When the business starts to bloom, it will make you feel right at home as a business owner. But when things get a lot busier it becomes a bit difficult to maintain and handle your business’s finance. No business owner will like to have a shoebox full of receipts. For such reasons, hiring a professional bookkeeper will save you from this headache once and for all. Bookkeepers have the power to maintain and take care of your finances without any issues.
Questions to Ask When Hiring a Bookkeeper
Taking the services of Bookkeeping Perth is an excellent choice, but are they the right one for your business? There are several questions that you must ask before you hire them. Doing so will help you stay protected and will ensure that you hired the right person for the job. Given below is a list of questions, which you ask a bookkeeper. Take a look!
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What are your qualification and professional membership?
As of 1st March 2010, under the Tax Agent Service Act 2009, individuals who are provided BAS (Business Activity Statement) services for free should stand out as a registered BAS agent. If the bookkeeper you hired is taking care of BAS-related work, then this is something they should transition toward. Also, all bookkeepers should carry a minimum qualification of Certificate IV in Financing. You should opt for a professional bookkeeper who is a member of numerous professional bookkeeping associations in Australia. One of the well-known associations is ICB or The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers.
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What are the services you offer?
The finance function of your organization is said to encompass a diverse range of jobs. Some of these jobs are auditing, strategic planning, bookkeeping, budgeting, payroll, tax compliance, forecasting, and financial analysis. Many of the jobs are ideal for the bookkeepers and are the rest are for the registered CPAs. But an experienced CFO (Chief Financial Officer) can take care of all the work. Before you hire the Xero Accountants or a bookkeeper, make sure you ask them the type of services they provide. Also, check to see if they offer any additional services.
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Which accounting software you are proficient in?
Software plays a massive part in all business functions and accounting no different. You must opt for the right software for your organization’s scale and workflow. It’s because you need to live with it for a long time. You must opt for the right vendor who can implement on a new accounting system, with which he/she is familiar. The accounting software, which your bookkeeper will use should be of the best performance and should run without any interruption. You are free to provide the accounting software, which your organization is using as well.
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Which is the pricing model you use for your services?
There are three pricing models available such as the retainer, flat, and hourly. The hourly model stands out as the simplest one but comes with the hardest cost. The flat pricing model is excellent as it gives you the chance to budget. But this particular pricing model will lessen the scope of what you will receive from the vendors as they have to control the costs. Lastly, the retainer pricing model stands out as an excellent compromise. It’s because you will get the advantage of defined scope the option to add jobs you need. Your bookkeeper will become committed to your project, once the retainer model is funded.
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Who is responsible for the rectification work?
Make sure to ask your bookkeeper whether or not they will take care of all the work such as re-keying the data, solving the past mistakes, making corrections, reviewing the annual financial statement and reworking on the BAS. Ask them will take responsibility for this work. If yes, then will they do it for free or charge for it. You need to be pretty clear on this part if you want to operate your business smoothly.
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What do you need to process the work?
Before you take the services of a bookkeeper, you need to know what your bookkeeper will require from you regularly. Whether they want the receipts sorted or you need to jot down the account codes on the receipts are some of the things you take care of. Make sure to confirm all the things that your bookkeeper needs from you so that you can get all the job done beforehand.
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Which is the best way to stay in touch with you?
Through this particular question, you will get a clear image of how responsive the bookkeeper will be. The biggest complaints that were made by the business owners were that they cannot get hold of their respective bookkeeper or CPA when they need them. You need to make sure that the company you are outsourcing is taking care of your work and must also provide you updates from time to time. This will help you stay updated on the project and how much time it will take to finish.
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Who will retain the ownership when the work is done on an accounting package?
There are many bookkeeping companies out there that process their work on the datafile. This will help in saving you the money from buying software. In the future, if you want to bring in-house bookkeeping, then the transfer of the nominee will cost you a nominal fee. Currently, the MYOB datafile transfer cost is around $25.
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Where will you do the work?
Bookkeepers provide their services on-site, remotely, or off-site. These are the only through which they can get the job done. If there is any other way, they will provide you with their services, make sure to ask them before availing of their services.
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How will you help the business grow?
This question helps in revealing the value proposition, which your bookkeeper is providing you. The essential thing about the accounting system is the value of the data it provides. Check to see whether the vendor can explain how they will provide you with their services. Doing so will help you make a proper business decision. Otherwise, there is no reason for this discussion to take place.
Conclusion!
Taking the bookkeeping services will help you maintain the finances of your business. Keep in mind to hire bookkeepers who will provide you with a service that will match perfectly with your business needs and wants.
