You and Your Bookkeeper

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Many small business owners perform the bookkeeping tasks of the company in order to reduce expenses.  Have you ever thought about the opportunity cost of performing such tasks?  Is it more appropriate for you to be working directly in your business or engaging in some strategic planning?  Do you have enough knowledge of accounting or compliance issues?

It may be worthwhile considering the services of a bookkeeper.  Bookkeepers can perform a range of services including data entry, payroll tax returns, Activity Statement preparation and lodgement, payroll and superannuation processing.

There are some important things to look for when considering employing the services of a bookkeeper:

  • BAS Agent – for anyone to prepare activity statements that are not directly employed by the company, they must be registered with the Tax Practitioners Board as a BAS Agent.  They should display the Tax Practitioners Board logo and have a BAS Agent number.

  • Qualifications and experience – by ensuring any bookkeeper you hire is a registered BAS Agent means that they must hold a minimum Certificate IV level or higher qualification and complete 45 hours of training every three years to keep their skills and knowledge up to date.

  • Engagement letter – this is a good way to formalise the engagement of a bookkeeper.  An engagement letter should set out the responsibilities of both parties so everyone knows what is expected of them.

So next time you sit down to do you own Activity Statement, think about all the other things you could be doing with your time to improve your business.  The expense of hiring a good bookkeeper could be worth it.

Bel Litchfield