Does a Business Need a Bookkeeper and Why Hire a CPB or RPB?

Why does a business need a bookkeeper?

Bookkeeping – the activity or profession of recording the financial transactions of a person, business, or organization. Transactions include sales, purchases, payroll, income, payments and government reporting.

This definition makes bookkeeping sounds very simple – but it truly is work for an expert.

Bookkeeping is not the most effective way for a business owner to use their time. The time spent setting up your books, tracking transactions, and gathering reports for tax, inventory, or payroll is valuable time that could be spent on sales, courting new customers, maintaining relationships with current clients and managing employees. Outsourcing to a bookkeeper who uses state-of-the-art bookkeeping software is guaranteed to save time and money.

Many small businesses fail within the first five years often because they have not kept sound financial records. Hence the need for a qualified bookkeeper. Having one on the team is essential to the growth and success of your business.

Why should a business hire a Registered or Certified Professional Bookkeeper?

Without certification, anyone with minimal bookkeeping knowledge and a weekend course on using “Books-In-A-Box 2012” can offer services and call themselves a “bookkeeper”. Respectable bookkeepers know that there is so much more to responsible bookkeeping than simply knowing how to complete one task, use a piece of software, or simply input data. Businesses and individuals using the services of a bookkeeper are entrusting their most important possession, intimate knowledge of business or personal finances, to a stranger. Yet, most people have no way of effectively and independently evaluating a bookkeeper. This is why certification by either the Canadian Bookkeepers Association (CBA) or the Institute of Professional Bookkeepers of Canada (IPBC) is so important.

In order for a bookkeeper to be eligible to take either examination, they must be a member in good standing with the CBA at the intermediate or senior level, 5 to over 10 years of verifiable experience; or the IPBC and have a minimum of 2 years of recent, verifiable bookkeeping experience. The RPB and CPB must adhere to a strict Code of Ethics, and a CPB must keep their knowledge current by earning 15 Professional Development Units each year.

The both certifications reflect the level of knowledge, education, and skills necessary to carry out all key functions through the adjusted trial balance, including basic payroll, for all sized companies.