Choosing the Right Bookkeeping Software
Being a bookkeeper is hard work, and each day is filled with a lot of decisions. As an employee, you have to decide: How to record transactions When to file returns How to present the latest numbers And on, and on As a freelancer or business owner, you have even more decisions to make. What […]
3 Benefits to Bookkeeper Certification
Almost six years ago, I wrote about bookkeepers getting certified. I gave it another read, and mostly agree with what I said before. My thoughts were more focused on whether I should be a “certified bookkeeper” of some type. To quickly recap, being a bookkeeper in Canada doesn’t require a specific degree or certification. I […]
Why Bookkeepers Should Go Back To School: (Part 2 – The Software)
Welcome to Week 2 of our Back to School month. Last week we talked about how to improve your core bookkeeping skills. This week I’d like to focus on the tools we use to get our work done. More specifically, how to get some app-specific training so you can get the most out of the […]
7 Tips to Prevent Sync Issues in FreshBooks
The term synchronize seems too technical to inspire a lot of emotions. But tell someone that they just lost their data due to a “synchronization error” and all sorts of emotions begin to emerge. Sync (or is it synch?) has been one of those features that you love and hate. Everyone wants their app to […]
One on One: Xero
One on One is a series of reviews. Instead of a long-winded breakdown, I give you a quick summary along with one positive and one negative. So far my One on One reviews have covered 2 of the 5 main bookkeeping apps I use. Today we’re going to do a quick review of Xero. If […]
Bookkeeping and Technology: Part 2: My Setup
This is the second post in my series about bookkeeping and technology. Last time I wrote about the early days of moving my business online. Today I’d like to talk about the tech I use and how it has changed the way I run my business. For the sake of brevity we’ll stick to what I use for client bookkeeping.
My basic criteria:
If my client is going to be using it, I want the interface clean and simple. There should be as little industry jargon as possible.
Is this a slight on my clients? Of course not.
My job as a bookkeeper isn’t just to record business data and generate reports. My job is to make that part of an owner’s business as simple as possible. I want my client to worry as little as possible about entering data so they can get back to doing what they do best.
Let Xero Supercharge your bank reconciliation
The trouble with trying to pick a “favourite” cloud-based bookkeeping service is that they all have unique things that make them stand out. In Xero, at least for me, their standout feature is bank rules. Most services will automatically pull down bank transactions. Some of them will even “learn” how to categorize some of your […]
5 Things You Give Up When You Move Your Bookkeeping Online
I made a big jump back in 2010. I decided to try out a few online bookkeeping services…just for fun. I had never considered them a viable alternative to my QuickBooks, but thought it would be an interesting experiment. Fast forward almost 4 years and I’m using Xero, Freshbooks, Kashoo, and Wave every day. I […]
Tell Me About Your Bookkeeping System
Today I come to you, my readers, with a question. I have spent the last 3+ years testing out different cloud-based bookkeeping options. Sometimes I just give them a few days “test run”. Other times they have impressed me enough to be added to my official bookkeeping toolbox. At present, I have 4 main services […]
Bookkeeping – Made in Canada
It’s funny how the mind works. Driving around each day, I couldn’t tell you how many red Honda Civics passed me. But if I were to buy a red Honda Civic tomorrow, suddenly I’d be seeing them at every intersection. No, I’m not about to talk about cars, or give a Radiolab-style analysis on why […]