Finances and accounts are not something that can be taken lightly, which is why when it comes to outsourcing your books you need to take proper precautions. While there are many bookkeepers that will advertise their skills online, you cannot trust that everyone is certified or as secure as they would like you to believe. Thus, it pays to read over the seven tips for hiring a GREAT bookkeeper before you make any serious commitments to a bookkeeping firm or assistant.3
Check references-:
The very first thing that you need to do when considering a bookkeeper is the same thing that you would do when hiring any employer, check their references. If they cannot provide you with any or their references fall through than this is automatically a black flag that you need to move on.
Ask for previous client information-:
If everything looks fine with references, then the next thing you should do is ask for previous client contact numbers. You can also refer to this step as checking job history because it will give you an idea of how well they work and if they are properly skilled to complete your tasks.
Initiate contact via a messenger-:
Once the references and work history checks out then it is time to move onto the next set of tips in the top seven tips for hiring a GREAT bookkeeper. This requires you to initiate a conversation with your potential bookkeeper via an instant messenger client to see what the outsourcer expects from his end and so that you can detail what you expect from them.
Arrange a video or phone conference-:
If it seems that both sets of expectations align than you need to arrange a phone or video conference so that you can interact better with each other and see if the arrangement will work out long-term.
Evaluate communications-:
It is during this conversation that you should evaluate how well you are able to communicate with the bookkeeper. Communication is the number one reason that most business relationships break down, so establish honestly if this will be a problem or not.
Perform a background search-:
If the person you want to hire is from your country, you can take some time and perform a background search. If they are not, at least run a general search for them online to make sure that there is not any negative reviews of their previous work floating around. While it is a long shot that you will find anything, it does not hurt to be prepared.
Check resources-:
Finally, if everything else seems that it will work out, make sure that your bookkeeping choice has all the proper software to meet your requirements. If they do not make sure they are willing to purchase it since software incompatibility issues will ruin any potential benefits from choosing to outsource your bookkeeping tasks.
