What is the Difference Between Bookkeeping and Accounting?

Author: John Dixon

What is the difference between bookkeeping, accounting, and accountancy? When someone says they are an accountant, are they really a bookkeeper? Does it really matter?

Bookkeeping

Bookkeeping is the process of systematically recording the financial transactions of a business, so as to show how the transactions relate to each other. Bookkeeping is largely a mechanical process and does not involve any analysis of the financial transactions, but rather the recording of them.

Traditionally, the records were kept in a book, hence the name bookkeeping. These days, bookkeeping is normally performed using a bookkeeping software package, but the names of the books (daybook, cashbook, journal, and ledger) are still used.

A bookkeeper’s function is primarily one of recording transactions in the journal and posting to the ledger, and is sometimes referred to as an accounts clerk.

There are two types of bookkeeping: single entry and double-entry. In single entry bookkeeping, the record of each transaction is carried to either the debit or credit column of a single account. In double-entry bookkeeping, two entries of each transaction are carried to the ledger: one to the debit side, and one to the credit side, of the corresponding account. This is so the two entries can be used to check each other.

Accounting

Accounting is the systematic recording, reporting, and analysis of financial transactions of a business. As bookkeeping involves making a financial record of business transactions, it is true to say that the role of bookkeeping is encompassed within the scope of accounting, and the bookkeeping system used by a business would form part of the accounting system.

Accounting also includes the preparation of statements concerning assets, liabilities and the operating results of a business.

Accountancy is the occupation related to accounting, and an accountant is the person who does, or at least is responsible for, the work. Accountants often specialize in a particular area of accounting such as taxes, auditing, or management.

In a small company, all of the bookkeeping and accounting tasks may well be performed by a single person. In this situation, that person would normally be referred to as an accountant.

About the Author:

John Dixon is a web developer working through his own company John Dixon Technology. As well as providing web development services, John’s company also provides a free bookkeeping tool.

Article Source: Ezinearticles

Accounting Outsourcing Services Help in Saving the Company Resources

Author: Chris Broad

Accounting forms the crucial aspect of any business as the entire status of a businesses profit or loss is decided on the basis of the accounts that it maintains. Every transaction that a business bears has to be recorded in various accounting records such as a balance sheet, journals, ledgers and profit and loss statements. The details of the financial transactions enable the accountants to come to a conclusion about the current standing of the business on any given date. A business has a specific accounts division to handle all the dealings of the company wherein even the petty cash is accounted for by the business. However as the work increases with the expansion of the company the business may also look at hiring a vendor for accounting outsourcing services.

Accounting outsourcing services are provided by many reliable vendors who have a host of competent professionals who can be allotted the work of individual clients. The professionals working with an accounting outsourcing services provider are well qualified to handle every kind of accounting software that is available in the market. The client can therefore rest assured that their accounting work will be carried on by the outsourced vendor in a manner that is similar to the in-house accounting processes. The advantage of hiring an accounting outsourcing services vendor can be manifolds and cost reduction for the client is a major reason. The fees that is to be paid to the vendor for his services comes out to be much lower than the salary that would otherwise have been paid to an in-house accounting staff that the company would hire.

The cut down on financial resources by hiring an accounting outsourcing services vendor is reflected in the increased profit of the company. Also the client can be assured of well maintained and absolutely accurate financial records being maintained by professional accountants. This enables the client to have ready access to his financial records at a moment’s notice. Financial decisions that are made by the decision makers and the top managerial staff regarding the growth, expansion and business strategies are all determined on the basis of these reports that are prepared by the vendor hired for accounting outsourcing services. Hence, crucial importance is given to the accuracy and secrecy of maintaining the financial accounts.

Accounting involves the monotonous task of matching the financial transactions that occurs in the day to day workings of a company with the actual balance available. However it is a critical task that each business needs to undertake and hence only professionally qualified accounts can be handed the task of maintaining such accounts. The maintaining of accurate accounts all year round by the accounting outsourcing services provider enables the business to be prepared to file their taxes at a moment’s notice, thereby avoiding the mad scramble for organizing details at the last minute. Also the perfectly balanced and maintained accounts provide the company with the much needed transparency in all business dealings with the investors and the public in general.

