How to choose a bookkeeper

business.gov.au's advice on getting help with your finances starts with deciding what kind of help you need. It notes that financial professionals cover different kinds of work, and suggests taking time to find one who is right for you. Before contacting anyone, write a short list of what you want handed over and what you will keep doing yourself.

Add a rough picture of the business's size: how many bank accounts and cards it uses, whether it sells on credit, whether it holds stock, and roughly how many transactions pass through the bank in a month. Those details are what let a bookkeeper judge the work involved.

• Employee or outside bookkeeper: an employee works in your business as part of your team, while an outside bookkeeper serves several businesses and is engaged for an agreed scope.
• Visits or online: decide whether you need someone to visit or whether documents and access can be shared online.
• Which system: if the business already uses a bookkeeping system, look for someone who knows it. If it doesn't, business.gov.au suggests checking which software your accountant or business adviser recommends.

business.gov.au suggests preparing your questions before you meet. Ask each candidate the same set, so their answers line up. Find out:

• what experience they have with businesses like yours, and with the system you use
• which of the tasks on your list they would do, and which they wouldn't
• how your documents will reach them, and how often the books will be brought up to date
• how they raise questions about transactions they can't identify
• which reports you will receive, and how soon after the end of each month
• who will actually do the work, and who covers when that person is away
• how they keep your records secure and backed up
• how they work with your accountant at the end of the year
• how their fees are worked out, and what would cost extra
• what you will receive, and how quickly, if you stop working together.

Answers to questions only go so far. Before you decide:

• Ask to see a sample of the monthly reports they produce, with client details removed, and check you can understand them.
• Ask for a reference from a current client with a business similar to yours.
• Notice how they explain things. If an answer leaves you more confused, the monthly reports may too.
• Consider starting with a defined first piece of work, such as one month's reconciliations, before handing over everything.

Being able to follow the reports matters because the responsibility stays with you. The ATO says the business owner keeps primary accountability for record keeping even when the duty is given to another person.

Once you have chosen, record the arrangement in a written engagement both of you keep. Beyond the tasks and timing, make sure it covers:

• the documents you will provide and by when each month
• the reports you will receive and by when
• that the bookkeeping system, bank access and stored files are set up in the business's name, with you holding the main login
• how a change in scope is agreed and priced
• how much notice either side gives to end the arrangement
• what is handed back at the end: the records, reports and working files up to the last completed month.

Keeping the main logins in the business's name means the business can still reach its records, and every password, whoever does the work.

• Reluctance to set up the system or bank access in the business's name.
• No clear answer on what is included and what costs extra.
• No plan for who covers when they are unavailable.
• Reports you can't follow, and no offer to explain them.