“Why do I need a bookkeeper? If I’ve got QuickBooks and TurboTax, it’s basically just point and click, right?”
You aren’t the first person to ask that question.
And we get it – it feels like EVERYTHING is automated with the click of a button these days, right?
However – at the end of the day, QuickBooks and TurboTax are just tools. And you still need the expert touch of a human to help you avoid some serious fees, fines, and mistakes.
(After all, you wouldn’t just hire a hammer to build you a house, right? )
So – without further ado, we will share three things QuickBooks will screw up (or fall short on) without a good human bookkeeper managing it correctly.
(𝟭) GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT
QuickBooks has some amazing automations … but QuickBooks is still just a tool, not a fact checker. It will organize or automate your info any way you tell it to – but the reports it spits out will only be as accurate as the information you put into it.
And if you’ve (unknowingly) set it up incorrectly, it could quickly lead to compounded mistakes over time, with expensive consequences in tax payments (and corrective forensic accounting later)!
Either you must take the time to learn QuickBooks accurately or you must hire a bookkeeper to input things accurately for your business. These are critical decisions to decide for you to know your numbers.
So, our question is, do you want to learn QuickBooks accurately so you can do it yourself or do you prefer to hire a bookkeeper so you can focus on the other parts of your business?
(𝟮) QUICKBOOKS DOESN’T KNOW WHEN TAX LAWS CHANGE
Did you know that both meals AND entertainment expenses for client entertainment both used to be 50% tax deductible? And then, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act came in and said “Nope, now ONLY the meals are 50% deductible.” And then, in 2020, the rules changed AGAIN – and to help boost the restaurant economy during Covid, business-related meals at restaurants became 100% deductible.
QuickBooks isn’t equipped to update you on details like that, especially if the changes are on a local or state level. However, your bookkeeper will be all over that, and will keep you updated, compliant and current.
Do you have the time to research and stay up to date on the rules and changes to keep your business in compliance so you can know your numbers accurately?
(𝟯) EVERY BUSINESS IS UNIQUE
Problems in QuickBooks can start in the first 5 minutes of your subscription – while QuickBooks does help you set up a generally correct Chart of Accounts, (depending on your answers about your business type) the software is still just making a generic best guess.
A human bookkeeper can get much more in-depth with you, ask a lot more questions about the minutiae of how your business functions, and get all the details PERFECT for you and your business. (Again, this prevents the compounding of costly mistakes in your records!)
Now – we know, we’re not exactly an unbiased source for this information.
But, biased or not, hopefully now you can see why having a human bookkeeper just *might* be a necessary add-on with your QuickBooks subscription.
And of course, if you’re ready to start looking for a bookkeeper to help you out with your business finances – or just need to ask a few more questions about what that process would look like – then just feel free to schedule a free call today. We’d be happy to help!
www.constuctionprofitfirst.com • info@constructionprofitfirst.com • (352) 432-8104
