Book Keeping the Easy Way   by Cheow Yu Yuan

in Finance / Accounting    (submitted 2010-03-03)

When someone mentions even the idea of book keeping, most people cringe. Mostly because they have tried it and have been frustrated beyond belief by it. The amount of paperwork and data entry involved in the process can really wear a person beyond what they can do. Then making sure everything balances at the end of the month is something the majority would rather have taken care of itself. The one thing that everyone can agree on is that this is a necessary task that definitely will not take care of itself. What to do is the next thing to ask.
A great option for taking care of this side of business is to get certified in book keeping. Although it takes time to complete. It's a good idea for business owners to have knowledge as to how the accounting end of the company works. For those who may not be a business owner, but would like the skills for a future job, or future company, training is always a good idea. A bookkeeper is more than just someone who does data entry. This person is a key player in any type of business, Without them the business would indeed fail before its first year was up.
To be a good book keeper not only takes training and being certified, but it also takes a dedication to learning all about the company they service. Although it's not necessary to be a CPA, bookkeepers find themselves needing to understand how to best take care of the company's taxes. A CPA then can go over and finalize them, but having a good person putting it all together in the beginning can really save the company a lot of time and headache when tax time comes around and everything needs to be accounted for.
Once the training is done and the job secured, a good software is essential for the book keeper to do an effective job. There is a lot of software available and most have several features in one program so it can be customized to each individual company the way it will be most productive. This is where the bookkeeper ends up needing extra training and even continuing training to make sure they are up to date on the latest features and the best way to use the software to maximize the efforts. Nothing can replace a good bookkeeper, but adding a great software, makes a good bookkeeper great.