Knowing the differences in Accounting and Bookkeeping

1. Knowing the differences in Accounting and Bookkeeping The line that separates accounting and bookkeeping services is very thin and this maybe is due to the people in these industries rather than the industries themselves. When you have a large number of accountants doing bookkeeping and just as many bookkeepers to do your year-end accounting, of course, things are going to get confusing. So what is the difference between the two? You might have heard of the saying, "Take care of the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves". Well here, the bookkeeper takes care of the pennies and as the pounds are not as independent as the saying suggests, the accountant does the part. If you put your business under a microscope and zoom in, you will come to know that it is made up of hundreds of small financial transactions. Whether it is a client paying for a service or a staff member buying a pint of milk; money moves around most of the time. A bookkeeper's job is to record these transactions. They record when and by what means each penny came into your business, and track its movement through the business, dividing and multiplying, and eventually through to the method it left. Now if move away from the microscope, you'll see your business instead of those micro financial transactions. You'll see the staff, the operations and of course your goals. And exactly this is where you will find your accountant. The accountant’s duty is to focus on the

2. big picture, to take a step back and look at the ongoing trends and business plans. An accountant will help you grow your business with broad brush strokes because they are not interested in the pennies. But what if an accountant offers to do bookkeeping as well? I often wonder how someone can excel in both roles. The reason- zooming in is a very different skill compared to stepping back. Just how can someone who undertakes both can zoom in and step back far enough at the same time. As a business owner, I wouldn't want to have someone missing out on even some of the pennies as then the pounds will be wrong. Similarly, focusing too much on the pennies will signal that the pounds are ignored. I'm not saying that there aren’t people who can take both roles to a good level, but make sure that whoever you choose to outsource your accounting and bookkeeping services to understands the difference between them both. We at Bikham Finance, have a team that understands the importance of efficient accounting and bookkeeping for a business. The dedicated and experienced team of expert CPAs will handle your books and accounts with ease. Offering continuity, reliability, and accuracy in our services has been our number one priority since day one. Visit Bikham.com to know more.