Essential Roles of a Bookkeeper to a Small Business
When you start a business, it makes sense to keep a close look at your books of accounts. It saves you money in the short term, but you need to hire a professional as your business grows. A bookkeeper understands more than you do, especially if you start dealing with relatively vast amounts of money. Fundamentally, a bookkeeper manages the cash flow of a business. However, a bookkeeper offers other critical services to a business. Read on to find out.
Prepare Books for Tax Season
Tax season is the most dreaded period by most business owners since missing deadlines could mean hefty fines. Notably, most companies do not update their financial books and hire accountants to sort out the mess with a few weeks remaining to tax return deadlines. Although some tax accountants do not mind doing the work, they need time to put everything in order before beginning tax preparation. Unfortunately, you risk filing your returns past the deadline. A bookkeeper improves your chances of filing your taxes on time since they prepare your financial books for a tax accountant.
Keep Accounting Costs Low
Qualified and licenced accountants charge a premium for their services, which may be too much for a small business. Thus, some business owners most prefer to hire an accountant on a needs basis. However, did you know that you can save money and still enjoy professional bookkeeping services by hiring a bookkeeper? Although an accountant can do what a bookkeeper does, the latter tend to charge less for the same services. Moreover, hiring an accountant to organise and record daily financial transactions is not economically prudent. Additionally, a tax accountant will charge a premium if you do not have a structured bookkeeping system. A bookkeeper helps you avoid the extra costs since a tax accountant will find books of account ready in preparation for the tax season.
Process Payroll
A payroll system is a legal requirement for any small business with staff. In most companies, a payroll system is handled by the human resource department. Although you can take up the role of a human resource manager in your small business, a payroll system can be overwhelming. For instance, you need to process tax obligations, loans, and insurance premiums on behalf of your staff. A bookkeeper understands all the tasks and can help process payroll and related payments. Therefore, you do not need to hire a human resource manager or struggle with payroll.