About the Author:
Michelle Barkley is a CPA who advises people on tax preparation and tax calculation.She specializes in bookkeeping outsourcing,Tax return preparation,back office outsourcing and Outsourced Accounting.To know more about Accounting outsourcing services,
accounting outsourcing in India and to use the services visit www.ifrworld.com.

Article Source: Articles Base

The Role of Accounting Company Scorecard in a Firm’s Success

Author: Sam Miller

Metrics, scorecards, and key performance indicators are widely used by business organizations to help them see how far they have gone in terms of implementation of plans and achievement of goals. In the same manner, an accounting company scorecard is a beneficial tool that accounting firms can use to help them function more efficiently.Accounting is a very important aspect in any business operation. It involves the measurement and provision of accurate financial information to managers, investors, tax authorities, and other stakeholders to help them make decisions about how they should allocate the resources of a company, organization, or public agency. Due to the nature of the accounting function, accounting firms provide critical support to their clientele. Among the most common financial services accounting firms offer are estate planning, accounting, taxation and investment, and retirement planning. Because what they offer are professional services, it is imperative for accounting firms to identify all factors and issues that would significantly impact their profitability and their reputation. Moreover, to increase their efficiency, management of accounting firms should always be ahead of everyone else when it comes to innovating and updating their knowledge and technology. In addition, there is a need for these companies to invest on their employees or workforce, as these people hold the key towards building lasting relationships with clients.At present, accountants continue to do the traditional functions that are delegated to them. However, it is widely noted that there has been a tremendous change in the role that they play. Aside from recording and updating financial records and documents, they are now usually included when managers of business organizations formulate long-term plans. In short, they now become organizational strategic partners. Because of this new position that they play as members of a management team, there is an added pressure for them to foster improvement in all aspects of their operations. The Balanced Scorecard is a management system that would prove to be very useful for them. Developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton, this scorecard approach will help accounting firms assess their performance using not only financial measures but also non-financial metrics. In fact, this performance measurement system advocates that there should be a balance between strategies implemented and four perspectives of business operation namely; financial, customer, business processes, and learning and growth.Metrics that are commonly categorized under the financial perspective include return on capital, economic value of assets, and operating income. Common examples of customer perspective metrics, meanwhile, include customer satisfaction, market share, and customer retention. Business process perspective metrics also include cost and quality of procurement, production, and fulfillment of orders. Lastly, metrics for learning and growth perspective may include employee retention and employee satisfaction.While the metrics previously mentioned may not exactly be the metrics that accounting firms find most relevant, they give the idea that the Balanced Scorecard approach is a more effective performance evaluation system. After carefully deliberating and identifying key indicators of success in their organizations, they can integrate all these metrics as they develop an accounting company scorecard.

About the Author:
If you are interested in accounting company scorecard, check this web-site to learn more about accounting company roi.

Article Source: Articlesfactory

Accounting Outsourcing Service: Manage Your Accounts Records Easily

Author: Michelle Barkley

India has emerged as a hub for outsourcing services of practically any kind. The reason behind this is India’s qualified personnel and a workforce, which is highly skilled in innumerable vocations. To manage the accounts in an accurate manner, it is very important to have personnel who are adept in their job, since the tasks involved demand a great deal of attention. Pains taken for a complex computation for numbers ensures a perfect report in the end and the business owners are always eager for the same. This is the reason behind hiring the accounting outsourcing service from the firms, which are known for their brilliance and timely execution of projects. Another reason why the business firms opt for these services is the cost factor which is quite affordable by the companies anywhere.

The world is now teeming with the outsourcing firms offering their services to companies. One has however, to make the final decision of selecting a firm which has been in the field since a long time and have assisted the organizations in achieving their targets. For this, you need to get the necessary information from the erstwhile clients of these firms. A reason why you need to hire the accounting outsourcing service is to utilize the monetary resources in a highly productive way. Imagine the kind of boost which your business gets by minimizing the costs on the salaries and other perks, which otherwise have to be provided to the in-house staff. For the successful execution of projects, it makes sense to outsource the accounting services from India and other countries known for their vast talent. Accounting outsource service is perfect for the small time businesses and established ones as well and only creditability should be the criterion for selecting an appropriate firm.

