Guide
Twelve questions to ask before you hire a bookkeeper
Everyone says they do monthly reporting. These questions find out what that means.
Reviewed by Darren Lim, US CPALicence CPA.742536028 min read
Everyone offering bookkeeping says the same things. Monthly reporting, dedicated support, industry experience. The words are free.
These twelve questions find out what is actually behind them. Ask them of us as well.
About the work itself
1. Do you reconcile every bank and card account every month?
The only acceptable answer is yes, without qualification. Reconciled means the books agree with the statement exactly. Anything vaguer than that — "we review the accounts", "we match transactions" — is describing categorisation, which is not the same thing and is not enough.
2. When will each month be closed, and do you lock it?
You want a date, and you want prior periods locked. If nothing is locked, anyone can change a transaction in a period you have already filed a return on, and your books stop being a record.
3. What exactly do I receive each month?
Ask for the actual list. "Financial statements" is not a list. A P&L, a balance sheet, a receivables ageing, job-level reporting and a written summary is a list.
4. Will you send me a written explanation, or just reports?
A report nobody explains gets skimmed. One page saying what happened, what changed and what to watch is the difference between data and information — and it is the thing most providers do not do.
About your trade
5. Can you show me what job-level reporting looks like for my trade?
Install versus service. Insurance versus retail. Per truck, per route. If the answer is that the system does not do that, you are buying data entry for your tax return. Legitimate, but not the same product. See job costing for contractors.
6. How do you handle loan payments, owner draws and equipment purchases?
A quiet competence test. The correct answers are: split between principal and interest, recorded in equity, and capitalised and depreciated. Getting any of these wrong is common and makes your financials wrong in ways a lender will notice. See seven QuickBooks mistakes.
7. Do you track subcontractor payments through the year for 1099s?
Should be tracked by payee monthly, with W-9s and insurance certificates flagged before anyone crosses the threshold. Reconstructing it in January is a week of work and errors. See 1099 or W-2.
About the relationship
8. Who reviews the work, and are they credentialed?
Ask specifically whether a CPA reviews it, whether that covers every month or a sample, and who they are. A named, licensed reviewer is a checkable fact. "Our team reviews everything" is not.
9. How many questions will you ask me, and when?
Every month has transactions only you can identify. A provider who never asks anything is guessing. The good pattern is one batch a month; the bad pattern is silence, and the annoying pattern is a trickle of messages all week.
10. What happens when I need something urgently?
A bank wants financials on Thursday. What is the actual answer — and who do you speak to?
11. What does onboarding involve, and what if I am behind?
Being behind is normal. You want to hear that catch-up is quoted separately from ongoing work, so you can tell what you will be paying once you are current. A single blended number makes that impossible to compare. See catch-up bookkeeping.
12. Can I see the work before I commit?
The most useful question on the list. Anyone confident in their work should be able to show you some.
The answers that should end it
- Vagueness about reconciliation
- No fixed monthly delivery date
- Reluctance to name who reviews the work
- A price quoted before they have seen your books
- Catch-up bundled invisibly into a monthly fee
- No way to see the work before you sign
None of those are dealbreakers because they are rude. They are dealbreakers because each one means you will not be able to tell whether the work is good until you are six months into paying for it.
Related
How we do this
We build this into your books. Starting with a month that costs you nothing.
We answer all twelve on the call without being asked, and the free month lets you check the answers against actual work rather than taking them on trust.
- Every transaction categorized, accounts reconciled, the month closed
- Reviewed and signed by Darren Lim, US CPA — licence CPA.74253602
- The Two-Day Guarantee: Your first month back in two days, or the next month is free.
Ask us these questions. Then have us do a month and see whether the answers hold. That comparison costs you nothing, and it is the only way to judge bookkeeping before you are six months into paying for it.