5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Handle Your Own Books
So often with startups, independent professionals, and small businesses, the person in charge figures that it’s best if he or she tackles the bookkeeping for the business. As professional bookkeepers at BooksTime, we have seen – over and over again – frustrated, exhausted business owners finally give up the “battle with their books” and hand them over to us. By that time, those books usually require so much help, that the business owners wish they had gotten professional help months, if not years, earlier! Not to worry, though: no matter what those books look like, we can clean them up and help you focus on what you do best.
To hammer home this point, we figured it would be helpful to outline just five of the many reasons why consulting a professional bookkeeper is the right route for you TODAY.
1. Good Books = Good Financial Decisions.
If your books are in disarray, it’s hard for you know exactly how much money you have at any given time. Without that knowledge, you don’t have the foundation to make any type of financial decision wisely, whether it’s paying a bill or investing in business expansion.
Conversely, when your books are in perfect order, you’ll have a very good understanding of your financial situation, which gives you both power and influence to do the right thing for your business, your customers and the people
who support your business with their services. You also know who still owes you money, so that you can send them reminders to pay.
2. You’ll Save Money on Your CPA
The CPA who prepares your taxes most certainly charges much more per hour than a bookkeeper. But as your CPA is preparing those taxes, if the books are messy, he will charge extra time cleaning your books on top of preparing your taxes. You don’t want to pay your CPA to do what your bookkeeper can do for half the price. It’s really as simple as that.
3. You’ll Look Great to Potential Investors
When you’re talking to potential investors about your business, one of the first questions they will ask is, “So how are your current financials?” If your financials have been prepared by a professional, your chances of making a good impression improve exponentially.
But if Uncle Ted prepared them and he doesn’t know a lot about bookkeeping, the investors could walk away rather quickly. Whatever you do, you don’t want messy books to make the rest of your business look bad. (But to financial people like investors, the books tell them almost everything they need to know).
4. Loan Officers Require Good Books!
If you want to apply for a loan with a bank, you must provide your financials.
And only a professional can prepare them in a way that’s acceptable to loan officers. Otherwise, you will probably be rejected for your loan.
5. Ensure Your Taxes Are Accurate & Keep The IRS Happy
If you don’t have a professional bookkeeper handling your financials, you likely don’t know what your bottom line is and you could either be paying too much or too little to the government.
If you’re paying too much, you’re losing money and interest on that money. If you’re paying too little, you could be exposed to IRS penalties. If your tax returns have many discrepancies and look “suspect,” you could even have the IRS knocking on your door for an audit. No one wants to invite an audit, particularly when the books aren’t in order.
If you would like to discuss this topic further, and pursue affordable options, please email Jesse at jesseg@bookstime.com. Or call us at 617-564-0814.
We look forward to working with you and your business.
As an added incentive, we’ve partnered with Workbar to offer all Workbar members a $100 credit, plus 10% off your first six months of bookkeeping. Call or email to learn more: (617) 564-0814 contact@bookstime.com
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