A number of options and choices await the organizations today. Today, it is common to outsource the accounting services to the freelancers. In this method, professional accountants are hired on a monthly or even hourly basis and temporary work is assigned to them and this helps in minimizing the costs of payroll. Quality and sophistication while executing the tasks related to the accounts are the attributes of these professionals. The accounting outsourcing service providers have a complete hold on the techniques used for a successful completion of the projects. Their abilities are simply superb as far as the designing the work strategies of any organization are concerned. The accounting professionals have it in them to convert the loss-making ventures into profit-based ones and thus add another new entrant in the field of reputed organizations.

Hiring the accounting outsourcing service from some of the known names in the market helps in releasing the vast potential of businesses. The focus is once again redirected towards attending other strategic aspects of the business, which often get overlooked in the race towards finishing the projects. Apart from all this, these specialized services assist in a timely tax return and in managing the monthly balance sheets, trial balances, profit and loss statements and financial data of importance. A major reason why the business owners opt for the outsourcing services is the excellent methodology adopted by the experts in this field. And yes, the cost factor too can’t be overlooked, which depends upon the type of project and number of accountants employed.

About the Author:
Michelle Barkley is a CPA who advises people on tax preparation and tax calculation. She specializes in bookkeeping outsourcing, tax return preparation, back office outsourcing and outsourced accounting. To know more about Accounting outsourcing, Accounting outsourcing services and Tax return to use the services visit www.ifrworld.com

Article Source: Articles Deshboard

What is Payroll Outsourcing

Author: Paul Hata

Payroll outsourcing is the act of delegating payroll administrative activates to a third party located in offshore destinations such as China, India, Malaysia, Russia and Singapore.In general, companies outsource their payroll functions to reduce operating cost and improve productivity. Companies can concentrate on core business activities with more time available with a sensitive job off their responsibility.

Why Outsource the Company Payroll
When you were just starting out with your business, everything seems to be very simple. You only concentrate on the core business activities. But as your business grows, things get more complicated. Instead of being able to focus on the main business, you become more swamped with other aspects of the business which can be considered as non-core functions,time consuming and sometimes irrelevant. One of these is the payroll.

Payrolls, even for the experienced business proprietors, dealing with payrolls can be a tasking job. Keeping track of payroll changes and regulations in withholding tables and calculating amounts can be a time consuming and tedious job. Doing the payroll while working with the business core activities will sometimes easily lead to mistakes. Another function in preparing payrolls is the preparing of local, state and federal taxes.

For small and starting out companies, it is not unusual for owners to spend two to eight hours preparing the payroll this is if it is done manually. Mistakes are also uncommon given the fact that you are multi-tasking. The consequences of these mistakes are costly. An employee receiving checks with errors will result to decrease morale of employee, and may hold grudges against the management.

Mistakes in payrolls will not only affect your employees but it can greatly affect the whole business. When you file late or with errors, you will be asked to pay for a payroll penalty. Keeping erroneous errors will result to fines that can amount to hundreds of dollars.

Given how processing payroll in-house can affect the whole business, you may want to look for other alternatives. If you do not want to handle mind-numbing things that are related to payroll, you can decide to go out and give payroll outsourcing a shot.

Modern Payroll Outsourcing
Payroll outsourcing has been practiced by business for quite some time already. As technology has got better, so has payroll processing. A good example of this is the Internet. Through the Internet, you as the proprietor will be able to observe, at the same time manipulate a company’s payroll in real time.

Because of certain forms provided by the outsourcing company, all you need to do is input the needed data and it will calculate everything for you automatically. This also includes deductions as well as taxes. This kind of payroll technology can greatly save your time and can give you the comfort of being still able to have control over it.

