The question why do you need a bookkeeper is answered simply by stating “to correctly track all of your business activity”. Bookkeeping is essential to your business, it does not matter the size, type, or industry of your business.  In some way, shape or form, you will need to keep track of all your business activities.

If you are reading this I am assuming you are a business owner, or you are looking to start your own business. Either way, you have the entrepreneurial mindset and you will have the need to control all aspects of your business.  Which is perfectly fine but you need to make sure you are tracking your activities correctly.

Why do you need a bookkeeper?

A bookkeeper is an essential part of your business, whether you are doing it yourself or you are outsourcing it.  Here are a few reasons on why you need a bookkeeper:

  • Record all the day-to-day transactions
  • Track your sales and expenses (are you actually making any money?)
  • File the required government remittances (correctly and on time)
  • Properly record any purchases/sales of assets. (think about capital gains/losses)
  • Track all the people that own you money, how much, and when its due
  • To track all the vendors that you may own money to, and when it is due
  • Remit, file and pay payroll taxes, CPP, EI, etc.

If you are at the point where you want to tackle the bookkeeping on your own, we can help.  Download this FREE 12 month bookkeeping spreadsheet to help you keep track of your activity.

When Should You Hire a Bookkeeper?

When business owners ask us if they should hire a bookkeeper, we tell them to ask themselves 4 simple questions:

1. What is my time worth?

We charge $35-$40 an hour for our full cycle bookkeeping services, if your time is worth more then that we suggest you hire a bookkeeper. Renegade Bookkeeping Ltd is a professionally ran firm and will do the job correctly and most likely faster then you.  This is just what we do, and we love it!

2. Can I do my bookkeeping correctly?

Keeping track of your activities throughout the year and be a tedious job, and the government has certain rules that need to be followed.  For instance, did you know you can only claim 50% of your meals and entertainment expenses for tax purposes? 

If your business is just sales and expenses, it is an easy job and we can help you with the tools and knowledge needed.  It gets harder when you need to track multiple streams of income, assets, investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll, etc.

At year-end when you hand over your bookkeeping to your accountant, they look it over and spend time cleaning up the books if needed.  I used to do this for a major accounting firm and my charge our rate for this was over $100 and hour.  Your accountant should not have to do this clean up, a good bookkeeper will have your books clean and correct at year-end.

All I am saying is, it will save you time and money to have your bookkeeping done correctly during they year.  I would rather you pay $40 an hour to a bookkeeper then $100 an hour to the accountant for doing the same thing.

3. Does it take time away from my money making activities?

Lets pretend you have a finishing carpentry business and you charge an average of $60+ and hour for your services.  That is not to mention the time spent finding new clients and relationship building.

If you need to take off a few days each month to focus on your bookkeeping, that is cutting into your money making activities.  You need to ask yourself, “am I giving up $60 an hour of income so I can save $40 an hour to a bookkeeper?

If this is the case, then its time to gives us a call.

4. Can I make the required deadlines?

Depending on your business, you will need to adhere to the governments deadlines.  This goes for GST, PST, Payroll, Income Tax just to name the main ones.  Can you have all your information tracked and then file these on time?  If not, the CRA charges hefty penalties for late remittances.

How Can Renegade Bookkeeping Ltd Help You?

We are a professional firm, but at the core we are entrepreneurs and we want to help other entrepreneurs be successful. 

If you are not ready to outsource your bookkeeping, at least let us help you stay on the right track.  We have resources, tools, and training available on our website.  So please utilize it.

If you are ready to get started with Renegade Bookkeeping Ltd, just give us a call and lets sit down and discuss your needs. (No Pressure). We aren’t only number crunchers, we are also financial experts and can help grow your business.

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