You may spend your days training staff, reviewing your menus, meeting with vendors, and working on marketing campaigns. There’s only so much time in the day, and it’s easy to overlook your books.

However, if you don’t keep track of your accounts, you may find your invoices piling up and the tax man calling.

Should you consider hiring a bookkeeper?

When to hire a bookkeeper is different for every restaurant owner. To help you make this decision, we’ll review the responsibilities of a bookkeeper, explain the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant, and explain the benefits of adding a bookkeeper to your staff (or bookkeeping services).

What Does a Bookkeeper Do?

Think of a bookkeeper as the financial quarterback of your business. They perform all the day-to-day financial tasks that keep your restaurant up and running. For example, the responsibilities of a bookkeeper often include:

• Paying invoices from your vendors
• Accepting payments on your invoices
• Performing payroll
• Tracking receipts
• Paying bills
• Recording all your business’s daily transactions

Bookkeepers are in charge of your business ledger and make sure it always balances.

Bookkeeper vs. Accountant

The terms “bookkeeper” and “accountant” are often used interchangeably, but these are actually two different positions with unique responsibilities. If your bookkeeper is the financial quarterback of your restaurant, an accountant will act as the financial coach of your business. An accountant looks at the big financial picture. They often create budgets, run reports, and handle your company’s taxes.

While a bookkeeper is typically a transactional role, an accountant is more of an analyst who will track the business’s financial health and make recommendations to improve cash flow and profit.

An accountant can perform bookkeeping duties but a bookkeeper cannot serve as an accountant.

When to Hire a Bookkeeper

If you have the funds, the best time to hire a bookkeeper is when you first begin your business. An experienced bookkeeper can set you up right, creating a well-organized ledger and developing best practices from the start.

If you’ve been doing your own bookkeeping and don’t have a strong accounting background, it may be difficult and time-consuming for a bookkeeper to come in later and re-organize your system to meet industry standards.

That said, if you need to save on funds, you may have to hold off on hiring a bookkeeper in the beginning until you can afford their services. If you find that you don’t have the time or ability to manage your payments and payroll, that’s a good clue that it’s time to hire a bookkeeper.

Hiring a Bookkeeper

Your bookkeeper will be managing your books and will have access to your accounts, so it’s imperative to hire someone who is organized, reliable, and trustworthy.

Look for candidates with experience, especially in restaurants. Don’t hesitate to call previous employers to ensure the job candidate left in good standing.

Should You Outsource Your Bookkeeping?

You may wonder why you should hire a bookkeeper. After all, adding another staff member will increase your overhead. In the restaurant business, where margins are infamously tight, another employee could be difficult to support.

However, implementing good bookkeeping processes is incredibly important. A bookkeeper keeps the bills paid and the lights turned on. They send out checks to your employees and ensure your books are balanced. No restaurant (or any business) can last for long without solid bookkeeping.

That said, you don’t necessarily need to hire a full-time or even a part-time bookkeeper. Instead, you can save overhead by outsourcing your bookkeeping needs. RASI is a company built to provide back-office services for the hospitality industry. That includes bookkeeping services. We are happy to take over your bookkeeping needs so you can focus on running your restaurant.

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Many restaurant owners start out by doing their own books, but as your business and responsibilities grow, you may find yourself too overwhelmed to handle the finances.

You need to hire someone but should you bring on an accountant or a bookkeeper? Though these terms are often used interchangeably, they are two separate positions with different responsibilities.

In this article, we’ll look at the difference between bookkeepers and accountants. We’ll review the function and responsibilities of each role, and then look at whether you should hire in-house or outsource.

What Is a Bookkeeper?

When it comes to accountant vs bookkeeper, think about your bookkeeper as the person who tracks your restaurant’s day-to-day transactions. They are on the ground, making sure your bills are paid, recording your sales, and keeping track of your taxes.

Bookkeeper responsibilities typically include:

• Performing payroll
• Sending invoices
• Paying invoices
• Recording receipts and bills
• Maintaining the business’s ledger

Bookkeepers are great at keeping your accounts organized and making sure everyone gets paid. They tend to be less expensive to hire than an accountant and can also give you a day-to-day understanding of your business.