Benefits of Payroll Outsourcing
Just like with any kind of outsourcing, payroll outsourcing can also save a company from wasting time and money. You can save money since you do not have to change your infrastructure, hire new people and train them. Having new people with not that much experience is prone to committing mistakes. The same can be said why payroll outsourcing can save time.

Giving you more time to concentrate on more important matters related to the core of the business is another great benefit of payroll outsourcing. This will not just save you time and money, but growth of your business can be expected.

A Must Or A Bust
In the end, the decision will still depend on your preference and assessment of your company. If you want to avail of the benefits that payroll outsourcing can give you, then it is a must.

However if, basing on your assessment, there is really no need to hre 3rd party organizations to the payroll for you since you can do it yourself efficiently then there is no need to outsource.

About the Author:
Paul Hata is active in various social and community programs.Paul has over 10 years experience in managing a multi-million dollar advertising co.Access 1000s of affordable education,healthcare and jobs here - TradePlanets.com and EarlyPlanet.com

Article Source: Articles Base

How To Buy Payroll Services For Small Businesses

Author: Alexander Gordon

Small businesses that do not want to deal with or do not have the resources to deal with payroll management and administration, seek professional payroll service providers. They are cost effective, more experienced, reliable, well trained and takes care of mundane chore such as paying employees, and filing taxes etc., saving valuable time that can be devoted to building and running the business successfully.

It is a time consuming as well as exhaustive task to manage the payroll requirements of a business. Trained personnel are needed to be up to date, maintain employee work schedules, their leave calculation, be informed about hiring of an employee as well as aware of those who have be fired etc. so it is easier done by an experienced payroll service provider. When the business has to pay payroll taxes in different states it is better to opt for buying payroll services for small businesses.

The payroll service provider takes care of calculating and getting paychecks ready on time, printing and delivering checks, calculating tax obligations, check signatures, direct deposits, offer tie-ups with retirement plan funds, filing of federal and state payroll taxes etc.

Things to Consider While Contemplating Buying Payroll Services for Small Businesses:

Carefully consider if your business can afford to outsource payroll services and if it will be cost effective.

Research on the Internet, look up the yellow pages, ask people to recommend a good payroll service provide.

Make a list of all possible candidates, call them, and enquire about the services they offer and the costs. Carefully analyze by comparing all the firms, which one offers the best service at the price you can afford.

Make sure the terms are straightforward and hat there are no hidden clauses.

Be certain that the firm you select is a stable and reputable one that services several businesses other than yours.

Beware of expensive add on services that may escalate your costs.

The payroll service provider has to be experienced in handling your kind of business requirements.

These are a few things to be considered while you buy payroll services for small businesses.

The payroll service provider usually cost about $3 to $5 per check processed, with additional fees for the other service it provides such as delivering checks, calculating tax obligations etc. web-based payroll service providers are gaining popularity as the small businesses have to enter relevant data in a secure website and payroll service provider works using the data provided.

Compare prices and services before deciding to buy payroll services for small businesses. Select a provider who is reliable and trustworthy. It can work to your advantage saving time and money, which can be utilized to achieve target goals.

There are firms that sell services as well as products to run businesses efficiently and effectively.

About the Author:
Alexander Gordon is a writer for http://www.smallbusinessconsulting.com - The Small Business Consulting Community. Sign-up for the free success steps newsletter and get our booklet valued at $24.95 for free as a special bonus. The newsletter provides daily strategies on starting and significantly growing a business.

Article Source: Ezinearticles

How Does Account Reconciliation Work?

Author: Stephen L. Nelson, CPA
Balancing, or reconciling, your bank accounts represents an important financial management task. By regularly reconciling your records with those of the bank, you improve the accuracy of your bookkeeping, you assure that bank errors haven’t been made, and you also reduce the chance that you aren’t the victim of fraudulent transactions, such as those perpetrated by a forger.

The problem when reconciling bank accounts

But unfortunately, trying to reconcile a personal or corporation bank account with Microsoft Money can seem pretty daunting at times. On any given day, a comparison between what your records show is the balance in your bank account and what the bank’s records show will yield a discrepancy. And reconciling a bank account simply explains the difference between your records and the bank’s.

