Good book keepers are rare. And particularly in a small business where they tend to work unsupervised, many are out of their depth and can do a lot of damage.
Here are the top 9 warning signs that things might be out of control.
- You’re getting evasive answers to your questions, or complicated answers that don’t really make sense.
- They seem stressed and flustered, and they often rush and make mistakes.
- They’re always behind and can’t catch up.
- They have lots of unfiled paperwork and can’t find things when you ask for them.
- When you get figures they just don’t seem right.
- They can’t hit deadlines.
- They don’t like routine and structure – this is a biggie.
- Your sales and purchase ledger never seem to be up to date or correct.
- You get too many surprises – things you should have known sooner.
So what can you do about it?
None of these problems are impossible to solve. These straightforward steps will help you find a way to sort things out:
- Talk to them about their workload. It’s easy to overlook just how much more paperwork you get as you grow, and they may need some help.
- Ask your accountant to come in and assess their capability.
- If you don’t already have them, put some routines in place to give them a structure to work with, and a reason to be up to date:
- Ask for a debtors and creditors report every week (the same time on the same day).
- Ask to see the bank position every week.
- Help them prepare a daily, weekly and monthly checklist – book keeping isn’t an adhoc activity.
- Speak to them honestly about whether they’re in the right job.
- See if some specific training would help them. Most book keepers have had very little if any training.
- And if all else fails, find someone who’s up to the task.
Seriously, I’ve seen book keepers do some shocking things, with really damaging consequences for the business, the worst being fraud. Don’t think it won’t happen to you. It could if you haven’t got control of your finances.
If you’re in anyway unsure about your book keeper please please do something about it. Your finances are too critical for you to take any chances.