Should you do your own bookkeeping

(This article is a reprint of an earlier article that is no longer available on the internet. I am reprinting it here.)

Bookkeeping is a job that most business owners can handle themselves. Unfortunately, most business owners would love to forget about bookkeeping.

Should you spend your time focusing on core business activities or organizing and tracking receipts? Many business owners underestimate the amount of time it takes to track a company’s fiscal details especially in small business settings. Owners can get wrapped up in attending to every aspect of day to day operation of their business that there is simply no time left for bookkeeping. The success of any business depends on keeping track of your income and expenses, thereby improving your chances of making a profit.

When considering if you should hire a bookkeeper for your business, ask yourself this: what do you as a business owner want to focus your time on? The following are necessary bookkeeping tasks that must be performed diligently to make sure the “business” end of your business runs smoothly.

  • Account statement reconciliation
  • Categorizing expenses
  • Keeping track of receivables
  • Tracking income
  • Paying employees
  • Filing and paying sales taxes
  • Keeping your records audit ready
  • Generating accurate financial statements

If you find yourself doubting your ability to perform these tasks, wishing you didn’t have to, or realizing you really don’t have the time to do them properly, maybe it is time to consider hiring a professional bookkeeper so you can focus on the important tasks of your core business activities. After all, it is a well-known mantra that professionals hire professionals!