Locating Forgotten Transactions

In general, two factors explain the differences between the two sets of records: First, there are the transactions you haven’t recorded but that have been recorded by the bank, such as transactions you’ve forgotten to record as well as transactions for items such as bank fees and interest that you won’t know about until you see them on the bank statement. Second, there are the transactions you’ve recorded but that haven’t yet been recorded by, or cleared, the bank.

The process of reconciling any account involves looking carefully at both factors. For example, typically your first step is to look for and then record any transactions you forgot or didn’t know about before seeing the statement: cash machine transactions, forgotten checks, interest, and monthly service fees. (This step of looking for and then entering forgotten transactions can be particularly important if you’re using Microsoft Money to manage a small business’s finances–even a small corporation or small limited liability company can easily have hundreds of transactions a month in a bank account.)

Explaining Discrepancies Between Your Records and the Banks

Once you’ve done this, you then identify and total the transactions that you recorded but that haven’t yet been recorded by the bank, such as outstanding checks and deposits in transit. The total of these transactions should explain the difference between your recorded balance—this is what Microsoft Money shows—and the bank’s balance—this is what appears on the bank statement.

When the total uncleared transactions don’t explain the difference between your records and the bank’s, you need to repeat the two steps discussed in the preceding paragraphs. You’ve made a mistake in at least one of them.

Reconciling Corporation and Limited Liability Company Bank Accounts

If you’re reconciling a bank account for a small business that includes more people than just the owner and his or her family, you probably want to add one more step to the basic account reconciliation program: You should consider the possibility of forgery and embezzlement and look for evidence of either crime as you reconcile.

Specifically, if you do see forgotten transactions, you should consider the possibility that you didn’t forget the transaction. You should consider the possibility that some nefarious third person effected a transaction in a fraudulent manner (such as by forging a check).

About the Author:

CPA Stephen L. Nelson is the author of do it yourself kits for New Jersey incorporation, New Jersey S corporation, and New Jersey llc formation.
Trying to print a report or chart in Microsoft Money? Follow these simple steps, says CPA and computer book author
Stephen L. Nelson.

Article Source: Articlesbase

Outsourcing Accounting to India - A Powerful Business Strategy

Author: Amitaabh Saboo

Dealing with the accounting function of any business can be laborious and time-consuming. Making sure that accounting details are accurate is no walk in the park either. It requires great care and expertise. When business owners review accounting records to check the firm’s financial status, they realize how much time is spent on getting accurate details and chalking them up. In fact, doing accurate accounting can take significant time and effort.

Only qualified accountants can draw accurate conclusions from accounting details and help firms realize the actual financial picture. However, procuring the services of an accountant that is both qualified and experienced is cumbersome. In this instance, one might opt to simply hire the services of an outsourcing firm that specializes in accounting. These days, outsourcing accounting to India has become one of the most preferred options for businesses and accounting firms.

The work of an accountant never ends and it requires vigilance. If one appreciates the details that can possibly make or break a business, he would certainly want to get the most qualified accountant for the job. Outsourcing accounting to India is ideal because it ensures that only a qualified professional from a reputable firm will work on the accounting services for a business.

Now, choosing a reliable, authentic and established accounting outsourcing vendor in India can be difficult. In spite of this, one must give it time and care because once outsourcing accounting to India is accomplished, there would be no more need to worry about accounting again.

When outsourcing accounting, the first step is to skim through the many different firms listed in classifieds over the internet or online. Available vendors offer accounting services to both large and small businesses. Different businesses have different requirements when it comes to accounting. For this reason, it is imperative to procure the services of a firm that understands the accounting needs of the business.

When outsourcing your accounting to India, business owners will need to follow a structured process to ensure its success. First you need to choose an accounting firm that has good experience in accounting outsourcing. Always choose an accounting firm that works 24×7 since efficient communication is the key to most outsourcing initiatives. Then you have to give the accounting firm accurate details regarding the firm’s accounting requirements. Business owners also need to take measures to ensure only proper use of the firm’s accounting data. Further, one must ensure that outsourcing service is significantly beneficial to the firm. It is, after all, the business owner’s money that is at stake.
About the Author:
Outsourcing Accounting to India requires great care and expertise. There are many accounting outsourcing firms in India that cater to small and medium businesses worldwide with a structured process to ensure its success.

