7 Signs Your Small Business Needs a Bookkeeper

Running a small business means wearing a lot of hats. You’re the owner, salesperson, customer service department, problem-solver, and sometimes even the person taking out the trash at the end of the day.

But should you also be your own bookkeeper?

When your business is small, managing the books yourself may seem manageable. As your business grows, however, bookkeeping can quickly become one more responsibility competing for your time.

Here are seven signs it may be time to get professional bookkeeping help.

1. You’re Always Behind on Your Bookkeeping

If you regularly tell yourself, “I’ll catch up on the books this weekend,” only for another month to pass, you’re not alone.

Bookkeeping tends to get pushed aside because serving customers and generating revenue feel more urgent.

Unfortunately, falling behind can make it difficult to know what’s really happening financially in your business.

Regular bookkeeping keeps your financial information current so you aren’t trying to reconstruct months of transactions at tax time.

2. You Don’t Know How Much Money Your Business Is Actually Making

Having money in your bank account doesn’t necessarily mean your business is profitable.

Your bank balance doesn’t tell you the whole story.

Accurate bookkeeping helps you understand your income, expenses, outstanding obligations, and overall financial performance.

When your books are current, you can make business decisions based on actual numbers instead of guessing.

3. Your Bank and Credit Card Accounts Aren’t Reconciled

Reconciliation is an important part of accurate bookkeeping.

Your accounting records should regularly be compared with your bank and credit card statements to identify missing transactions, duplicate entries, incorrect amounts, and other discrepancies.

If you can’t remember the last time your accounts were reconciled, that’s a good indication your books need attention.

4. You’re Mixing Business and Personal Transactions

Using the same accounts for business and personal spending can make bookkeeping unnecessarily complicated.

Separating business and personal activity makes it much easier to understand business expenses, reconcile accounts, prepare financial reports, and provide organized information to your tax professional.

If your transactions are currently mixed together, a bookkeeper can help you get your records organized.

5. Tax Time Becomes a Scramble

Does tax season mean searching through receipts, downloading months of statements, and trying to remember what purchases from last year were for?

Your tax professional can work much more efficiently when you provide organized and up-to-date financial records.

Good bookkeeping isn’t something that should happen only at tax time.

Maintaining your books throughout the year can make tax season much less stressful.

6. Bookkeeping Is Taking Time Away From Your Business

Your time has value.

Every hour you spend trying to figure out bookkeeping is an hour you aren’t spending serving customers, generating revenue, developing your business, or simply getting some time back for yourself.

Professional bookkeeping allows you to focus more of your attention on running your business while still having access to organized financial information.

7. You’re Making Business Decisions Without Reliable Financial Reports

Should you hire another employee?

Can you afford new equipment?

Are expenses increasing?

Which months are most profitable?

Those decisions become much easier when your financial records are accurate and current.

Financial reports aren’t just paperwork. They can help you understand what’s happening inside your business.

Bookkeeping Should Help You Understand Your Business

You didn’t start your business because you wanted to spend evenings sorting transactions and reconciling accounts.

That’s where professional bookkeeping can help.

At Northeastern Oklahoma Bookkeeping LLC, I help small-business owners maintain organized, accurate books using QuickBooks Online so they can spend more time running their businesses and less time worrying about their bookkeeping.

If you’re behind, overwhelmed, or simply ready to hand bookkeeping over to someone else, you don’t have to wait until tax season to get started.

Ready to get your books organized? Schedule a free consultation today to discuss your bookkeeping needs.