4 Essential Skills a Bookkeeper Should Have
Being a bookkeeper is more than just being an accountant who recognizes financial numbers and knows how to record and read financial sheets. Being a bookkeeper is a skill and an art in itself. Knowing how to read financial sheets and to record your client’s / companies financial records are part of the job. But being a bookkeeper is more than meets the eye (or what you read in bookkeeping articles).
Here Are 4 Essential Skills You Need to Know to Become a Better Bookkeeper
Know the technology of your field
Yes it’s quite important for you, now a days at least, to learn the technical skills of being a bookkeeper by the pen and paper. It’s also important to have the digital skills you need to become an even more effective, and less time consuming bookkeeper. With financial software such as QuickBooks and Sage Peachtree competing for a piece of the financial software market, it’s safe to say that with growth comes accreditation. Lots of competitors in the accounting software industry knows the value of their products, that’s why they are competing for a share of that financial market. Because financial representatives, such as CFO’s and accounting firms understand the necessity of having this useful technology. The business who can wield financial accounting technology has advantages over those who only wield the pen and paper.
Still, having workers who understand this financial software technology is key to owning the financial technological tools. It’s important for your team of bookkeepers and accountants to know how to assess and monitor the technology. As accurate as the accounting software can be, only relates to how accurate us as humans input the numbers. We are capable to make human mistakes, so catching onto mistaken financial data in the software, before it becomes a conundrum is a valid skill for all bookkeepers and accountants to learn.
The ability to communicate
Another skill all bookkeepers really need to have in their arsenal, is communication skills. A bookkeeper must service their clients. They must be prepared to talk to and communicate / deliver the relevant data as accurately as possible, even through dialogue.
With that said, a bookkeeper probably doesn’t work all by himself. He probably works with a team of other bookkeepers and accountants. With that said, you might work, as a bookkeeper with foreign clients. Being able to work in a team is an essential part of a bookkeepers skill set.
He is educated in his field
This goes without saying that, bookkeepers should be educated in their field. They need to know the difference between a balance sheet and an income statement. They need to know how to read these financial sheets, and to report them educationally.
Most importantly, they need to be accurate. If they make a mistake, they’ll need to know how and where to correct the mistake. Not only do these financial stamens need to be accurate, but they also need to be recorded and organized.
Being reliable is key
What you need to do as a bookkeeper is not only be committed to your job. You’ll need to show that you are consistently able to bring positive results. Being able to show your client’s and your boss, as well as yourself ,that you can do the work makes you a reliable investment.