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Accounting Best Practices: Three Ways NOT to Hire a Bookkeeper

Author : Bill Gerber
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Do you know there’s a concept in business called “accounting best practices” but you’re not sure what it entails? (And, by the state of your bookkeeping records, you’re pretty sure you’re not following them!) Is your business rapidly growing to the next level, where you know you need some help with your bookkeeping services?

First, let’s talk about some way NOT to hire a bookkeeper. These are the opposite of accounting best practices or, as we call them in the accounting business, “bad ideas.”

Bookkeeper Hire Bad Idea #1: Hire your partner’s wife/girlfriend/daughter – We know some people are still feeling the effects of a bad economy.

Maybe they could use a break, a steady job with decent pay and benefits. And you have a heart, so you decide to hire your business partner’s wife, girlfriend, daughter, next door neighbor… the list goes on. Or maybe it’s someone you know, personally, that you want to help out.

Bad idea for a number of reasons.

Anyone experiencing financial difficulties is a known fraud risk in your accounting department. That aside, because we’re sure everyone you know is highly moral, this person may simply not be trained in GAAP accounting principles, accounting best practices, or even in the full-featured version of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions.

We recommend finding another way to help friends in need, and leaving your bookkeeping department to professionals.

Bookkeeper Hire Bad Idea #2: Letting your office manager do your bookkeeping. (After all, she knows the QuickBooks login — and how you like your coffee!)

You hired your office manager (we hope!) because she’s a skilled administrator who keeps your office running like a well-oiled machine.
But you hired her a full-time office manager, and that’s where she’s been spending her time.

Most mid-size businesses with revenues of $20 million or more require a full-charge bookkeeper. That’s like adding another part-time job onto your office manager’s (already full) plate. Let your office manager manage your office. You need a bookkeeper training in accounting best practices to manage your books.

Bookkeeper Hire Bad Idea #3: You hire a virtual bookkeeping firm based in another country. – You’ve recognized the value of outsourced accounting services for your growing business. But you decide to go with the cheapest option on the internet. Now you’re working with (if you want to call it that!) bookkeepers on the opposite end of the world. You can only reach them via email, and you have to wait eight to 12 hours for answers to your questions. Because they don’t have the best command of the English language, their answers aren’t always clear or satisfactory.

You’re not sure what’s going on over there, but you always have the vague feeling that your company’s financial data may not be 100 percent secure. You’ve read a lot about the benefits of virtual accounting services but you suspect you’re missing something.

You’re right.

AccountingDepartment.com Bookkeepers Are Trained in Accounting Best Practices, GAAP, and QuickBooks

Let’s look at the qualifications of your full-charge bookkeeper and part-time financial controller hired through AccountingDepartment.com.

    • Our bookkeepers are trained and certified in QuickBooks through a rigorous testing process, so you work with the best-of-the-best accounting professionals.
    • Your full-charge bookkeeper works in your region, speaks English as her native language, and works the same hours you do, in your time zone. She is reachable during business hours via phone, email or instant message. No frustrating communication barriers!
    • Our bookkeepers and financial controllers are experts in the GAAP principles of accounting and follow accounting best practices, giving you the peace-of-mind that your books are done right, on time.
    • Our servers are 100 percent secure and backed up so your financial data is always safe.

You knew there had to be a better way to find a bookkeeper, and you were right. Why not call AccountingDepartment.com to end your bookkeeping headaches right now?

 
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