Informational
Title: Accountant or Bookkeeper?
Understanding the utilization of Accountants and Bookkeepers as a startup or early-stage business becomes essential to save money relevant to acquiring expertise. Many believe they perform the same type of work, but both have different skill sets applicable to organizing accounts, consulting, analyzing financials, and having the knowledge to advise on taxes. One sure thing is managing day-to-day operations relevant to recording financial transactions and generating essential reports.
The booklet we have developed provides the understanding of what differentiates between the duties of an accountant and that of the services of a bookkeeper.
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Accounting
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Described in general terms, the practice encompasses numerous business financial activities and essential bookkeeping. The responsibilites span from publishing financial statements, compute taxes, processing tax payments and returns, and evaluating profit/loss statements. Other duties may incorperate auditing financial transactions while reinforcing financial data confidentiality and have knowlege on regulations and procedures.
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Bookkeeper
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Specifically requires knowledge of documenting every incoming and outgoing financial transaction in the business from beginning to end. The responsibility starts with taking the business’s pulse and ensuring financial information is up-to-date to enable managerial decisions. The benefit is that someone monitors cash flow, pays bills, tracks records, and is detail-oriented.
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Accounting Software
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Most business owners may begin with various spreadsheets to document incoming/outgoing cash while tracking finances. The approach is typical; however, remaining sufficient becomes challenging once the business begins to take flight. Turning toward software to assist in delivering invoices, managing payroll, and collecting data to configure reports will often require a better solution. Startups and small businesses will deploy an off-the-shelf resolution, selecting from QuickBooks, Wave, or other services such as Zeni to operate smoothly.
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