Every Business Needs a Bookkeeper

Without proper accounting systems and tax planning in place to track your journey and direct your business, you can get lost along the way and end up crashing and burning. Not being able to make payroll, living client payment to client payment and not being able to pay sales tax owed are just a few of the ramifications of not having proper financial management in place in your business.

In order to stay out of the ditches, hiring a bookkeeper and connecting with a certified tax advisor are your best bets to stay in compliance and know you are on the road to success.

Here are four reasons you need these individuals as your financial navigators:

1. STAY IN YOUR LANE.
   Doing what you do best is your secret sauce. Growing your business means you should be focusing on strategy, handling daily operations, putting your best product or service into the market and managing your team, if you have one. Focusing on all of those details may mean you are not giving your financials the attention they deserve. Accounts payable, tax liabilities, understanding a balance sheet and making sense of your P&L may seem a little overwhelming. Leave it to the pros to process this information and teach you what to look for in these reports so you can use the real time data to make the right decisions.

2. BE WELL-BALANCED.
   Entrepreneurs tend to have an unlimited amount of energy when it comes taking care of business. You can work all hours of the day tweaking and perfecting things and still come up with 10 other business ideas in the process. Your brain speeds along at 100 miles per hour, and the ones who suffer are across from you at the dinner table. Having someone help you with your bookkeeping can relieve some of the stress and confusion of finances that surrounds most entrepreneurs, allowing you more freedom to be present with your family and not get caught up in the burn out.

3. CHECK YOUR BLIND SPOTS.
   It is important to have another set of eyes on your business for some perspective. When you are driving your business forward, clarity can be shaded by the excitement to close a deal or develop a new product. Having a bookkeeper working in tandem with your tax advisor can show you the “big picture” so you can keep your plans on track.

4. SAVE YOURSELF MONEY.
   You may think that by doing everything yourself, you will save money. The reality is that hiring a professional bookkeeper will actually save you money. By reducing human error from lack of knowledge, keeping your real time numbers up-to- date, and ensuring your creditors and liabilities are paid, your bookkeeper will give you back your time—and your time is money. This time saved will free you up to bring new revenue into the company and focus on growth. It will always cost you more to go back and clean up bad bookkeeping than it will to do it right the first time—especially during tax time.