Why should I hire a bookkeeper instead of doing it myself?
If you are doing your own books while running an incorporated business with employees, you are not saving money. You are accumulating risk.
Most owners start out handling their own bookkeeping. At some point, usually around the $500K revenue mark with a few people on payroll, the complexity crosses a line. The books stop being an annoyance and start becoming a liability.
Here are five signs you have reached that line.
1. Your Accounts Have Not Been Reconciled in Months
If your bank statements have not been reconciled recently, you do not have an accurate picture of your cash flow. You could be missing errors, duplicate charges, or worse.
A professional bookkeeper reconciles your accounts weekly or monthly. That means you always know where you stand, and you never have to do the 4am math to figure out whether payroll clears on Friday.
2. Tax Deadlines Surprise You
GST/HST/PST filing, CRA payroll remittances, T4 and T4A slips, WorkSafeBC reports, corporate tax returns. If you have ever paid a late-filing penalty, that is your sign.
In BC, the deadlines stack up. A bookkeeper tracks every one and makes sure your filings are submitted accurately and on time.
3. You Know Last Month’s Profit, but Not Whether Friday Clears
Profit and Loss statements tell you how October went. They tell you nothing about whether the next payroll run clears, or whether three net-60 jobs will create a cash gap before your receivables arrive.
This is the difference between backward reporting and a forward view. If your bookkeeper only delivers month-end reports about what already happened, you are flying blind into the weeks ahead.
4. Personal and Business Expenses Share the Same Account
When business transactions mix with personal ones, untangling them at year-end is expensive. It also creates audit risk.
A bookkeeper sets up a proper chart of accounts from day one and keeps the separation clean. Your CPA will thank you, and your corporate tax return will be smoother.
5. You Are Fighting the Software Instead of Running the Business
If you are spending evenings and weekends categorizing transactions, chasing receipts, and wrestling with spreadsheets, that is time stolen from growing your business. Or from your family.
A cloud bookkeeper handles the software for you, inside a file you own, on a platform you control.
