What Do Online Bookkeepers Really Do?
Also known as virtual bookkeepers or remote bookkeepers, online bookkeepers can be invaluable to your business. They perform the same types of tasks as traditional, on-site bookkeepers from a remote location rather than in your workforce. Through online bookkeeping software programs and mobile apps, they can manage your business finances so you don’t have to.
With their support, you’ll be able to allocate your time and resources on other tasks like adding to your product or service line and growing your business. So what exactly are online bookkeeping services and what do online bookkeepers do? Here are several of the many tasks they can tackle.
Accounts Payable
Accounts payable refers to the money you owe to vendors and suppliers for goods or services you purchased on credit. They can handle a number of accounts payable duties. They may monitor purchase orders and invoices, code invoices with the correct ledger information, and obtain approvals for payments. They will also check invoices to ensure they’re paid in a timely manner and keep an eye for questionable transactions on your credit card statements.
Accounts Receivable
Accounts receivable is money your customers owe you for the goods or services they previously purchased from you. An online bookkeeper may focus on accounts receivable tasks and bill customers for the work your business performed. They can create and send invoices and make sure they’re entered into the right accounts in the accounting system.
Banking
Every time an this bookkeeper receives payments from customers and other sources, they’ll prepare bank deposits. They may also reconcile bank statements and correct any discrepancies that they discover. Another common banking related task they may perform is wire transfer or ACH preparation.
General Ledger
A general ledger is essentially a master document that provides a complete record of all of your business financial transactions. An online bookkeeper typically enters information into it and reconciles general ledger accounts. In addition, they can prepare detailed journal entries and month-end reconciliation. One of their primary goals is to run the general ledger balance at the end of the month before they close the books to make sure accounts are balanced and accurate.
Online Bookkeepers are Not Created Equal
Your business is unique so the bookkeeper you partner with will have a unique set of duties to complete. Once they learn how your business works and what you hope to accomplish, they can recommend a customized scope of work. You’ll only pay for the duties they complete and save a great deal of money in the process rather than a flat monthly price.
Contact GrowthLab Today
At GrowthLab, we help small businesses like yours succeed. We can pair you with an online bookkeeper so you can keep your organization running smoothly. Contact us at 888.673.8481 for more information!
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GrowthLab, a Finance-as-a-Service (FaaS) company serving founders and management teams with full-service Financial Planning & Analysis, Monthly Accounting, Virtual CFO, HR-People Advisory, and Business Tax.