Small business owners believe one way of saving money is by doing the bookkeeping themselves, or paying a spouse, friend, or relative a minimal fee to get their bookkeeping done.

Cash flow is the blood of any small business, and the control of cashflow is an important part of bookkeeping. By hiring an inexperienced bookkeeper to save the business money can often lead to failure down the track

Bookkeepers that do not have sufficient experience don’t always understand the importance of financial management in a small business, and the necessity to keep accurate and up to date accounting records. A small mistake through lack of bookkeeping experience can be extremely costly to a small business.

We’ve all heard stories about taking the car to a “cheap” mechanic, or using “fly-by-night” tradespeople. So why would you contemplate handing the lifeblood of your business over to an inexperienced bookkeeper?

Professional bookkeepers are working everyday on bookwork for a variety of small business owners. They see patterns, they notice trends, they have the benefit of experience behind them that you can take advantage of in your small business.

Business owners that have hired their spouse, friend or relative to help them out may not realise the true state of their bookkeeping until it’s too late. The accountant may not get to see the books until the end of the financial year. Indeed, many accountants are too busy to look in depth at the bookkeeping.

As professional freelance bookkeepers, we’ve come in behind “cheap” bookkeepers and have seen the devastation that’s been left behind.

Having a handle on your financial position will affect the decision making in your business. How else do you know if you can afford to replace or upgrade equipment? Or whether you can afford to employ more staff, or take on a new client?

Business owners that look at bookkeeping fees as an expense rather than an investment do not understand the full benefits of engaging professional bookkeepers. Without having a full understanding of their finances, these are the types of businesses that tend to fail within a few years, They throw away all their hard work to save a few dollars each week or month.