Bookkeeping Sydney - What is the Role of a Bookkeeper?

Bookkeeping Sydney - Many people confuse the jobs of a bookkeeper and an accountant, especially since bookkeepers are sometimes referred to as accounting technicians or accounting clerks. While very similar, a bookkeeper focuses on maintaining timely and accurate records of financial data - ranging from income, payments, sales, and purchases. An accountant, on the other hand, takes the information recorded by the bookkeeper in order to create financial statements. Since the jobs are intertwined, some accountants actually start their careers as bookkeepers.

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Bookkeepers often employ one of two methods for documenting financial data. The double entry method, while complex, helps ensure a set of books that are free of mistakes. It employs a balancing system of credits and debits separated by two distinct ledgers within the books. The single entry system is much less complicated and is often the method of choice for small businesses. Data is maintained in a revenue and expense journal and utilizes accounts solely of income and expense.

There are several different books that are used for recording financial transactions. The daybook is used to record the details of a transaction, but not all businesses maintain daybooks. Some companies choose to simply use journals. The information from the journals is then recorded in ledgers according to their corresponding category of purchases, sales, cash, credit, and so on.

Bookkeeping Sydney - All ledgers contain different areas so they can then be used to create the financial reports, including the balance sheet and the income statement. Ledgers can be used for recording any category. Businesses commonly have customer ledgers (or sales ledgers) where they track transactions with customers. They also have suppliers ledgers (or purchase ledgers) where they can track their transactions with their suppliers. The general ledger will include information on the company's assets and liabilities, income and expenses.

A trial balance stage is used to help a bookkeeper check the books for any mistakes. If the debits and credits of each ledger do not match, the bookkeeper knows there is an error. When using the double-entry method, the credits of a transaction must balance with the debits. The bookkeeper separates the debits and credits into two columns up until a particular date, constructing a worksheet that details each ledger account's balance.

Bookkeeping is not a simple job and the task is not one that is done quickly. Most companies require at least one full-time bookkeeper and it is common for large companies to have several bookkeepers. However, smaller businesses may outsource the bookkeeping work by hiring a service to handle this job for them. When a bookkeeping service is used, a bookkeeper will spend a few hours a week at the company working on the records and being sure that the books stay in balance.

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