What am I missing by performing my own bookkeeping? 

No matter how much they hate it, many small business owners insist upon handling the books themselves. Although understandably, it gives a feeling of having control on the financial pulse; there are many items that an owner may overlook and can potentially cause substantial missed tax deduction opportunities.

Some important items that may be overlooked include;

•   Small business owners can often pay for expenses with cash out of pocket, or charge on their own personal credit card, then make the mistake of failing to track these expenses. They then fail to submit the expenses to the company for reimbursement or for tax deductions. These can add up quickly, and are difficult to recreate when proper and timely records are not maintained.

•   One of the fundamental aspects of bookkeeping is; reconciling the bank statements and general ledger every month. Nonetheless, there are businesses that do not do this and errors are made without determining where the discrepancies originated. This can cause checking account overdrafts, bank fees and worse. Reconciling on a monthly basis ensures you know that all of the account transactions are accurate and accounted for!

•   Most accounting software, i.e., Quickbooks, Peachtree have fairly standard categories pre-set for expenses. However, very often expenses are entered into the wrong categories or duplicate categories are created. Use general bookkeeping guidelines for standard categorization and create as few new categories as possible. Try to follow generally accepted accounting practices. This is where a bookkeeper would be especially beneficial.

**Consider this; having a competent bookkeeper will not only benefit your business; but free your time to concentrate on running the business!

Dee Mitchell is the Owner of Checks & Balances Business Service located in Windham, Maine.

We specialize in supporting local small business owners with bookkeeping, accounting and organizational consulting. Feel free to contact us to see how we can contribute to your success!