What Does a Bookkeeper Do? A Simple Explanation

Proper bookkeeping gives companies a reliable measure of their performance. It also provides information to make general strategic decisions and a benchmark for its revenue and income goals. In short, once a business is up and running, spending extra time and money on maintaining proper records is critical. Take routine bookkeeping off your never-ending to-do list with the help of a certified professional. A QuickBooks Live bookkeeper can help ensure that your business’s books close every month, and you’re primed for tax season.

• Get started by signing up for the Intuit Bookkeeping Certification program today.
• Qualifications can vary widely depending on the company or organization.
• Instead, you’ll have to invest some time (and perhaps, money) in marketing your business.
• Explore programs of your interests with the high-quality standards and flexibility you need to take your career to the next level.

To meet the requirements for the CPA exam, some professionals enroll in master’s in accounting programs. If you pursued a postsecondary degree or certificate, you https://simple-accounting.org/best-practice-to-hire-or-outsource-for-nonprofit/ will likely have career center resources to help you find a bookkeeping job. These offices may have particular insights about companies and roles in their area.

What Do You Do in a Bookkeeping Job?

Start with a free account to explore 20+ always-free courses and hundreds of finance templates and cheat sheets. When you start any new business, you can’t expect customers or clients to magically find you. Instead, you’ll have to invest some A 2023 Guide to Tax Returns for Seed Stage Startups time (and perhaps, money) in marketing your business. Unlike the requirements to become an accountant, the training required to become a bookkeeper is less strenuous. It’s possible to find and complete an online training program from home.

Online bookkeeping services might be the exact solution you need to save both time and money. The service you decide to use depends on the needs of your business and may include extra features such as payroll or tax documents. Bookkeeping tasks provide the records necessary to understand a business’s finances as well as recognize any monetary issues that may need to be addressed.

Double-entry bookkeeping

While bookkeepers used to keep track of this information in physical books, much of the process is now done on digital software. Good bookkeepers help business owners manage their finances by documenting transactions, paying and issuing invoices, generating reports, and recording accurate financial data. But what do all of these figures really mean, and where do you go from there? The responsibilities of a bookkeeper include a fair bit of data entry and receipt wrangling. They’re responsible for recording every financial transaction in your general ledger using double-entry bookkeeping—usually called recording journal entries. That sounds like a mouthful, but often that just looks like inputting all your transactions into accounting software.

These professionals typically work with a company or organization’s in-house accounting department. They may also be part of a team at an accounting firm or work for small businesses or self-employed individuals. If you’re organized, you’re interested in math and you have strong attention to detail, a bookkeeping career might suit you. Some even use bookkeeping experience to launch their accounting careers. But before you get started, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the scope of the role. It’s important to note that not all lenders and investors require certified or audited financial statements.

Salary Range for a Bookkeeper

As bookkeepers work closely with raw data, they tend to develop a good understanding of how a business works. Before starting a bookkeeping business, you’ll first need to know the basics of operating legally. It’s also helpful to understand how to market your services and manage the financial side of running a business. The good news is that you can do bookkeeping training from the comfort of your home.