist
Business Coaching: A Winning Resource
Today I just wanted to step back and smell the roses. With all that it takes to manage a business, there comes a time when reaching out for help is necessary. As good as we would like to think we are, everyone can use a little help to polish their professional profile or get the needed guidance to guarantee success for their business.
As a business owner who provides bookkeeping services to others, I continually find myself needing the very services that I offer, for myself. Strange huh? Not really. Particularly with small business, we tend to take the most cost effective method when it comes to managing our resources. Need I say, this can lead us down a road of destruction and fast. Having been in business for almost 7 years now, I realized that in order to operate at the level I so desired, I needed some help. So, I enlisted the services of a business coach, who by the way is phenomenal. With this new partnership my business has re-invented itself in a way that operates smarter, which keeps me from having to work as hard. I fee like she’s part of my team, which gives me ease of mind in knowing that I have a skilled professional looking out for the success of not only my business, but my life as well. What a partnership!
So the next time you pull out your “Jack of all trades” hat, think twice and get the help you and your business needs.
Partnering for your success!
Jacqueline Williams
Financial Strategist
RECENT UPDATES FOR QUICKBOOKS 2009
Last week I delivered a tele-seminar that focused on time management techniques using Quick Books. In that seminar I spoke of the online banking feature and its recent updates that allow you to transfer your bank transaction more efficiently. For those who were not able to attend, I wanted to give you a brief update of some of the enhancements that were made to online banking for Quick Books 2009. Here are just a few of the latest updates in release 7:
- IT RUNS FASTER! Yes, I’m sure you’ll agree that this is the number one upgrade for the feature. Especially for those with large files.
- The first split line of a transaction is now Pre-filled with the total amount.
- You are able to access other areas of the software while the Online Banking window is open.
- The Add New option now appears on the Account dropdown in a Deposit transaction.
- If your company file has more than 65535 names, QuickBooks no longer crashes when trying to load Online Banking.
- Bills now display properly if ‘Use Account number’ is enabled in Preferences.
- When opening splits and deposits for editing, the full downloaded amount will automatically appear.
For more information on this update, refer to your copy of Quick Books or visit one of Quick Books online forums or communities.
Partnering for your Success
Jacqueline E. Williams
Financial Strategist
Bookkeeping is not only for Business
The term bookkeeping is enough to send people running for cover. Why is it that, of all the business tasks to perform, this one is the most popular when it comes to procrastination? We all know the importance of having a clear financial picture of our business activities. But what about our personal lives? In terms of bookkeeping from a personal perspective, many consider this to be simply “budgeting”. Actually this is not the case. Budgeting involves determining how much money you have, and where to spend it. Bookkeeping in a sense involves the same, however it’s more complex because it’s also about creating a system or process for managing the flow of your financial data. For instance, a simple household budget would not typically go any further than a spreadsheet consisting of “income in and income out”. Bookkeeping on the other hand shows the details behind what’s coming in, from where, so that you’ll be able to create trends and make decisions based on the cumulative data. Bookkeeping involves the process of not only the input of data but the manipulation and placement of that data. So, the next question is how would you set up an effective bookkeeping system for your household? Well, I’ll show you.
First, let’s start with the beginning, which is the source of this data. For instance, our major source of household income is from salaries or business revenue. A good bookkeeping system would have separate bank accounts to receive the income. Any expenses associated with the earnings would also flow through this account. It may seem a bit redundant, however, it makes for a cleaner process when it comes to tracking your sources.
Next, any information from these sources should be kept in their own files or folders. Items received in the mail should be immediately sorted and filed according to their categories. Thus far, you can already see the importance of an efficient filing system.
Once the data has been received, next you must enter this information into a spreadsheet. Today, most people use financial software to accomplish this task. I often refer to Quick Books, because it’s my software choice for both business and personal. Quick Books has a line of software products geared towards your specific need. Even on the most basic of levels, the software is easy to maneuver. For personal financial software, there is no need to understand debits and credits. This is where most folks get confused. You will work directly from your bank account. The software even has features to track other items such as investments, property, and retirement accounts. The biggest task here is making sure than you keep your files updated. Rule of thumb is to update based on the number of transactions you produce on a monthly basis. 0-100 transactions, you can update your files monthly. 100-250, you should update your files more often, probably weekly. After you have organized all your information, from receipt to recording, now is the time to analyze your data to make some key decisions.
Streamlining your household finances is an important process and must be handled with the same focus and energy as if you were conducting business. After all, your financial picture is the framework of your family.
Partnering for your success
Jacqueline Williams
Financial Strategist
Characteristics of a good Bookkeeper
Finding the right Bookkeeper doesn’t have to be a tedious task. If you put forward the proper effort and research, you will find that a minimal amount of time would be spent in this process. I thoroughly believe in doing my homework up front when it comes to making key business decisions. So, to make your process easier, I am supplying you with these necessary tools. Let’s take a look at some important characteristics of a good Bookkeeper.
Detail oriented
Attention to detail is a must! Imagine having a person who doesn’t read the fine print or always looks for shortcuts. Or even worse, imagine trying to make a deposit not knowing who paid you the money or for what service. Believe it or not, this does happen. Being thorough in your documentation is critical to accurately reporting your financial information. A good Bookkeeper will know this. They should be able to determine what information is necessary and what’s not.
Must love numbers
We always hear about how important it is to have a passion for what you do. Whether it’s a hobby, your profession, or your business, it makes good sense to enjoy it. Hence, it makes perfect sense that you not only like, but love dealing with numbers. Working with numbers requires that you have a clear understanding of math, and that you are not intimidated by its concepts. Math is such an exact science. There are no maybes in summing up totals or calculating balances. Either its right or wrong! It takes great courage to deal on this level with a very small margin of error. I’m not trying to scare you here; just trying to stress the importance of taking responsibility for numerical accuracy.
Analytical
A good Bookkeeper will have the necessary skills to be able to review and decipher information for varied purposes. They must be able to understand what to look for and how it impacts the entire picture. The ability to create what-if scenarios will also come into play. For planning purposes, analysis of financial documents is crucial to making important decisions such as, how much financing could be needed for expansion, the affordability of benefits, or the necessity of working capital.
Time Management
My favorite acronym applies here. PPP-Planning promotes progress! A good Bookkeeper knows how to organize their time for optimum results. This involves creating an audit of how your time is spent. The right Bookkeeper will:
1. Determine which tasks have priority over others.
2. Always allow time to focus on problems and their solutions.
3. Schedule for weekly reviews and updates.
4. Not multi-task. This one is tricky because the common practice is to multi-task. Although this is a desirable quality, I’ve found it best to focus on one task to its completion before moving to another. In my opinion this approach yields better results when given the time to focus solely on that task.
Technology guru (or somewhat)
Without a doubt, this proves to be one of the most important characteristics. Everything today is automated, and it doesn’t make sense to partner with someone who is not technologically inclined. Software is used in all aspects of business today. I can’t think of anyone today who uses a manual system. And if they do, believe me, in their search they will be looking for someone who can bring them into the twentieth century. Being wise as to selecting the right software and knowing how to integrate it into the business will improve productivity and performance. The right Bookkeeper will have the skills to accomplish this. They will also know how to troubleshoot for problems, provide installation, configuration, and conversion.
Knowing what to look for in a Bookkeeper is half the battle of finding one. Take your time and make a careful assessment and you’ll be on your way to better bookkeeping.
Partnering for your success
Jacqueline Williams
Financial Strategist