Is it time to change your bookkeeper?
Are you considering changing your bookkeeper as you have noticed a dramatic change in his daily performance? You might be vacillating on whether to keep the same bookkeeper or hire a new one as you might just be overreacting or being unfair to your bookkeeper. It is indeed difficult to decide when you have been keeping the same bookkeeper for years. Unfortunately, if your business is already suffering due to the bookkeeper’s incompetency, it is about time you look for someone that fulfills the job role.
You may also want to take a look at these warning signs that can help you decide if your current bookkeeper deserves a second chance:
1. Your financial reports and other essential forms are not delivered to you on time.
In theory, business owners should have instant access to financial reports to find out how the business operations are doing. Although preparing financial reports may require a certain amount of time, the reports must be ready when you need them. If there was a delay in submission, ask yourself if you have something to do with it. Are the materials available to the bookkeeper? If you have provided ample time and sufficient materials for the reports to be complete, you may have to think about changing your bookkeeper especially if the bookkeeper never makes any timely submission.
2. Your bookkeeper never stays in the office.
Is your bookkeeper always busy or out with other clients. Are your bookkeeping tasks not being attended to even when you are closed to the deadline? Do you have to constantly remind your bookkeeper to take care of your financial report before any attention can be given? If you are not getting your bookkeeping tasks done when they are supposed to, the task may no longer be appealing to your bookkeeper.
3. Your bookkeeper never considers discussing your financial reports.
It is your bookkeeper’s responsibility to explain the details of your financial reports so you will know if the information is correct. As a business owner, a full access to the information is essential. If your bookkeeper does not take time to schedule an appointment with you so you can go over the details, this is considered a warning sign. You need to know if the information is consistent because if ATO finds out about any erroneous information on the report, you can get penalized for it.
4. You receive a lot of notices from ATO in the mail.
It is already an obvious warning sign that your business is not being taken care of correctly if you receive repeated notices from ATO. These notices should be taken seriously because if your business has been red-flagged by ATO, you may have problems filing your forms in the future. If this happens frequently, talk to your bookkeeper so you will know where the problem lies. If you are not satisfied with the answers or if the bookkeeper beats around the bush, it is time you opt for a new bookkeeper.
5. You don’t receive timely phone calls from your bookkeeper.
One of the reasons a business owner hires a bookkeeper is get assistance so the daily tasks become less burdensome. These objectives are not achieved if your bookkeeper does not return your calls in a timely fashion. Something is obviously wrong if this happens frequently. A few incidents here and there are acceptable but if it becomes habitual, it should be something to worry about.
