We all know by now that accurate, up-to-date bookkeeping is the backbone of any successful small business. No matter the type of business structure, businesses have one single thing in common: good bookkeeping practices are important for the sustainable growth of any business. Of course, that’s at the macro level. At the micro-level, there are several bookkeeper duties that manufacture the “behind-the-scenes” success of a business (with the handy help of accounting software).

The Bookkeeper’s Role

It’s common to get the role of a bookkeeper and an accountant confused with one another. Bookkeeping is a component of accounting that deals with the collection and organization of financial documents. Bookkeeper duties involve gathering, organizing, and filing every piece of data that makes up your business finances, e.g. bank reconciliations. Documents can include but are not limited to, invoices, receipts, payroll records, bank and credit card statements, bill statements, and tax forms and returns. Accounting, on the other hand, involves interpreting and communicating financial transactions and is much more subjective in nature.

What Bookkeeper Duties Can I Take Over Myself?

If you’re thinking to yourself, “I’m organized, don’t lose things easily, and have some leisure time that I can allocate to bookkeeping, then this section is for you! Proper bookkeeping is not only a quintessential way to understand your business, but it provides you (and your accountant) critical information regarding where it’s at and where it’s headed.

The following is a summary of bookkeeper duties that you can do yourself, with the help of accounting software.

Financial Data Entry & Tracking

A large part of bookkeeping is organizing and filing financial data. That’s why accuracy and accessibility are critical. Luckily, accounting software such as TrulySmall Accounting allows for easy tracking of expenses. Once a business purchase has been made, you can hop into the TS Accounting dashboard on your laptop (if you’re in the comfort of your home) or on your smartphone (if you’re out and about).

Just looking to track expenses? Try TrulySmall Expenses.

Invoice Like a Pro!

Although it’s an unwritten rule, most customers appreciate a simple-to-read, good looking, and sometimes even customized, invoice. Spelling errors, incorrect dollar amounts, and plain and generic formatting can easily shift your business from professional to sloppy.

With TrulySmall invoices, you can help relieve bookkeeper duties such as invoicing right off the bat. Once you add a new invoice, you have the option of customizing it—from multiple invoice design templates—straight from your workspace. From there, you can also add your own logo and branding to it. We all know by now that consumers are visual creatures. What better way to make them recognize you and your brand than with your logo? Plus, it can help prompt payment. Once you’ve finalized your invoice, you don’t need the extra step of signing in to your email account—you can email the invoice directly from within TrulySmall’s dashboard.

Just need to send an invoice? Try one of our free TrulySmall Invoice templates.

Learn From Your Reports—and Make Better, Smarter Business Decisions

It’s important that bookkeeper duties are done right to help you make better, smarter business decisions. By moving bookkeeper duties to the cloud, you get the assistance of automation. For instance, once you input data into TrulySmall Accounting, you can rest well knowing that each invoice and receipt is carefully stored and itemized for you.

TrulySmall can then take all this key information and produce standard financial reports, such as your income statement, balance sheet, general ledger, trial balance, and sales tax summary. Export any of these to PDF, Excel, Google and other formats with just one click. This way, you can easily pull together critical reports to make smarter business decisions, as well as to prepare for your next tax return.