Bookkeeping, or managing the financial data for a company, is one of the most crucial jobs someone can have. As financial information informs almost every aspect of a company, from purchasing decisions to staffing, it’s of the utmost importance that you have an efficient and reliable bookkeeper. That being said, it isn’t always easy to find someone that will fit your company’s values while working well to do what is required of them. Sourcing someone who is competent and also understands your goals and interests as a business entity can be downright difficult, and often discouraging. If you’re having trouble finding a bookkeeper for your company, don’t fret- there are steps you can take to make the process easier. Here is a collection of some of the best advice you can get while undergoing the challenge of hiring the best bookkeeper for your company.

Understand Your Needs

The first, and arguably one of the most important, steps you need to take when looking to hire someone as a bookkeeper is to do some self-reflection. Looking inwards at your company is imperative to understand what you need to make your business successful. Maybe you need someone to get you caught up on things, or perhaps you’re looking for a full-service addition to complement your company’s growth. Either way, identifying the type of bookkeeping you need should come before anything else.

Referrals

When it comes to selecting someone you can trust for your company, it’s strongly recommended that you use referrals to your advantage. By asking someone you trust in the industry for a referral, you can ensure you’ll be working with someone who comes recommended and has already had proven success in their position elsewhere. Plus, if you are confident that your bookkeeper has done a good job with a friend’s or colleague’s company, you can be sure that they have extremely relevant experience that can be well transferred to your company and what will be required of them.

Choose Local

In both food shopping and bookkeeper searches alike, it’s important to choose local. Doing this does a couple of things. Firstly, it enables you to interact with the person or company that will be handling your bookkeeping in a more personal way. Being able to speak to someone in person is an enormous asset, made much more realistic if the bookkeeper in question is within range of your offices rather than sequestered somewhere remote. Additionally, that person will be more familiar with the local industry. For example, if you’re located in or around Perth, you may want to try a search query such as ‘bookkeeping services Perth’ rather than just ‘bookkeeping’. This will ensure that results are local, and help you find someone who understands the business landscape and is close enough to meet up with regularly.

Look For Professional Software

If you’re in the interview phase of your hiring process, one of the key things to look for in a bookkeeper is the software they use. You should be looking for someone who uses certified software and has the corresponding education and training. If you currently use software that you’re happy with, make sure that the potential candidate has experience with it and is highly knowledgeable. If they are using software that you are completely unfamiliar with, or don’t have administrative rights for, you may want to consider looking elsewhere.

Pour Over Proof

Like anything, the results of good bookkeeping are something that you can see. Trustworthiness and reliability tend to be easily trackable, so you should be looking for proven experience and success with whoever you choose to hire. A great way to evaluate this is to call references, read up on that individual’s business or larger company umbrella, and talk to people who have worked with them. Ultimately, it will be easy to spot if the candidate you’re considering has the right credentials. With a little digging and a thorough onboarding process, you should be able to land a bookkeeper you can count on, and who has the results to back up their claims.

In the world of bookkeeping, you simply can’t afford to work with someone you don’t trust. As bookkeepers are quite literally the keepers of all your company’s transactional and financial information, having someone reliable crunching your numbers is a must. The trouble is, a worthy candidate won’t just materialize in front of you. Chances are, you’ll need to put in a little extra effort to nab someone truly great. By digging deep, considering referrals, looking local, evaluating software, and analyzing experience, you’re well on your way. A Reliable Bookkeeper might not come to you overnight, but the search will be worth it when you end up with the perfect fit for your company.

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