A bookkeeper service is a monthly rhythm, and the clearest way to understand what you are buying is to walk through the month as the bookkeeper does. The bookkeeper duties small business owners can expect are the same everywhere: transactions in, coded and matched; accounts reconciled; invoices and bills recorded; payroll journals posted; the month closed and reported. This page walks that month in order, says what each duty produces, and points to the scope sheet on this site, which turns your own counts into the minutes each duty takes.
The first week: everything in
Statements and feeds for every account arrive, receipts captured during the month are matched to the transactions they explain, and the sales invoices and supplier bills for the month are recorded. The bookkeeper codes each transaction to an account and matches it to a receipt, an invoice or a bill. Transactions nobody can explain go on a question list for the owner. This is the bulk of the hours, and the scope sheet prices it from your transaction count.
The second week: reconciling and chasing
Every account is reconciled to its statement: the books say what the bank says, or the difference is found. Customer invoices that are overdue are chased, or a list is given to whoever chases them. Supplier bills are scheduled for payment or the list is given to whoever pays them. If a payroll provider ran payroll, the journal is posted and the payroll liabilities are reconciled to what was paid.
The third week: closing and reporting
With the question list answered and the accounts reconciled, the month is closed: no more entries. The bookkeeper produces the profit and loss, the balance sheet, the aged receivables and payables, and whatever the engagement adds, such as a sales-tax summary or a job-cost report. The owner gets a month that is finished, and finished means reconciled.
What a bookkeeper service does not do
Decide what a transaction was, which is the owner's job and the reason the question list exists. Prepare tax returns or give tax advice, unless the bookkeeper is also a preparer and the engagement says so. Run payroll, unless that is a separate service in the quote. Audit anything. Fix a backlog inside the monthly fee. Knowing the edges is how an owner reads a quote and how a bookkeeper keeps the monthly fee honest.
Questions people ask about bookkeeper service
How long does a bookkeeper service take each month?
It depends on transactions, accounts, invoices, bills, payroll runs and channels, which is why the scope sheet on this site asks for those and gives an hour figure rather than a rule of thumb.
What do I get back each month?
Reconciled accounts, a profit and loss, a balance sheet, and the aged receivables and payables, by a date agreed in the engagement. Anything else is an extra and should be in the quote.
Why does the bookkeeper keep asking me questions?
Because only you know what some transactions were. A bookkeeper who stops asking is coding by guess, and the books will be tidy and wrong. Answer the list weekly and the month closes on time.
Does the bookkeeper service include payroll?
Usually the bookkeeper posts the journal from a payroll provider's report and reconciles the liabilities. Running payroll is a separate service. The quote should say which.