The biggest frustration for bookkeepers

One of the most frustrating things for a bookkeeper is how long clients take to send their documents. 

Yes, you are paying us to capture your transactions and allocate payments and receipts but you as the business owner are the one who has access to that information. We don't.

What business owners don’t understand is that the longer they take to send their documents, the longer it takes to get the books up to date.

We rely on you to send all the supporting documents on time so we can keep your books up to date.

What are the supporting documents that we need?

Supporting documents are just fancy words for your receipts, invoices, credit notes, purchase orders; or any document that you use to record a transaction in your business.

Supporting documents are also called source documents because it shows the sources of money in your business.

I know when you start a business getting a bookkeeper is not your first priority; many times it is the last thing you want to spend money on. But at least try and keep your receipts and invoices so that when you do get a bookkeeper you have a record of your spending and income.

Before I became a bookkeeper I thought all they do is capture receipts and wala! Everything is done.

Bookkeeping is far more complex than just capturing information. With the information, we get from bank statements and source documents we create different categories that will reflect the state of your business.

What helps a lot is when we have receipts or invoices that we can match with a transaction on your bank statement.

Very often when a client comes to me they only have bank statements and few receipts. Even though it is possible to create a chart of accounts from this, it can become a guessing game for the bookkeeper to try and figure out where certain entries have to go. So instead of guessing, we put in uncategorised income or expenses.

The other category that every bookkeeper who uses Quickbooks will know about is cheque card purchases. This is where we put all transactions if we don’t have a source document to match it with.

We understand is practically impossible to keep all your source documents, unless you are supernaturally disciplined. But the big frustration is when you have a ton of transactions on the bank statement and very few source documents. Not only does this show that you don’t take your business seriously, but it also shows that you don’t keep a proper record of your expenses and your income. It says you don't know what is going on in your business finances.

Why is it important to submit your source documents on time?

Clients also don’t understand the importance of sending the documents on time. Every month there is an accounting cycle that must be completed and if I don’t get the documents on time it delays completing the cycle. And it affects my other clients as well. 

Make it a habit to send your documents every week. In the beginning, it will be difficult to do because it is in our nature to resist new things, especially if it doesn't sound like fun. But practice until it becomes second nature.

The big advantage of submitting your documents on time is that your books will always be up to date, and when you need reports they can be presented to you without any hassle because your bookkeeper will have all the information to create accurate financial reports.

My job is to prepare your documents for tax submission and to give you an accurate picture of your business at the click of a button. Your job is to send those documents to me on time.

Once a business owner understands this they will enjoy the benefits of having a bookkeeper.