What Is an Accountant?

While bookkeepers focus on the nitty-gritty of your daily business transactions, accountants look at the big picture. Their job is to generate reports, forecast trends, and help you make better financial decisions.

Accountant duties include

• Creating yearly, quarterly, and monthly budgets
• Doing the business’s taxes
• Creating financial statements and reports
• Analyzing a business’s performance
• Making recommendations to improve a business’s finances

While accountants can perform bookkeeping, bookkeepers can’t be accountants. An accountant gives you a better understanding of your restaurant’s financial health. They provide deep analysis and expertise that can lead to improved profits.

Accountant vs Bookkeeper: Which One Should You Choose?

When considering whether to hire an accountant or bookkeeper, the answer will depend on the specific needs of your company. If you simply need help keeping your books in order, a bookkeeper may be the right choice. If you want someone on your team to analyze the financial performance of your restaurants and help you structure a budget, an accountant could be the way to go.

These two positions are not mutually exclusive. As your business grows, you may find you need both an accountant and a bookkeeper. In fact, these two positions can work well together, with the bookkeeper performing the daily financial tasks and the accountant managing the business’s overall financial picture.

Should You Hire In-House or Outsource Bookkeeping and Accounting?

Now that you understand the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant, you can better determine what you need in your business. Bringing on a new employee, whether a bookkeeper or an accountant, can add a lot of overhead to your business. You may also find that you don’t yet have the need for a full-time bookkeeper or accountant.

In this case, it may make financial sense to outsource your bookkeeping and accountant. RASI can help. We offer a full suite of back-office services specifically for the hospitality market. We can take on all your bookkeeping needs and serve as your company’s accountant. Learn more about all the financial services we offer.

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Your restaurant won’t survive for long if you don’t pay your bills, track your receipts, or ensure your employees receive their paychecks. Yet, all these little back-office responsibilities can easily fall through the cracks if you’re busy running other aspects of your business. A bookkeeper can be a valuable addition to your team, ensuring that the lights stay on in your restaurant. However, adding another employee is expensive, so outsourcing may be the answer. In this article, we’ll look at how to outsource your bookkeeping.

What Is a Bookkeeper?

Before we dive into bookkeeping outsourcing, it can be useful to review what a bookkeeper actually does. In a nutshell, a bookkeeper manages a business’s day-to-day financial transactions. This can include

• Sending invoices
• Paying invoices and bills
• Performing payroll
• Tracking all payments and receipts
• Managing a company’s ledger and keeping it balanced

In other words, a bookkeeper tracks and manages your money and ensures bills don’t go unpaid. While some restaurant owners can perform their own bookkeeping, others prefer to outsource it to a professional. Bookkeeping outsourcing can free owners up to focus on higher-level tasks and ensure that their books are always done according to industry standards.

RELATED: The Key Difference Between Bookkeepers and Accountants

How to Outsource Bookkeeping

Most restaurants operate on hair-thin margins. You may not want to add the expense of a full-time or part-time bookkeeper to your staff. Fortunately, you can outsource your bookkeeping to save on costs.

Hire a Freelance Bookkeeper

You may be able to find and hire a bookkeeper in your area who performs bookkeeping services for multiple businesses. This option is ideal if you only need part-time help and if you can find a reliable and experienced individual. Freelance bookkeepers may charge an hourly rate or, more commonly, a set monthly fee for their services. Their rates will depend on their experience and the level of work you need.

Use a Virtual Bookkeeping Company

You can find companies that specialize in performing bookkeeping work. Typically, these agencies have a staff of multiple bookkeepers or contractors that share the work. Many of these companies will offer set rates for monthly bookkeeping services. They may also offer accounting services, which can include generating financial reports, preparing your company’s taxes, and providing financial analysis of your business. Their cost will depend on the level of work they perform.

When searching for a bookkeeping company, look for a company with an established reputation, good reviews, and industry-standard pricing.

RASI is a form of a virtual bookkeeping company. We offer bookkeeping services along with many other back-office services specifically for the restaurant industry.

How Does Outsourced Bookkeeping Work?

The actual details of outsourcing your bookkeeping will depend on the individual or company you work with. A local bookkeeper may actually visit your business in person to perform their bookkeeping services using your system and financial software.

