What is Bookkeeping? Why is it necessary? Why choose RDC Business Services for your bookkeeping?

Often, businesses, particularly new and small businesses, conflate bookkeeping with accounting. Not that bookkeeping isn't a big part of the accounting process, but being a bookkeeper and being an accountant are two different jobs.

First, a bookkeeper is tasked with recording transactions. From the smallest expense to the largest capital asset purchase, every time your business pays a phone bill, writes a payroll check, or receives payment for goods and services, there needs to be a recording of those transactions. A bookkeeper not only is a businesses' "Record Keeper", but they make sense of all of those transactions and categorize them so reports can be generated which help a business owner make decisions. Maintaining proper books is not only smart from the standpoint of knowing how your business is performing, but every business can have monthly, quarterly, and annual reporting responsibilities due to their local/county, state, and federal authorities. Without an accurate ongoing presentation of your company's books, making those reports are almost impossible to do. You'll spend needless hours and days trying to gather all of your data at the last minute, all the while panicking that what you've collected is incomplete or that you haven't got a clue of what's important and what isn't. Employing a bookkeeper saves you days of valuable time by keeping all of those activities recorded and categorized.

The primary difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant can be summed up by identifying an accountant as an industry-recognized professional who is licensed to make your legal filings with the government (Taxes, etc.) and be your financial representative should there be issues you need resolved with government entities. In reality, your bookkeeper and your accountant work hand in hand. Your bookkeeper pretty much does your accountant's grunt work. That being said, having a bookkeeper to record all of your transactions and create your Financial Statements makes your accountant's job easier, more efficient, and MUCH less expensive. To perform the tasks your bookkeeper will take care of would cost you significantly more if you were to have your accountant do everything. In fact, most accountants employ bookkeepers in their firms to handle those tasks. However, you will still pay an inflated hourly rate because your accountant pays their bookkeepers and makes a profit on their services.

There are thousands of competent and conscientious bookkeepers in every town, city, and state across the country. So, why would you choose RDC Business Services to handle your bookkeeping? There are a myriad of reasons why we select any number of professionals to perform services in our business and personal lives. Perhaps its proximity to where we work/live. Maybe we look for the least expensive option. We could get a referral from a friend or business contact. Ultimately, most of us are initially directed to a company from any of these, but make our choice based on our "gut feeling". Did they handle our initial meeting with professionalism? Did they seem to understand what my needs are, and not try to fit me in a box? Am I confident that they will have my best interests at heart? Do I believe they will respect my time and efficiently provide me the tools I need to manage my company? You'd be surprised how many very good bookkeeping firms have a hard time conveying that sense of security, particularly in that first consultation when first impressions are critical. Unfortunately, regardless of how skilled they are as bookkeepers, they miss opportunities due to an unsatisfying first impression.

We would like to think that providing superior service is a given at RDC Business Services. The transactional end of what we do is always at the highest level, and the value we provide is unquestioned. Why can we be so confident? Where we excel is with communication. We are not ashamed to admit that we expect a two-way street when it comes to information, data, and access. We would be in no position to have certain expectations of our clients if we weren't willing to go above and beyond to surpass your expectations of us. The only way to achieve a well run, efficient team is through clear and open communication. We understand that you will be entrusting us with sensitive, private, company financial data, and we can and will assure you that your confidentiality is sacred to us.

Why wouldn't I choose RDC Business Services? Frankly, many businesses are either set in their ways or unwilling to let go of their antiquated ways of doing their books. This leads to clashes and situations where our company will not be the best fit. We get it. Really! The money is the engine that drives any company. Turning that tracking over to someone you don't even know is daunting and creates anxiety. The tendency is to hover and try to micro manage every facet of what we do on a day to day basis. Your input is critical to help us understand how to classify transactions and why and where money is spent. There is a huge difference between your "input" and telling us how to do our jobs. In addition, many potential clients cannot recognize the difference between hiring a bookkeeper as an outside contractor and hiring an employee whom they can manage on their clock. It's up to you to be self-aware enough to know if you can feel comfortable hiring a company to assume the burden of your books, without the inherent impulse to treat us more like employees than professionals offering a service.

In the spirit of exhibiting our communication skills right from the beginning, once we engage in our Initial Consultation, and we mutually agree to progress to the proposal stage, you will receive a proposal for services, followed by an Engagement Letter once the proposal is accepted, and, finally, a detailed checklist of the items we require to begin our relationship. Everything will be detailed and outlined for you so there will never be any questions as to whether or not we are providing, not only everything we've agreed to, but everything you need, so you can spend those days and hours you used to labor over your books, focusing on your business.

If you're ready to reclaim your valuable time and relieve the headaches of trying to do your own books, let's schedule your Initial Consultation:

Make An Appointment

A professional bookkeeper will free up your time, save you money, and take a huge weight off your shoulders.