Article Source: Ezinearticles

Outsourcing Bookkeeping Makes Perfect Business Sense

Author: Amitaabh Saboo

Bookkeeping is a time consuming and tedious but essential task for businesses. Moreover, it can be quite expensive as it entails accountants’ salaries – very likely substantial – and benefits over and above the cost of training them. Though hiring a proper staff for bookkeeping may fit the budget of many small business ventures, often, after the expense on training accountants in bookkeeping, in due course, companies find that they can not afford to hire these accountants permanently.

To conserve the budget for in-house bookkeeping, a company may opt for outsourcing bookkeeping work - a portion of it or its entirety. Savings on the cost of training and retaining an in-house bookkeeping staff translates into lower capital expenditure. Additionally, shifting some of your workload to others saves you time and allows you to perform efficiently in other areas of your business. Therefore, outsourcing bookkeeping saves time and money. Time and money saved can be utilized for strengthening core sectors of the business and expansion, both of which increase profit.

Yet another benefit of outsourcing bookkeeping is enhanced efficiency. Usually, because of the multitasking nature of work in businesses, a person or a company is unable to give its best just when it is needed most. In this instance, it makes perfect business sense to outsource bookkeeping work to accounting firms. The professionals at outsourcing bookkeeping firms lay great emphasis on expertise and proficiency. Because professionals at specialized outsourcing bookkeeping firms have the advantage of being able to concentrate on maintaining your accounts, they do the work in much less time than in-house accountants. Plus, they can take each and every step of bookkeeping very carefully thus producing meticulous work.

Many outsourcing bookkeeping firms have specialized software for managing accounting transactions. This spares your company the time and expense required by acquiring and maintaining software, as well as training accountants in software manipulation.

Bookkeeping outsourcing online is especially beneficial to small and medium business firms. Online accounting services generate additional savings in time and manpower - time and manpower that would otherwise be spent on visits to the offices of professional bookkeeping firms. Again, the time and energy thus saved can be redirected towards other sectors of the business or towards expansion.

Bookkeeping outsourcing online also generates additional savings on computer maintenance cost, training cost, fixed costs and overheads. Indian Online bookkeeping outsourcing companies are especially noteworthy for the nominal rates they charge for providing efficient services.

About the Author:

Outsourcing bookkeeping services & outsourcing accounting services at amazingly low rate for small business. #1 selling online accounting & bookkeeping services firm. QuickBooks online bookkeeping & accounting outsourcing firm in India.

Article Source: Articlesbase

Affordable accounting services for small and middle level businesses

Accounting services is one of the most important aspects of any business because it makes certain that all decisions made are financially. However, many business possessors believe procuring accounting outsourcing services involve needless costs. Affordable accounting services at incredibly low rate for Small and middles size Business. Accounting services is one of the most important phases of a business, so sometimes business possessors may be skeptical about handing over the work to a third party in some off shore location.

Affordable accounting services findings reliable and accurate accounting services is inevitable for the financial health and smooth functioning of any business. Hi-Tech Accounting Services is equipped with state of the art infrastructure, innovative technology, and accounting services professional expertise to handle your projects that belong to multiple disciplines of Accounting.

Affordable accounting services customize small and medium sized businesses

• Account Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• Budget Process
• Cash Management Techniques
• Data Security
• Financial Reporting
• Inventory Reconciliation
• Payroll Administration
• Quarterly Tax Filing

Benefits of using Outsource accounting services:

• Save up to 40% to 60% on your accounting projects
• Greater efficiency and business focus
• Access to qualified professionals
• Better quality of accounting services
• Quick Turnaround Time
• Flexibility in payment
• Confidentiality of client’s data
• Consistency in meeting the deadlines

Affordable Accounting Services have helped our esteemed clients keep their financial house in order, by providing financial accounting services, accounting software support accounting assistance and expertise for a various scope of requirements.