THE IMPORTANCE OF A REGISTERED BOOKKEEPER/ BAS AGENT

Owning a business is hard work when it comes to budgeting, paying taxes, staying organised, and meeting government regulations. To make matters a little easier, hiring a Registered Bookkeeper/ BAS Agent to work with you and support your business is a very plausible option. By doing so, your Bookkeeper/BAS Agent can focus on the tedious tasks while you can put your full time and effort into successfully growing your business!

WHAT IS A BOOKKEEPER?

A bookkeeper is trained to handle small to large businesses. They are responsible for recording and maintaining the updated financial transactions of businesses. These can include aspects like purchases, expenses, sale revenues, invoices, and payments. Bookkeepers are more than just data entry people, but rather are able to provide you with accurate financial data to assist you in making decisions to increase your business size. This definitely makes it more worth it in the long run!

SO, WHAT EXACTLY CAN THEY DO FOR MY BUSINESS?

The best- known role of bookkeepers is keeping track of daily transactions

Bookkeepers look after the general day-to-day spending of the bank transactions. A recommended tool for bookkeepers to use to make their job easier would be accounting software which uses daily automatic bank feeds.

Sending out invoices and managing the accounts receivable ledger payments

Creating invoices and sending them out to clients is another of the bookkeeper’s responsibilities. They also chase up late, as well as manage the accounts receivable ledger.

Take care of the account’s payable ledger

Up to a certain monetary extent, bookkeepers usually organize payments on behalf of the business they are working with. They prepare the batch payments and send it to the person in the business responsible for approval. Types of payments are considered- payroll payment, supplier invoices, expenses and to tidy up minor expenses, such as office supplies.

Organize chart of accounts

The chart of accounts is a list of all accounts used to record transactions. It helps to categorize income and expenses into logical groups of an organisation’s finance system, such as financial assets, liabilities, and transactions in its general ledger.
Additionally, a General Ledger code (GL) is a number allocated to each account in the chart of accounts to keep track of the accounting data.

ALSO, FOR YOU TO NOTE…

The tax rate is to code an invoice correctly in its relation to GST, and depending on the accounting software, there are many tax rate options and so many business owners enter the invoices with the wrong tax code or GL. However, a good bookkeeper allocates the invoice in the correct GL and will keep the GL accounts balanced. Furthermore, it’s important to always to check the ABN of the invoices to check if the vendor is registered to GST or not. There are some unfortunate cases where vendors charge for GST within their invoice, although are not registered to GST.

Watch out for cash flow

Bookkeepers play a vital role in ensuring that the business does not run out of daily spending money. In order to do this, they must monitor the balance of revenue in comparison to expenses. Then, they are able to provide action or offer advice if the company seems to be in need of more cash.

Prepare all the books to be ready for the accountant

As a bookkeeper, they must ensure all general ledger accounts and bank accounts are constantly up to date and ready for the accountant. Bookkeepers and BAS agents also keep track of any recent legal changes or new regulations from the ATO. This way, if the ATO comes knocking, all the books will be ready to be presented stress and hassle-free.

Handle payroll, STP, and superannuation

Bookkeepers also have the important role of handling the pay for the employees. This includes compiling the summaries of earnings, taxes, deductions, reimbursements, bonuses, overtime, and leaves. They also maintain the payroll operations by following policies and procedures. Bookkeepers also manage the superannuation obligations, ensuring that it is calculated and forwarded to the ATO correctly and on time. They can also look after the STP (single touch payroll)

DID YOU KNOW…

Although many businesses may simply get their family members to perform tasks that bookkeepers have been trained to do, this usually does not end well. Even with a slight background in accounting software, this alone is not enough to capture all the information. Most entries in the system are often required to be categorized and amended by hand.

WHY YOUR BOOKKEEPER AND ACCOUNTANT SHOULD WORK TOGETHER

Bookkeepers and accountants are most definitely not the same things. In fact, to support your business you should have both an accountant and a bookkeeper in your corner.

It’s cost-effective

Some businesses decide only to hire accountants to act as bookkeepers, which in fact is more costly than simply hiring a bookkeeper. It is much more cost-effective hiring just a bookkeeper, as for the type of work performed by bookkeepers, you would be constantly checking in with them. However, if an accountant was hired to do that type of work instead, it would cost a lot more and not be the best use of their time and various skillset. However, by having both an accountant and bookkeeper to aid you in supporting your business, their different skill sets would complement each other. They would then be able to work together to provide you with suggestions and projections which can help grow your business.

It’s efficient

To maximize efficiency, your bookkeeper and accountant can collaborate to create a personalised bookkeeping system, making it easy for the accountant to gather any necessary information.

It’s holistic

It is also a holistic process, as Bookkeepers keep track of your business at a much smaller scale with a clear idea of where the business should be going in the future. However, accountants often look at your situation with a long-term vision, helping you plan for the future while knowing where you are at in the present time. A bookkeeper can also act as a type of quality control’ for your accounting, letting you know if your current business progress can be taken to the next step.

WHAT ARE BAS AGENTS AND HOW DO THEY COMPLEMENT THE BOOKKEEPERS?

A Business Activity Statement (BAS) agent is an individual or company that is registered to advise clients, provide certainty, or represent the client to the tax office in relation to a variety of matters.

Register/ deregister GST
Preparing and lodging the payment summary annual report for those that are employers
Speak with the ATO on your behalf if required
Provide you with an information report demonstrating year- to-date interest charges that may have arisen from ATO

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

From reading the importance and many roles that a bookkeeper/BAS agent plays to aid your business, you may be beginning to understand the importance of hiring a qualified individual, rather than simply assigning the task to a family member. And together with your chosen accountant, these two workers can boost your business and your dream! Furthermore, hiring a qualified bookkeeper/BAS agent will allow you to provide relief on issues regarding taxation.

To get in touch to talk about hiring a registered Bookkeeper/BAS Agent, contact Fabiana today for an obligation free chat!