Quick Answer

A bookkeeper handles the day-to-day work of keeping your business finances organized. They keep track of money coming in and going out, organize transactions, check that your accounts match your records, and help keep your books up to date.

For small business owners, professional bookkeeping can save time and make it much easier to understand what’s happening with the business financially. AZ Easy CPA provides bookkeeping and CPA services in Chandler, Arizona and beyond.

What Does a Bookkeeper Actually Do?

A bookkeeper keeps track of the financial activity happening throughout your business. Every time you receive a payment, buy something for the business, pay a bill, or use a business credit card, there is a transaction that needs to be recorded and organized.

Depending on the business, a bookkeeper may handle:

• Recording money coming into the business
• Recording and organizing business expenses
• Putting transactions into the right categories
• Keeping QuickBooks organized
• Checking bank accounts against your records
• Checking business credit card accounts
• Finding missing or incorrect transactions
• Fixing common bookkeeping mistakes
• Preparing basic financial reports

One term you’ll often hear is “reconciliation.” This simply means comparing the transactions in your bookkeeping system with your bank or credit card statement to make sure everything matches.

What Does a Bookkeeper Do Each Month?

For many small businesses, bookkeeping is handled monthly. The bookkeeper goes through the financial activity from that month and makes sure everything has been properly recorded.

They may review your bank and credit card transactions, organize expenses, check your accounts, fix mistakes, and follow up about transactions that aren’t clear. Once everything is updated, your books should give you a much better picture of what happened financially during the month.

Doing this regularly also helps keep bookkeeping manageable. It is much easier to figure out a transaction from a few weeks ago than to try to remember what happened six months ago.

How Does a Bookkeeper Help With QuickBooks?

QuickBooks can do a lot, but it doesn’t completely do your bookkeeping for you. It can connect to your bank accounts, bring in transactions, and create reports, but someone still needs to make sure the information is right.

For example, QuickBooks may bring in a purchase from a store, but it may not know exactly what you bought or why you bought it. A bookkeeper can make sure the transaction is put in the right place so your records and reports make sense.

This is one reason having QuickBooks and having accurate bookkeeping aren’t necessarily the same thing.

How Does a Bookkeeper Help a Business Owner?

One of the biggest benefits of having a bookkeeper is simply getting the work off your plate. Instead of spending your time sorting through transactions, trying to understand QuickBooks, or catching up on months of bookkeeping, you can focus on running your business.

A bookkeeper also helps give you better information. When your books are accurate, it’s easier to see how much money came in, what you spent, where your money went, and whether the business is making money.

Good bookkeeping can also make conversations with your CPA easier because the financial information they need is already organized.

Does a Bookkeeper Work With a CPA?

Yes. Bookkeepers and CPAs often work with the same financial information, but they usually have different jobs.

A bookkeeper handles much of the regular work needed to keep the books organized and current. A CPA has additional education, testing, and licensing and may provide other accounting services and financial guidance.

Some businesses have a separate bookkeeper and CPA. Others work with a CPA firm that also provides bookkeeping so they can have both types of support in one place.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does a bookkeeper pay my bills?

Some bookkeepers offer bill payment services and some don’t. It depends on what is included in the bookkeeping service you choose.

Does a bookkeeper send invoices to customers?

Some bookkeepers can help with customer invoices and keeping track of unpaid invoices. This isn’t automatically included with every bookkeeping service, so it’s something to ask about.

Can a bookkeeper fix mistakes in QuickBooks?

Yes. A bookkeeper can often find incorrectly recorded transactions, fix common mistakes, check accounts, and help clean up QuickBooks when the information isn’t right.

How often should a bookkeeper work on my books?

Monthly bookkeeping is common for small businesses. A business with a lot of transactions may need its bookkeeping handled more often.

Can a bookkeeper tell me if my business is making money?

Good bookkeeping gives you the information needed to see whether the business is making money. Reports can show how much money came in, how much went out, and what was left after expenses.

Looking for Bookkeeping or a CPA in Chandler, Arizona?

AZ Easy CPA provides bookkeeping and CPA services in Chandler, Arizona and beyond. If you’re spending too much time trying to keep your books organized, have fallen behind, or aren’t sure whether the numbers in QuickBooks are right, reach out to Chris at AZ Easy CPA.

Chris can review where things stand, answer your questions in plain English, and help you figure out what kind of bookkeeping support makes sense for your business.