To paraphrase the legendary Ms. Franklin, sometimes as professional bookkeepers we just want some R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Occasionally it’s hard to be a professional bookkeeper. Keeping perfect books takes time and effort and some days it feels like the world doesn’t want to give us our due. Here are a few things we keep hearing that make us clench our teeth, along with the reasons you shouldn’t listen!

“Isn’t bookkeeping just math? I’m good at math.”

Having mad math skills doesn’t necessarily make you a good bookkeeper. Former US Vice President Dick Cheney was probably good at math, but you wouldn’t want him to do you books for you.

The biggest problems with bookkeeping done internally are time and expertise. Ask yourself, do you have time to produce perfectly reconciled books or is your time more valuable spent in other pursuits?

As well, most accountants expect the data from a client to be organized a certain way. They also expect the data to be accurate and exact. With a professional bookkeeper, all records are detailed and complete – before your accountant ever sees them.

“But the ad said that with this software, anyone could do the bookkeeping!”

Honestly, programs like QuickBooks Online have a lot to answer for. Because no matter how great a piece of software is, even the best applications require intelligent entry and analysis (as in, online solutions still require input from you).

And when you use bookkeeping and/or accounting software, someone still needs to know when to sound the alarm if a financial issue needs attention.

“I have bookkeeper training so I can do my own books. I’m also the CEO.”

And the marketing director. And the head of HR. And, and, and…” Yikes! You need to focus on things that make your company money. In order to remain relevant in an increasingly competitive market, every business must learn to allow its partners to do what they are best at. As the leader of your company, you are best at strategizing and coming up with creative money-making ideas. And hiring an expert bookkeeper will free up your time and energy focusing where you excel.

“A professional bookkeeper is too expensive!”

We know when you first budget a professional bookkeeper it can be scary. But a good bookkeeper can save you a ton of money. They will keep tabs on all of your invoices, inventory, expenditures, cash flow, and related business matters so that you won’t lose money through accidentally double paying bills, missing deadlines and accumulating late fees, or worse.

Great bookkeepers help you figure out what products are or aren’t selling so you can focus your efforts on what is selling. They can keep your company from developing a theft problem, maintain your good credit rating, and help you receive the maximum possible tax deduction for business expenses.

Your professional bookkeeper can be a useful resource, alongside of your accountant and/or financial advisor. They can provide solid data to determine things like: when is a good time to grow your business, or when it is time to wait.

“I’m perfectly capable of keeping track of my receipts and other paperwork.”

Of course you are! But do you really need to? Perfect books month after month means less time spent chasing down records at the end of the year. Imagine allowing an experienced bookkeeper to help you keep pristine records in a timely fashion, rather than tossing your documents into an ever-growing pile to sort out at the end of the year or come tax season. Not only does the massive pile of figures increase your mental load, it also increases the chances of your making mistakes or losing details during tax season, which may result in (please, no!) an avoidable audit.

Thanks for letting us vent! We know our clients appreciate us. We appreciate you too!