HSA June 21

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?
• 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
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