When hiring someone to take care of your financial portfolio, you must be very diligent with whom you choose. In this blog, we will discuss 6 must-have traits of your next bookkeeper.
- Experience: This is not a trait you can take lightly, and will require some thorough candidate evaluation and possibly budget stretching on your part. The experience piece encompasses not only years in the field but the type of accounting work that candidates have performed. It is possible that a potential prospect could have experience in a certain job or industry that would not easily adapt to fill the requirements of your particular situation.
- Education: The education of your bookkeeper is vitally important to the talent and knowledge he or she can bring to your organization. A simple business degree is not enough to adequately handle a prosperous company’s accounts. Bookkeeping is a special kind of profession that requires multiple layers of credentials. An employer must be mindful of this and make sure to hire someone that is knowledgeable in all areas pertinent to your company’s requirements.
- Oversight: This is an extremely sensitive topic that an employer must consider when hiring a bookkeeper. Being a boss may mean that you don’t have the time or energy to properly oversee everything going on within your business. If this is your situation, you might need to entertain the idea of hiring someone with a greater level of education and experience to run oversight of the financials of your company. Conversely, if you are an employer who has a solid background with financials, it might present an opportunity for you to train someone on the task of oversight.
- Knowledge of Banking Technology: In order to provide good service, a bookkeeper must have a detailed understanding of the current practices and resources available from banks in order to access the most advantageous and efficient services to your particular business. The internet has now become such a vital tool for our existence, both for business and leisure, that it is important for bookkeeping professionals to understand how banking utilizes technology to remain current, fast, and efficient.
- Knowledge of Accounting Software: Another deeply important quality in a bookkeeper is that he or she must have a working knowledge of all types of accounting software and systems. There are many options available on the market for small, medium, and large businesses to obtain appropriate software to handle their individualized needs. A bookkeeper who has experience with differing systems can be a great asset, as they can bring a unique perspective to how differing system operate by formulating solutions to help meet unique challenges.
- Accounting Knowledge: The final quality is knowledge of current standardized accounting policies and procedures. A thorough understanding of these policies and procedures are vital to maintaining the financial integrity of your business. A person on your team that understands these principles would be invaluable to your organization in terms of being able to manage and maintain their implementation. A knowledgeable bookkeeper is a valuable resource for your company’s employees to tap whenever a financial issue arises by giving them access to pertinent information to handle a particular situation at hand.
A bookkeeper is a resource to help the small business owner manage his or her business.
CFO Shield is in the business of helping small businesses solve complex problems by providing expert bookkeeping services at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-time employee. We enable smaller companies to access expert level bookkeeping services and share in the same economies of scale that larger companies enjoy. We have the experience needed to create custom solutions to help small business owners better manage their back office and help them create strategies to adequately manage working capital, thereby ensuring stability and prosperity.
To find out more, visit CFOShield.com.
