Outsourced Bookkeeper - Quickbooks

Outsourced Bookkeeper -Quickbooks

Author: santhosh kumar k

Outsourced Bookkeeper

As a small business owner, are financial concerns weighing you down? If so, a bookkeeper could be a great answer to help you stay on top of the paperwork – but there are a few important things to know before you rush out to find one.

The extra burden of preparing and lodging Business Activity Statements (BAS) has been progressively outsourced to a new emerging bookkeeping service group. Most medium size businesses that are required to prepare a BAS are now likely to employ an accounts person or engage an external bookkeeper to do the work.

Demand for accounting support services has grown enormously and there's been an influx of inexperienced, incompetent practitioners offering their services. The result has been a high incidence of errors and omissions in BAS and often the additional cost of reworking reports.

The federal government has responded by passing the Tax Agent Services Act 2009 that will introduce a registration regime for self employed bookkeepers offering BAS preparation and lodgment services – BAS agents – based upon prescribed qualifications and experience standards and adherence to a Code of Professional Conduct.

The new legislation also makes the concession that by engaging a BAS agent (or tax agent) and providing them with all the relevant information to enable the preparation and lodgment of a return, notice or statement with the ATO on time or for making an unintentional, false or misleading statement, taxpayers won't be liable for an administrative penalty for late lodgment resulting from their agent's failure to take reasonable care.

The new legislation acknowledges how important it is to have a competent, experienced practitioner compiling reports for the preparation and lodgment of BAS and financial reports for the preparation of income tax returns, and the necessity for practitioners to observe a code of conduct relating to their relationship with their clients.

Bookkeeping Skills

Understand basic accounting terms, including accounts payable and receivable, balance sheet and income statement.

Ask a friend who is a bookkeeper or business owner to explain the fundamentals of basic record keeping, the credit you receive or extend to other businesses, payroll concerns and taxes.

Sign up for a computer course in bookkeeping using QuickBooks or Peachtree, two of the most popular accounting software packages for businesses.

Consult your accountant or tax preparer for answers to specific questions regarding your bookkeeping. Your accountant may want to work closely with you as you set up your accounts, particularly if you plan on using accounting software.

Advance your knowledge by earning the Certified Bookkeeper Designation awarded by the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. Certification requires two years of bookkeeping experience, passing three tests and agreeing to comply with a code of ethics.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/accounting-articles/outsourced-bookkeeper-quickbooks-2529174.html

About the Author

VP-ops

He holds a Post graduate degree in Commerce from Mysore University as well as a Masters Degree in Business Administration with specialization in Finance. He also holds certifications from AMFI and NCFM.Santhosh joined cosmic with over 4 years of experience in US accounting and Taxation that he gained through his work experience at M/S. Ernst and Young. He brings strong process discipline in both the technological and operational aspects of our service.

He has the credit of being a Charter President of Rotaract Club Mysore South-East RI Dist.3180 (Youth wing of rotary international) and Presently serving as Zonal secretary (Chamundi Zone) interacting with all top business community of Rotary and Rotaract Family