Characteristics That a Good Bookkeeper Must Have
The main motive of bookkeeping is to record a company’s financial transactions regularly. These transactions mainly include sales, purchases, receipts, and payments. A bookkeeper must register all the financial data into the general ledgers to make the income and financial statements of the company. Bookkeeping is considered the first step toward recording the data into the accounting system.
If the recorded financial data is far from any fraud, then this data can be very beneficial and valuable for the insight of the business. Hence the bookkeeper is essential for any business venture.
Qualities of a good bookkeeper:
Some qualities that can always help you identify whether your bookkeeper is up to the mark or not are as follows:
- Knows their work and is skilled: You can recognize a good bookkeeper while assessing their skills, knowledge related to finance and accounts, experience, and lastly, the services he offers. To be labeled as a good bookkeeper, he must have a firm grasp of the accounting terminologies and have considerable experience in; recording financial transactions. A bookkeeper must have a sound knowledge of accounting software and should be able to work on them.
- Being organized: Bookkeeping requires high management skills to meet deadlines on time. Organization skills are a must for the bookkeeper, and knowing how to prioritize the work according to its importance. Checklists are helpful for the bookkeeper to make sure that the tasks are completed and to start doing the remaining work soon.
- Being happy working with numbers and figures: A bookkeeper should be contended to work equally with words and numbers. It may sound like a common and obvious quality, but it is essential.
- Having excellent communication skills: good communication skills will make it easier for the bookkeeper to explain and demonstrate complex ideas and information more clearly. The bookkeeper is expected to discuss the finances with the owner/manager. Therefore, it is nearly impossible for a bookkeeper to avoid social interaction with others.
- Integrity and honesty: Every business owner needs people who are far away from being shady and whom he can trust with all his heart. Trustworthiness becomes much more essential when it’s about bookkeeping because a bookkeeper is the one who is often going privy to the confidential information of the business. If a bookkeeper is dishonest and doesn’t maintain his integrity, the owner can never trust him with all the private information related to work, and there will always be a threat of fraud.
- Willingness to learn new skills: A good bookkeeper will always be open to acquiring updated skills. He should always stay up to date with the industry in which he works.
- Confidence working with the internet and computer: The Internet and computer have made our lives much easier. Similarly, bookkeeping is also done on the computer now. For example, to enter data, spreadsheets are used. Moreover, use the internet to acquire knowledge regarding access to bank data. Therefore, a bookkeeper should know how to operate the computer and utilize the facilities provided by the internet.
- Should have an enquiring mind: To ensure that the transactions are free from errors and correctly allocated, the bookkeeper needs to ask questions. A good bookkeeper asks about the higher cost than usual within accounts because it is always better to ask questions rather than guessing or assuming.
Choosing the right person for the bookkeeping of your business:
It might be necessary to interview people more than once while selecting the right person for bookkeeping and be sure to double-check their qualifications and education. It is better to be careful while hiring rather than regretting the future. Many companies employ non-certified bookkeepers, which might save money but can only be beneficial in the short term. On the other hand, if you hire a qualified person, he might avoid any costly blunders.
A bookkeeper will be there at every step as your business flourishes and grows, so it is worth taking your time and effort to hire the most suitable person for the job.
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