Accountants and bookkeepers perform very different tasks. Accountants are responsible for examining financial statements to ensure their accuracy and compliance with existing laws and regulations. They help businesses turn data into actionable insights.
Bookkeepers manage and record business transactions. They also reconcile bank accounts. A business’s bookkeeper often works with tax preparers to ensure tax compliance.
Many businesses expect their accountants to also keep books for them. However, ask any company that provides both account and bookkeeping services near you and you’ll hear that it’s not advisable to use an accountant for bookkeeping. Here’s why!
An Accountant Does Not Understand Your Business
Many businesses hire accountants around tax time to assist them with tax preparation and filing. If you check in with your accountant just once a year, they won’t have enough time to garner a full picture of your business. The professional won’t reconcile your accounts and you may miss out on important information that can be leveraged for better business decision making.
Accountants Are Expensive
Accountants typically charge more than bookkeepers. Many accountants charge on an hourly basis. While an experienced accountant can maintain your books accurately and will take less time to prepare your financial statements, their hourly wages will add up.
Hiring a professional bookkeeper will typically cost you less than an accountant. Many bookkeepers assist businesses with typical accounting tasks. Which helps save them time, money, and headaches down the road.
An Accountant is Usually Not Focused on the Small Details
An accountant’s job is to look at the big picture and help you determine ways to minimize your tax liability. Unlike a bookkeeper who will make sure your accounts are reconciled to the last penny, an accountant may not go into that level of detail. Minor details might not matter to your accountant but can affect your bottom line.
Your bookkeeper, on the other hand, will keep a track of every single penny. An experienced bookkeeper is detail-oriented. You, or even your accountant, might overlook small stuff that can come back to haunt you, your bookkeeper won’t.
You, Will, Have to Separate Your Accountant From Your Numbers
You want an objective review of your books and insights on allocating your resources.
Your accountant is responsible for helping you interpret your financial records.
To help the professional perform their role, you must separate them from your numbers and cannot ask them to also do your books or they might miss some important trends.
Need help with your accounting and bookkeeping near you? Don’t look any further than Virtual Jeannie Bookkeeping Services. We are committed to helping businesses of all shapes and sizes avoid liability that may result from improper or poor bookkeeping. To learn more, call (707) 664-1425.