Small Business Recordkeeping

For many small businesses, there are effectively 3 ways to have your basic bookkeeping and financial recordkeeping maintained:

Do it yourself – This will typically be with a basic software program (though it could still be done manually – talk about the old days), with the most obvious and industry overwhelming choice being QuickBooks. With a little effort, literally almost anyone can handle internal recordkeeping via a basic software program.

Bookkeeper – For many small businesses, we’re talking a part-time bookkeeper; once the business gets a bit larger, you might need a full-time bookkeeper. This is often the best choice when a business is a bit more than just a really small, classic Mom and Pop operation, when the information you need is a bit more sophisticated than a non-bookkeeper individual typically grasps and understands, and/or when you as the owner simply don’t have the time or the inclination to do this. It is typically money very well spent.

Your favorite CPA – While this can be me, generally speaking, unless you have a reason such as confidentiality (or a lack of time available), instead you should go to one of the prior 2 suggestions. We all know that an outside accountant such as myself is typically the most beneficial and cost justified for reviewing, correcting, and adapting from the work done by the business owner or a bookkeeper. It tends to be overkill to use a CPA for your basic bookkeeping.