Not to be confused with a book seller or a librarian, a bookkeeper is the term used to describe someone who records and tracks financial business data. It is also not to be confused with an accountant. Quite literally, a bookkeeper is the person who looks after – or ‘keeps’ – the books of a company, charity or organisation. If you want to know more about the important role of a bookkeeper, here is our quick guide.
What skills do I need to be a bookkeeper?
Most companies hiring a bookkeeper will want somebody with some experience or training in bookkeeping. A bookkeeping course can often be carried out at night school or via distance learning. Ideally you will have basic knowledge of accounting software; in addition, you will need to be a very meticulous and organised individual with excellent attention to detail.
What is a bookkeeper?
Bookkeeping is a professional-level data entry role. The main tasks are to create and maintain business records. Most commonly these are business finance records, which the post-holder may also use to create finance reports and tax returns. This does not mean the role is confined to copying receipts and sales into a spreadsheet, as payroll may also be included.
Smaller companies may appoint a bookkeeper service, as this is often more cost effective than employing someone. Both small and large companies looking for bookkeeping services in Gloucestershire can consider an experienced firm such as https://www.kngbusinesssupport.co.uk/bookkeeping-services-gloucestershire/.
What is the difference between an accountant and bookkeeper?
Bookkeeping is a subset of accountancy. An accountant has responsibility for all areas of financial services and will often use the data recorded by a bookkeeper. An accountant will use financial reports and statistics collected and maintained by a bookkeeper to consider long-term financial strategies, set staff rates, assess outgoings, and look at whether the company is generating enough sales to sustain itself. A bookkeeper maintains this data but does not analyse it in the same way as an accountant.
The role of a bookkeeper is interesting and requires certain skills, but it is important to remember that it differs from accountancy. If you don’t have the budget for a fulltime bookkeeper, the easiest way to ensure the bookkeeping at your firm is done properly is often to appoint the services of a contractor.