Want to hire a bookkeeper? Here are 2 simple steps to prepare

Are you a business owner running your business and doing All The Things, including the bookkeeping? And now you’re ready to hire a bookkeeper to get some time back? But you’re embarrassed at how messy your books are?

First, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I literally clean up messy books for a living. I’m that one friend who gets excited to re-organize your closet and considers it a fun afternoon.

There’s no judgment here. It happens.

But if you want some tips on things you can do now to prepare for a bookkeeper in the future? Keep reading.

Completing just one of these tips will make your future bookkeeper happy.

 

Step 1: List Your Business Accounts

One simple way to make your future bookkeeper happy is to know what accounts you use to run your business. It’s easy to remember when you only have one. But if you have 2 checking accounts, 1 savings account, 1 Stripe and 1 Square account, oh! and that credit card you used for a few months? It can be hard to keep track.

Do yourself a favor and make a list. Write down all these things you use to run the business:

• All checking and savings accounts
• Credit card accounts
• Lines of credit
• Loans (including money from family or friends that you need to repay)
• Payment processor accounts (Stripe, Square, PayPal, etc)
• Equipment, vehicles, or machinery
• Invoicing and bill pay apps
• Payroll provider
• Receipt software (ex. Hubdoc)

 

Step 2: Store Your Documents

The hardest step of a bookkeeping cleanup is getting all the documentation. I recommend saving any business documents in one place so you can easily send them to your bookkeeper.

What documents to collect? I recommend saving ALL documents related to your business (better to have it and not need it)! Here’s a list of the most common documents businesses have:

• Business formation documents (state registration letter, IRS EIN letter, ownership paperwork, etc)
• Receipts for purchases
• Tax returns, including sales & use tax returns
• Statements (for bank, credit card, loans, etc)
• Payment processor reports
• Payroll reports

 

Remember

When you hire a bookkeeper, we help you organize your books. It’s part of our job and we don’t judge. But if you want to get a head-start, use at least one of these 2 tips. Just remember that you don’t have to be embarrassed about your messy books, and you don’t have to do this alone.

 

Want some help getting your books cleaned up? Check out our services: https://yellowskybookkeeping.com/services