Why One Bookkeeper Could Cost You More Than a Team Off the back of our article Maximising your Tax Advantage last month, we’ve had a number of Publicans enquire about our closing comment on keeping strong bookkeeping practices in check and whether this is best done building talent in-house or out-of-house, especially when faced with the ongoing challenge of their operation’s needs outpacing their internal resourcing. For many organisations, their bookkeeper acts as a central point for their financial operations , regardless of whether they work inside the business, or are an outsourced supplier. This can take the form of the business’ bookkeeper having combined responsibility for specific bookkeeping tasks, and also crossing over to operation duties. Whilst this is a convenient way to operate, it can increase risk as there is a lack of segregation of duties, plus it often causes inefficiencies. Inefficiencies can take place where the bookkeeper takes on responsibilities that should sit with other roles within the organisation, causing duplications and a lack of understanding. Segregation of duties can be difficult to achieve for many operators, so outsourcing is a way of achieving some segregation and therefore reducing the opportunity of fraud and increasing the ability to prevent costly errors. Below are some examples of key financial areas in a business that should be managed separately: • Processing invoices and authorising payments • Ordering, invoice checking and processing • Credit card access and reconciliation IS IT TIME TO REVIEW YOUR OPERATION’S BOOKKEEPING? Elizabeth Elliot , our Director of Bookkeeping at Perks shares with us some insight into how to go about assessing this. “Before setting down the path of selecting a bookkeeper for your business, all operators should ask themselves the following questions: • When your current bookkeeper is sick or on holidays, what is the impact on your business? • If your current bookkeeper were to leave your business, what would the impact be? • How many “backups” do you have trained that can step into the shoes of your bookkeeper for any given duration of time? 12 | Hotel SA | W W W . A H A S A . A S N . A U
• How many of the following areas below are managed by the same person/manager? - Purchases/Accounts payable - Sales/Accounts receivable - Payroll - Bank accounts and reconciliations” If, like many operators, you find that it is difficult to succinctly answer any one of the above questions, chances are that your organisation has a highly centralised practice of bookkeeping. Whilst at the best of times this may provide a sense of control, it can easily derail if the person in question is absent from the business for any length of time. HERE ARE SOME OF THE KEY WAYS AN OUTSOURCED BOOKKEEPER CAN HELP YOUR BUSINESS 1. Agility for your business By having well-maintained books and processes, you will gain a clearer picture on your financial and operating position. In addition, by having the added benefit of centralising your information into a cloud-based system means that you can access information on your business in realtime, enabling you to make well-informed decision or pivot where necessary. Relationships are also critical to good business practices. Having an outsourced bookkeeping team can enable you to streamline your accounts payable and receivable processes, minimising delays and keeping you in good standing with your customers and suppliers. 2. Peace of mind A robust, well-resourced bookkeeping team should be able to deliver 365-day year-round coverage to ensure that your business’ needs are always met. This means that your business should not be subject to staffing ebbs and flows, such as annual leave, sick leave and staffing changes. 3. Fixed costs With a seasoned bookkeeping team, you should benefit from being able to negotiate the scope of work and subsequent fees upfront. In a well-resourced bookkeeping partner, this means that your supplier can work on a fixed fee model that suits your business requirements. Your supplier should also be able to provide experienced and qualified staff in whom they Back to Contents
