If you’ve never had a background in accounting and bookkeeping, it could be a little intimidating for you to handle a series of numbers, especially since it involves real-life money. To all the online sellers out there, you don’t have to deal with your dilemma alone because this article will delve into the definition of an accounting and bookkeeping services business plan and how accounting services and bookkeeping services work in the context of online selling—interested to learn how? Then read on and find out more!
What is An Accounting Bookkeeping Service?
Not a lot of people know this, but bookkeeping involves the process of recording a company’s financial transactions regularly. You’ll know that your bookkeeper is doing their job when companies are updated and informed of all its books and compilations. This is a crucial task since owning a business gives you a ton of financial obligations, and bookkeeping makes investing and other financial decisions and operations easier to do.
Bookkeepers are also relevant in every business because they work on evaluating and providing an overview of financial data for all the companies. We have bookkeepers to thank for when it comes to knowing our current financial positions and transactional history within the company.
Aside from regular companies, bookkeepers can also work for external users such as financial institutions, government agencies, investors, and other organizations in need of reliable financial information to create better financial decision-making. Now that we have an idea of how bookkeeping works let’s talk about its importance. Check out the many different benefits enumerated below:
- Provides credible data when it comes to measuring team performance
- Sheds light on information that can be used to execute key strategic choices
- Gives a clear-cut view of the company or business’s revenue and income goals
- Takes charge when full-time accountants are unavailable or away from the office
- Outsources a job of a professional accountant to suffice in small or startup companies
- Keeps record of every penny spent in the company and for what reason
How Accounting Bookkeeping Service Works
Bookkeepers and accountants can work side by side or separately. It simply depends on the company’s workflow and business framework. While their differences are apparent, there is still a connection between them since they belong to the finance department. Before we talk about bookkeepers working in place of accountants, let’s take a closer look at the requirements of how you can become an accountant vs how you can become a bookkeeper.
Bookkeeper Requirements
- Possesses the ability to record the company’s actual financial transactions
- Reports to the accountant for any gathered financial information
- Does not require any formal training, but it would be preferable to have a degree
- Gathers and manages the interpretation of accountants concerning financial data
Accountant Requirements
- Possesses the ability to assess, interpret, and report a company’s financial data
- Expected to have a higher skill set than a bookkeeper
- Has a bachelor's degree and certification (CPA) from the board exam
- In terms of bookkeeping and accounting services fees, accountants get higher wages
- Provides recommendations to the management team of the company about the projected spending, taxes, and other financial disclosures
Given these responsibilities, if you think you’re cut out to become either of these jobs, there’s another consideration you need to ponder on: The duties of bookkeepers vs accountants. We’ve mentioned that they can work together or separately, but at which point do they work independently or hand in hand? Here’s the breakdown of what we’ve gathered:
Bookkeeper Main Duties
- Recommends, implements, and manages the accounting software and bookkeeping policies and procedures
- Develops the credit and debit bank accounts of the company and assigns categories per kind of expenses
- Flags discrepancies and assists in the preparation of financial statements and audits
- Maintains the company’s records, backs them up, and archives the necessary documents
- Verifies any recorded expenses and accuracy of the information concerning the account balance
- Handles banking activities like deposits and trains new staff when it comes to using bookkeeping software
Accountant Main Duties
- Gets an overview of how data within the company is stored, handled, and updated (data management)
- Properly assesses the data and acts as an adviser for the company management team (financial analysis and consultation)
- Generates standard and detailed business reports or financial statements required by the IRS or company (financial reports)
- Regularly updates the company of the government regulations and ensures that all policies implemented live up to the industry’s standards (regulatory compliance)
In Summary
Now that we see how accountants and bookkeepers get the job done through an accounting bookkeeping service, it’s not surprising why they are in demand across the globe. Did you learn anything new about accounting or bookkeeping? Share your insights by commenting below. We would love to hear from you!