However, these days, many bookkeepers and bookkeeping companies are entirely virtual. They will use software and cloud computing to track and manage your finances. They may start by setting up your company with an accounting software, then syncing that program with cloud-based bill pay, invoicing, expense management, and payroll programs.

You and your staff may need to undergo some level of training to learn how to use their preferred software. You will likely also work with your bookkeeper in the beginning to iron out your financial systems. For example, your bookkeeper may ask if you want to put spending limits on employee credit cards or how much oversight you want for approving invoices.

Ready to Outsource Your Bookkeeping?

Now that you know how to outsource your bookkeeping, is it time to take this responsibility off your plate? A virtual bookkeeper, like RASI, can allow restaurant owners to focus on the tasks only they can do. RASI also offers top-level financial oversight so nothing is ever missed. We provide an entire suite of back-office services, so you can expand with us as your business grows.

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If you own a restaurant or any type of business, you will have to perform bookkeeping to track all your income and expenses. A well-designed bookkeeping program can ensure that your bills are paid, you receive money for your invoices, and you have money set aside for your taxes. Not sure how to do bookkeeping for a small business?

This article will serve as a short overview of bookkeeping for a small business. We’ll review what bookkeeping is, how to get started, and whether you should consider outsourcing your bookkeeping services. 

Bookkeeping Basics for Small Businesses

In a nutshell, bookkeeping is the process of tracking and managing a business’s financial transactions. A bookkeeper will create a ledger or “set of books” for this purpose. Back in the day, these books were physical objects where transactions were written down. These days, almost all bookkeepers use dedicated software to make the process faster and more efficient.

A bookkeeper performs a number of important tasks for a business, usually including:

• Tracking all bills and receipts
• Paying invoices
• Sending invoices
• Handling payroll

The Difference Between Accounting and Bookkeeping

Many people assume that bookkeeping and accounting are the same thing. In fact, though they overlap in some areas, bookkeeping and accounting are two separate specialties. Bookkeepers are administrators, managing the day-to-day financial transactions of a business. 

An accountant takes a broader view of a company’s finances. They are more likely to generate profit and loss reports, prepare a business’s tax returns, and provide strategic financial advice. For example, an accountant may recommend how to cut costs or create departmental budgets.

How to Start Bookkeeping for a Small Business

Many small business owners start out by doing their own bookkeeping. If you are organized, self-motivated, and have taken accounting classes, you may be able to serve as your own bookkeeper. Even if you haven’t taken accounting classes in school, you can find many free or low-cost videos, books, and programs on bookkeeping basics for small businesses.

Step one is to invest in bookkeeping software.

You can find many great software reviews online. Look for software that meets your budget and the needs of your business.

Next, set up your books.

It can take time to determine different expense categories, input your vendors, and link your accounts, but this is worth doing right. In fact, you may even wish to hire a bookkeeper to set up your books and give you a quick how-to course on how to manage them before taking over the process yourself.

Step three, start bookkeeping.

You’ll want to carve out time on a regular basis to input all your business transactions into your software. Some business owners do this daily while others choose to perform their bookkeeping weekly. Some business owners even wait until the beginning or end of each month to do their bookkeeping, though this isn’t considered best practices.

Your bookkeeping software may also include invoicing, payroll, and reporting capabilities. Depending on your comfort level, you may want to utilize these features and handle more financial aspects of your business. 

Should You Outsource Your Bookkeeping?

As your business grows, your time often becomes more limited. Additionally, you may find that your bookkeeping grows in complexity as you bring on more employees, work with more vendors, and open additional locations. 

If you want to focus on higher-level tasks, it might be time to outsource your bookkeeping. You can do this in several ways. First, you can hire a dedicated full-time or part-time bookkeeper for your business. If you’d rather not bring on a new employee, you can hire a freelance bookkeeper or work with an online bookkeeping firm. Most bookkeepers will charge a set monthly rate based on how much work they perform for your company.

RASI offers bookkeeping services specifically for the hospitality market. We can take over your bookkeeping, payroll, accounting needs, and more. If you want to spend more time leading your company and less time managing your books, consider our comprehensive restaurant bookkeeping services!

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