What Does a Bookkeeper Do for a Growing Business?

What does a bookkeeper do? Simply put, they keep the financial side of your business from turning into a pile of receipts, overdue invoices, and “I’ll sort that out later” jobs.

When you’re starting out, doing the books yourself can feel manageable. A few invoices go out, a few bills come in, you reconcile the bank account and move on. Then the business gets busier.

More jobs. More customers. More suppliers. More staff. More purchases. More invoices. More money moving in and out.

Before long, you’re finishing a day on the tools and opening the laptop at 8.30 pm because the bookkeeping still needs doing.

That’s usually the point where getting some help starts making a lot of sense.

So, what does a bookkeeper do?

A bookkeeper looks after the day-to-day financial admin that keeps your business records accurate and up to date. Depending on the business and the support you need, that can include:

• Recording and categorising transactions
• Reconciling bank and credit card accounts
• Managing supplier bills
• Keeping track of customer invoices
• Monitoring outstanding payments
• Supporting payroll
• Keeping your accounting software up to date
• Preparing financial reports
• Organising records for BAS and tax time
• Working with your accountant when information is needed

Yes, some of it involves entering numbers into accounting software.

But a good bookkeeper is not just there to type receipts into Xero and disappear.

They help make sure the numbers actually make sense.

They help you know where the money is going

A business can be flat out and still have cash flow problems.

There can be plenty of jobs booked in, customers calling and staff working, but that doesn’t automatically mean there is plenty of money sitting around. You still need to know:

• Who owes you money
• What bills are coming up
• What suppliers need paying
• What payroll commitments are due
• Which expenses are creeping up
• How much cash is actually available

Without proper bookkeeping, it is easy to end up running the business based on whatever number happens to be sitting in the bank account that morning.

And as most business owners eventually discover, the bank balance does not tell the whole story.

They keep the bank reconciliations under control

Bank reconciliation is one of those jobs nobody puts on the list of reasons they started a business.

Unfortunately, it still needs doing.

Your bookkeeper compares what is recorded in your accounting software with what has actually gone through your bank accounts. That helps pick up things like:

• Missing transactions
• Duplicate entries
• Payments allocated to the wrong invoice
• Expenses recorded incorrectly
• Bank fees that have been missed
• Transactions nobody can quite remember making

Catching those problems regularly is much easier than trying to work them out six months later. Because “Does anyone know what this $437 payment from February was?” is not a great use of a Friday afternoon.

They keep an eye on the money people owe you

Sending an invoice is one thing. Getting paid is another.

As the business grows, keeping track of outstanding invoices becomes harder. A couple of customers are easy enough to remember. Once you’re dealing with multiple jobs, customers, sites or projects, things can slip through. A bookkeeper can help keep track of:

• Invoices sent
• Payments received
• Overdue accounts
• Credits
• Adjustments
• Outstanding balances

For a trade or construction business, that might mean staying on top of invoices across several jobs at once.

It is much easier to manage cash flow when you actually know what is outstanding instead of thinking, “I’m pretty sure old mate paid that one.”

They help stop supplier bills sneaking up on you

As a business grows, the bills usually grow with it.

Materials. Fuel. Subcontractors. Equipment. Software. Insurance. Vehicles. Phone bills. Professional services. The list gets longer pretty quickly.

Good bookkeeping gives you a clearer picture of what has been paid, what is still owing and what is coming up.

That makes it easier to plan ahead instead of finding a stack of bills right when three other expenses land at the same time.

They can help keep payroll organised

Once you start employing people, the financial admin gets more serious.

Payroll needs to be accurate, records need to be maintained and payment obligations need to be kept on top of. Depending on the services provided and the qualifications involved, bookkeeping support may include payroll processing and payroll record keeping.

For a growing business owner, getting payroll off the Sunday night job list can be a pretty decent win.

They make BAS and tax time less painful

If BAS time regularly involves hunting through emails, receipts, gloveboxes and mystery folders on the desktop, the bookkeeping probably needs some attention.

Keeping the books up to date throughout the year means less scrambling when reporting deadlines come around.

Your transactions are already recorded.

Your bank accounts are reconciled.

The information your accountant needs is easier to find.

And instead of discovering a problem months later, there is a better chance of picking it up while everyone still remembers what happened.

What’s the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant?

They work with the same financial information, but they generally do different jobs.

