In meeting with c
lients, we often find that the area of bookkeeping and record keeping is a common topic of debate, with both established clients and new start-up businesses. Many clients find this area daunting and cumbersome but with the right advice and systems in place, it need not be.
For practical bookkeeping, you first need to understand your business needs. You will have the best understanding as to how the business operates on a day-to-day basis and you need to develop and implement a systematic approach to record your daily transactions.
Each business will have different reporting needs so firstly, identify what information you want to generate from your bookkeeping system. Do you need to review weekly reports to monitor performance or do you just intend to record all data on an annual basis? In the first instance, a formalised accounting package is likely to be the best option whereas a simple Excel spreadsheet would suffice for the latter.
The next step is to think about how much information you have to process. Again, large volumes of data are more suited to processing on a computer package to keep track of it all so an investment in an IT system would be worth your while. It may not suit however, to devote resources to such a system if transaction volumes are low or relatively simple, i.e. one or two invoices a month, one or two lodgements, etc.
No matter what stage your business is at, it is always important to evaluate how the system is working for you. If basic bookkeeping is cumbersome and time-consuming for you, perhaps you need to consider other options – changing the way you record your information, employing someone to maintain your books or outsourcing the task are always available options. Ask your accountant for advice – from reviewing your records, we can identify areas for improvements to be made and efficiencies to be gained. With experience of a wide range of accounting systems, we can also recommend appropriate IT solutions to suit your business needs…and without the pushy sales pitch!
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Hello, I am a sole trader and hired a bookkeeper three years ago as I am didn’t know anything about doing accounts for my business. I gave everything to the bookkeeper (till receipts, bank statements etc) and she did my accounts and told me what figures to enter into ROS. I am in the having my final meeting next week with the Revenue re: an audit on my business.
At the start of the audit, my bookkeeper seemed confident (even cocky) about the audit. We met with the Revenue auditors in my office, they took my books away for review and contacted my bookkeeper and I several times prior to Christmas. However, my bookkeeper stopped answering the Revenue’s emails, gave me half-answers to my queries about the accounts, and has now stopped answering calls and emails completely.
I had to redo the accounts myself in excel, and gave found my bookkeeper’s entries to be very sloppy and nonsensical. I am now on my own in dealing with the Revenue.
Do I have any recourse against my bookkeeper? When I finally git her on the phone last week, she offered to return €1,000 of her fee to me, which I took as an admittance of her guilt and acknowledgement of her incompetence. Needless to say, I’ve not received any money from her.
What recourse do I have?
Hi,
Thank you for your comment.
If you cannot solve the issue with your bookkeeper quickly I would suggest you seek some legal advice on what your options are.
Kind regards,
David.