Ongoing Bookkeeping

What ongoing bookkeeping actually involves

Most of the work happens in the background. Each week or month, depending on how busy your business is, I work through everything that has gone through your accounts since last time. Every transaction is matched to something that explains it: an invoice, a bill, a receipt, or a quick answer from you. Then it is coded to the right account with the right GST treatment.

That is the part most people picture. The part that matters just as much is checking. A bank account can show as reconciled in Xero and still be wrong, because a payment was matched to the wrong invoice or a transfer between accounts was recorded as income. So each month I look at the balance sheet as well as the profit and loss. Do the bank balances agree to the statements? Does the list of unpaid bills make sense? Has the GST account moved the way it should? Is anything sitting in a suspense account that shouldn't be?

When something doesn't add up, I find out why. If I need something from you, you get one clear list of questions rather than a steady drip of emails.

Signs it is time to hand your bookkeeping over

• You are doing the books at night or on weekends, and they are always the last job on the list.
• The bank feed in Xero has hundreds of transactions waiting to be reconciled.
• BAS time turns into a scramble every quarter.
• You are not sure who owes you money, or which bills you have already paid.
• Your accountant sends back a list of questions at year end, or charges extra to fix the file before they can start.
• The business has grown, with more customers, more suppliers or staff, and the way you have always done it no longer keeps up.
• You would simply like to know the numbers are right without having to check them yourself.

None of these mean you have done anything wrong. Usually they mean the business has outgrown the time you can give it. If the books are already well behind, start with a catch-up and clean-up and move into ongoing bookkeeping from there.

What changes for you

Once we are up and running, your side becomes simple: forward bills and receipts as they arrive, answer the occasional question, and read a short update each month. I keep track of what is due, follow up the loose ends and make sure nothing sits unexplained.

You will know who hasn't paid, what is coming up for BAS and roughly where cash is heading, without having to dig for it. And if you want to understand a number, ask. I am happy to walk you through your profit and loss or explain why something looks the way it does. That is part of the job, not an extra.

How often should your books be reconciled?

For most small businesses, monthly is the minimum. Weekly is better once you have a steady flow of transactions or staff on payroll. Weekly reconciliation keeps each session small, catches problems while they are still easy to fix (a duplicated payment, a missed invoice, a customer who hasn't paid) and means your figures are never more than a few days old.

Bookkeeping done only once a quarter, just before the BAS is due, is where most errors creep in, because by then nobody remembers what a transaction was for. We will agree a rhythm that suits your volume and budget, and I will stick to it.

Working alongside your accountant

Bookkeeping and accounting are different jobs, and they work best together. I keep the day-to-day records accurate and reconciled and, as a Registered BAS Agent, prepare and lodge your BAS and IAS. Your accountant, as a registered tax agent, prepares your income tax return and financial statements and advises on tax planning, structure and anything outside BAS.

At year end I tidy the file, reconcile the balance sheet, finalise payroll and send your accountant what they ask for, so they start from clean books instead of spending time (and your money) fixing them. With your permission, I will speak with them directly when questions come up, so you are not stuck relaying messages between us.