A bookkeeper usually handles the ongoing financial records and day-to-day financial admin.

An accountant typically works with that information for areas such as taxation, financial reporting and broader business advice, depending on their qualifications and the services they provide.

Think of bookkeeping as keeping the engine room organised.

Your accountant can do a much better job with the bigger financial picture when the records underneath it are accurate.

A good bookkeeper helps you understand what’s happening in the business

Bookkeeping should not just produce reports that get emailed to you and never opened.

When the information is kept properly, it can help you answer practical questions about the business.

How is cash flow looking?

What money is coming in, what is going out and what is about to become due?

Who still owes us money?

You should not have to search through old invoices to figure this out.

Where are we spending more?

Expenses often creep up gradually. Current books make those changes easier to spot.

Are we actually making money?

Being busy and being profitable are not always the same thing.

What bills are around the corner?

Knowing what is coming up gives you a better chance to plan for it.

A bookkeeper is not there to run the business for you.

They are there to help make sure you’re not making business decisions with half the financial picture missing.

When should you get a bookkeeper?

There is no magic turnover figure where someone blows a whistle and announces that it is officially bookkeeping time. A better question is this:

Is doing the books starting to get in the way of running the business?

Perhaps it’s time to talk to Gecko Cloud Solutions…

• Your bookkeeping constantly feels like a chore, trying to catch up
• Doing your finances on the weekends and after hours
• Invoices aren’t being followed up
• Unsure what customers owe you
• No idea how much you owe suppliers
• Reconciliations are behind
• If payroll is a headache
• Your accountant is constantly chasing missing files
• You mainly judge the health of the business by the bank balance
• Financial admin is eating into time you could spend on your business

If you’re nodding along to half of that list, your bookkeeping may already be taking up more time than it should.

Your bookkeeping should grow up with the business

The system that worked when you were a one-person operation may not work when you’ve got staff, subcontractors and a full job board.

As the business grows, the bookkeeping processes usually need to grow with it. This means:

• Getting invoices out and followed up faster
• Tightening up expense management
• Setting up better payment processes
• Reconciling is done for you
• Payroll is done for you
• Working out what you keep doing and what you hand off

More time running the business, less time chasing paperwork

As the business grows, your time becomes harder to replace. There is usually something more useful you could be doing than trying to work out why the bank reconciliation is out by $38.70.

Good bookkeeping takes some of that financial admin off your plate while helping keep the business organised behind the scenes. And ideally, it means fewer late nights staring at accounting software wondering why you ever decided working for yourself would mean more free time.

The aim is not to create more paperwork. Quite the opposite.

The aim is to stop financial admin becoming the job that follows you home every night.

Handing over the books doesn’t mean handing over control

Some business owners are reluctant to outsource bookkeeping because they do not want to lose touch with their finances. Fair enough. You should know what’s happening with your money.

But there is a difference between understanding your numbers and personally entering every fuel receipt. A good bookkeeping setup should give you better visibility, not less.

You still make the calls. You just have cleaner information to make them with.

Need a hand with your bookkeeping?

If your business is growing and the bookkeeping is starting to pile up with everything else, Gecko Cloud Solutions can help keep the financial admin under control.

Learn more about Gecko Cloud Solutions’ bookkeeping services.

Or speak with the Gecko team about the level of bookkeeping support that suits your business.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a bookkeeper do for a small business?

A bookkeeper generally looks after the ongoing financial records of the business. This can include transactions, bank reconciliations, invoices, supplier bills, payroll support and keeping accounting records organised and up to date.

Is bookkeeping just data entry?

No. Entering transactions is part of it, but bookkeeping also involves reconciling accounts, checking records, finding discrepancies and making sure the financial information is accurate enough to be useful.

Do I still need an accountant if I have a bookkeeper?

Usually, yes. Bookkeepers and accountants tend to play different roles. Your bookkeeper generally keeps the day-to-day records organised, while your accountant may use that information for tax, reporting and higher-level financial advice.

When should I outsource my bookkeeping?

It is worth considering when your books are regularly falling behind, financial admin is taking up too much of your time or you’re losing visibility over invoices, bills, expenses and cash flow.

Can a bookkeeper lodge my BAS?

Some BAS-related services must be provided by an appropriately registered BAS or tax agent. If you need BAS preparation, advice or lodgement, check that the provider is registered to offer those services.