During this time of economic hardships business owners are trying to find ways to cut back. One of those ways is letting their bookkeeper or accounting go. I do not recommend letting your accounting or bookkeeping go since it is the pulse of knowing if your company is making money.
Hiring a bookkeeper can leave us flustered with not knowing who to trust. We sent out a question to find out what people do when looking for a bookkeeper. I hope this will help.
1. First I always try to get a reference thru word of mouth. If I can’t find what I need then I Google it. I also read the comments by other customers, if any negative I usually move to the next. I also like simple and intuitive websites!
2. As a start, I would Google “bookkeepers – San Jose California”. My criteria would depend upon my business requirements first, reference checking second, and then cost.
3. Today people would probably ask a friend or type San Jose Bookkeeper into Google. It use to be the phone book, but no more, of course.
4. If I needed a bookkeeper I would ask friends and family or look in the yellow pages on yahoo and look at reviews if any one posted a comment.
5. I would go to Google and put in San Jose Bookkeeping. Then talk to 3 or 4 sources to compare pricing and service. Would think of a few key items I need bookkeeping help with like: Payroll (picking out # of employees) to make comparison fare. Monthly Expenses into QuickBooks, Billing, Ease of how service is setup? I.e. communicating through email or personal office visits, etc., what are the rules or criteria of the bookkeeping service?
6. I’d send an email to friends to see if they knew of anyone. I’d search Yahoo and see what came up. Then I’d search that company/person to see if anything else came up on them. I would probably check the BBB to make sure there were no complaints against them. In order for me to feel comfortable they’d have to have a minimum of 10 years experience (probably the more, the better), and I’d ask them to give me the name of a client or two who would be willing to share their experience with me.
7. I would Google “Bookkeepers San Jose, CA” or, if I had a phone book handy I would look in the Yellow Pages!
8. I would look online for a bookkeeper. Craigslist, bookkepper.com, or the newspaper etc. I have a neighbor that is a bookkeeper and she advertises in our subdivision newsletter. I would just look for advertisements.
9. First we would look in the yellow pages. Second we would ask any accountants, CPA’s or Tax preparers for a recommendation. Third we would look in the newspaper under the SERVICES classification. Hope this helps.
10. I would call around to different, small CPA companies (and also to the corporate CFOs I know) and see if any of them could recommend anyone who worked for them or who worked free-lance. I would assume that they would be the people “in the know” who would be able to refer qualified people.
11. I would start with the Better Business Bureau Org. They rate businesses and in some cases provide recommendations. The next place would be with the State Franchise/Business Licensing department. Criteria for selecting a bookkeeping firm would length in business, any complaints filed, type of services and hours offered, Charges for the services and lastly interviewing candidates to see if there is a “connection” or comfort level with the individual, individuals, and the business.
We Train U-2 provides training for the business owners to help them understand their bookkeeping. If you are not doing your bookkeeping and have a bookkeeper our course will let you know what your bookkeeper should be doing for you and your company. Check out our online training courses page at www.wetrainu2.com.
Tags: Bookkeeper, Bookkeeping, Hire, QuickBooks, Small Business, Tips
Cool site, love the info.
Great site…keep up the good work.