Let me preface this by listing the three most important qualities for your bookkeeper to possess:
They can execute the work correctly
You trust them
You get along with them and enjoy your communication
Whether you are currently thinking about hiring a new bookkeeper or replacing your current one, consider that it is beneficial to hire one who works in your industry. When a bookkeeper works in a niche, they bring experience, efficiencies and connections to the table that other bookkeepers can’t compete with. Let's run through the four ways in which a niche bookkeeper can help you grow your business.
1. Bookkeeping Practices
Your niche bookkeeper will understand the correct bookkeeping practices unique to your industry. From sales tax compliance and necessary government slip filings unique to your industry, to handling your specific cost of manufacturing or your particular employee or contractor pay structure, your niche bookkeeper will already understand these features before being hired by you. They will not need to use your business as a guinea pig to learn these intricacies.
2. Industry Specific Software
Your niche bookkeeper will know how to work in most, if not all, CRMs and other software that your industry utilizes. They will know how to efficiently extract data from your software into your accounting system. Although this may seem simple, inefficient extraction can cause many unnecessary hours of work as well as cause potential errors. Your niche bookkeeper will also have knowledge of all leading software in your industry relating to tracking your finances which means they can advise you on switching to better software if the need arises.
3. Networking
Having multiple clients in the same industry means that your niche bookkeeper will have cultivated a network of professionals who may be beneficial for you to get to know. Think of examples such as you’re selling your business, looking to switch products or suppliers, or need professional services such as a lawyer or business coach unique to your industry. Who does your bookkeeper know who could help you with these changes or needs? Your niche bookkeeper is probably more well-connected than you realize.
4. Gross Profit & Net Income
Your niche bookkeeper will have intimate knowledge of what typical revenue and expenses are in your industry. If your gross profit is landing on the lower end of the spectrum of what your bookkeeper expects to see, they will have suggestions on how you may be able to improve your bottom line based on real life industry experience and information.
I want to reiterate that if you love your current non-niche bookkeeper, there is no need to read any further. Go and virtually hug them for doing an amazing job and be grateful that you found someone who you love to work with. Still, tuck this information in your pocket for the future if you find yourself in need of hiring a bookkeeper again.
If you are currently looking to hire a bookkeeper, consider the following questions when interviewing your candidates:
· Have you worked with businesses in our industry before?
· Do you have any other clients who work in our industry?
If yes: How many years of experience do you have doing bookkeeping in our industry?
If no: Provide an example of a bookkeeping quandary specific to your industry and ask the potential candidate to solve it. This will help test their ability to problem solve and learn bookkeeping specific to your industry.
Do you have experience working in the software that we use? If no: Are you comfortable learning new software?
Remember, having a bookkeeper who already works in your niche is a benefit, not a necessity, so make it a priority that your new hire holds those first 3 qualities that I mentioned at the beginning of this post.
If you find yourself wondering why on earth you would want your bookkeeper to share information that they have gained from working with you with potential competition, I want to clarify some things. A professional bookkeeper values confidentiality and will not disclose any trade secrets or information that is specific to your firm to anyone else (see why #2 of my criteria is so important). The benefits that I am writing about include information that will be specific to your industry, but not your company. This will be information that could be sought out if one were keen, but far easier to gain from your experienced niche bookkeeper rather than going down multiple avenues trying to find that information.
If you would like suggestions on how you can find a bookkeeper who works in your niche, drop us a line! Send us a message, we can connect you with our amazing partner.