Asset accounts start with the cash account since cash is perfectly liquid. After the cash account, there is the inventory, receivables, and fixed assets accounts.

Effective bookkeeping also works by monitoring the financial progress towards revenue and profit goals. As a bookkeeper, your attention to detail must be almost preternatural. Careless mistakes that seem inconsequential at the time can lead to bigger, costlier, more time-consuming problems down the road. Rarely does a bookkeeper work on one big project for an eight-hour shift; bookkeeping instead, a typical workday involves juggling five or six smaller jobs. Nearly all bookkeeping is done using computerized accounting software and programs, so bookkeepers should be comfortable learning new technology if not proficient in it. That said, bookkeeping is more than just dropping numbers into a spreadsheet—it takes meticulous analysis and just enough legal know-how.

key benefits of bookkeeping

Modified cash basis mixes aspects of cash basis and accrual basis. It helps businesses that deal with both short- and long-term transactions. Long-term liabilities are recorded on the accrual basis, while short-term transactions are recorded on the cash basis. Optical character recognition and bank feeds have come just short of fully automating the traditional bookkeeping process. Data entry can now happen as soon as you snap a photo of a receipt with your smartphone. And reconciliations happen almost in real-time through daily bank feed maintenance, making the end-of-month closing process a snap. Now one bookkeeper can manage the bookkeeping for several businesses in fewer than eight hours a day.

The obligations and debts owed by a company to suppliers, banks, lenders, or other providers of goods and services (e.g., small business loans, accounts payable). On top of running your business, you also have to manage an asset account, tax returns, credit card chargeback, and more. It can be confusing and overwhelming if you’re diving in for the first time.

History of bookkeeping

For instance, a company might choose to use the accrual basis of accounting for recording every transaction as it occurs to keep a record of incoming and outflowing cash and credit. Similarly, the cash flow method of accounting could be used, in which case a bookkeeper would record only the transactions that exchanged cash. Once a business determines its accounting method, it can review its financial books in order to make goals that advance the growth of the business. Single-entry bookkeeping is the simplest form of bookkeeping and is similar to balancing your personal checkbook. You’ll record all of your financial transactions one time in your accounting records.

Our platform makes financial management accessible and affordable. We believe that better banking products can make the whole financial system more inclusive. Eric Gerard Ruiz is an accounting and bookkeeping expert for Fit Small Business. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy at Silliman University in Dumaguete City, Philippines. Before joining FSB, Eric has worked as a freelance content writer with various digital marketing agencies in Australia, the United States, and the Philippines. Fixed asset accounting involves recording the cost of fixed assets, accounting for depreciation, and recording its disposal.

To understand the financial health of your business, you need to have precise bookkeeping.

Bookkeeping can either happen on a single-entry or double-entry basis. This tends to coincide with the cash vs. accrual method of accounting. Single-entry bookkeeping records one entry for transactions, whereas double-entry bookkeeping involves both a debit and a credit for each transaction. Double-entry accounting is the more popular method, because it creates accountability and transparency. A bookkeeper is the person in charge of entering a business’ financial transactions into bookkeeping software, then categorizing those transactions accordingly. Bookkeeping works with the accounting method a business chooses to use.

• Double-entry bookkeeping is part of accrual accounting, which is used by most businesses.
• A double-entry bookkeeping system has two columns, and each transaction is located in two accounts.
• A bookkeeper is the person in charge of entering a business’ financial transactions into bookkeeping software, then categorizing those transactions accordingly.
• NerdWallet strives to keep its information accurate and up to date.
• Our clients use these tools to get paid faster, save time, and focus on their core business.

Intuit accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, legality, or content on these sites. Outsourcing the work to a seasoned bookkeeper can allow you to focus on your business plan and growth.

What is Bookkeeping? Definition and Why It’s Important

The good news is that most accounting software will do this for you—all you need to do is review the reconciled figures. The bottom line is that bookkeeping provides an organized look at a business’ finances, which makes it easier to answer key accounting questions. Bookkeeping provides the crucial financial data necessary to answer these questions and more. Maintaining your small business’ books is just about the most important part of being a business owner.