All You Need to Know About Bookkeepers and the Related Cost
Everything you need to know about bookkeepers and the costs involved in seeking their services
Bookkeepers and accountants are professionals, experts in the field of finance and are often mistaken to be the same. However, it is pertinent to understand that both these professionals are skilled to perform different set of tasks in the Financial Department of the business. When the knowledge of both these professionals come together, the financial tasks of the business become easy and seamless.
Let us assume that your business has decided to appoint a bookkeeper. In that case, as a business manager, you must understand –
- what bookkeeping all is about,
- roles and responsibilities of a bookkeeper and the expected capabilities,
- the costs involved in hiring such a professional,
- the pros and cons analysis around whether the business should hire a bookkeeper or outsource all such bookkeeping related functions to a third-party agency or external consultant.
If you have answers to these questions ready with you, you have already won half of the battle. Even if you don’t have, nothing to worry about as you are at the right place to find resolution to all of such concerns. Through this article, we shall discuss everything, at length, you need to know about a bookkeeper and Bookkeeping Services In UAE.
Let’s get started….
What is bookkeeping?
Bookkeeping is all about keeping track of all the financial transactions, being carried out by the business, on day-to-day basis, including other non-transactional financial information related to the business. We all understand that the documentation of the enterprise’s financial transactions and position (we call it “financial statements”) must be discrete, up-to-date, error-free and one hundred percent reliable. Along with these, accuracy is also an essential part of the bookkeeping process.
As mentioned above, substantially, bookkeeping involves recording the daily transactions of the business, which involves either inflow or outflow of cash or any movement in the business assets or liabilities. It is critical to note that such recording has to be done in a systematic manner. Only the systemically and adequately recorded transactions presents a transparent picture of the business’ results and position, which is crucial for the company itself as well as its stakeholders. This is true not only for the businesses, but also for the non-profit organizations.
What are the various roles and responsibilities of a bookkeeper in the business?
Most of the small and medium-scale businesses tend to look after all the transactions and accounting needs of the business on their own. But as the business grows, one experiences the bandwidth issues and think about either hiring an in-house team of professionals to look after the Accounting and bookkeeping needs of the business or to outsource such functions to a trusted third-party expert or a consultancy firm.
But to decide on the necessary support required for bookkeeping, firstly, it is pertinent to know and understand the roles and responsibilities of a bookkeeper. Here, we have enlisted all the roles and responsibilities of the bookkeeper in the business:
- Recording all the monetary or commercial transactions pertaining to the receipts and payments.
- Registering all the essential documents for recording the journal entries.
- Systematically posting the journal entries to respective ledger accounts.
- Issuing invoices on timely basis for the goods and the services provided by the business entity.
- Timely depositing the amount / cheques received by the business organization with the banks.
- Preparing accurate and comprehensive financial statements of business, which shall include Trial Balance, Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash-flow Statement (if required).
- Reconciling bank account statements.
- Effective management of all the accounts of the business and keeping it up to date.
- Performing all the activities related to the payroll management.
- Effectively, accurately, and timely management of tax obligations, direct as well as indirect.
- Carrying out all other activities that come uninformed and are related to the finances of the business.
- Preparing the smart and analytical reports for management information and decision-making purpose.
How to identify the qualification and caliber of an apt bookkeeper?
It is extremely critical for any business enterprise to understand and verify the qualification of the bookkeeper. For a person to work as an efficient and effective bookkeeper, has to be well-qualified, experienced and well-versed with the basic concepts of the finance and accountancy. These are the basic requirements of any bookkeeper that one should look for before hiring bookkeeper or outsourcing bookkeeping services.
In addition to the basic knowledge of accounting and bookkeeping, the bookkeeper should also be adequately certified in terms of the regulations governing the respective jurisdiction. For example, for United Arab Emirates, it is always suggested to appoint a person qualified as Chartered Accountant through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India or similar professional or diploma qualification.
What affects the cost of the bookkeeping services?
Generally, the overall cost of the bookkeeping services depends on the following:
- Business factors (qualitative):
- the nature of the business,
- the industry in which the business is operating into,
- complexity of the organization,
- the company’s accounting policies, related terms and conditions,
- procedures and internal controls in place,
- the management information system, e
- Business factors (quantitative):
- the size of the company’s assets,
- the annual turnover and the volume of transactions,
- the payables and receivables turnover,
- the number of workers working for the Company and the payroll processes, etc.
- Bookkeeper:
- the professional qualification and expertise of the bookkeeper,
- overall experience of the bookkeepers, etc.
How outsourcing bookkeeping function for business helps?
Whether the size of a business is small, medium, or large-scale, the outsourcing of the accounting and bookkeeping functions would always be a viable and reliable options, as it provides an edge in terms of the following:
- team of multiple professionals at your service,
- expert services, customized in terms of varied experience and industry knowledge,
- no need to manage or overview the in-house bookkeepers’ work, etc.
Final Words
Bookkeepers play a pivotal role in the management of the business’ accounting and financial functions. Thus, having an appropriate bookkeeper is must for any business enterprise, whether in-house team or a third-party professional team of experts, without digging holes in the pocket.
If you seek to avail the professional services and outsource the Bookkeeping Services In UAE and accounting functions, within your budget, CFO UAE would be at your service, thriving to deliver best services in managing your accounts and finance department.
