The Difference between an Accountant and a Bookkeeper

An accountant and a bookkeeper both perform the essential tasks needed to manage the finances of a business.

Bookkeepers are generally more involved in the systems applied to the daily running the business and accountants take the information provided by the bookkeeper to produce end of year accounts and tax returns.

According to the qualifications that are offered by the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB), bookkeepers are able to perform everything from maintaining the sales and purchase ledger accounts, all the way up to producing VAT returns and constructing management accounts. Accountants then take what work the Bookkeeper has produced during the year to devise tax strategies, business advisory services and auditing of the clients accounts.

Bookkeeping and accountancy are complimentary fields; the two professions work hand-in-hand with each other thus if the bookkeeping expert of this partnership does not perform well, their bad job will hinder the important work of their accounting associate. The line between where the bookkeepers job ends and accountants job begins can be blurred however many accountants have the skills to perform most of the tasks that a bookkeeper is able to. Even though both services are essential to a well run business, the services of a bookkeeper are more affordable than that of an accountant.

The Local Bookkeeper’s (TLBK) bookkeeper’s offer much more than the average bookkeeper, it offers a professional who assists in the running of the finances of the business. TLBK bookkeepers are capable of producing Management Accounts and cash flow forecasts for their clients that will allow clients to have the financial transparency they need to make informed important decisions. The management accounts also show the client the effects of a business decision on their finances on a regular basis instead of only being able to see this in the end of year accounts when it may be too late to make changes.

TLBK’s bookkeepers can also offer advice to businesses on what methods they could undertake to better manage their cash flow that increases their available cash and therefore avoid business failure.

The Local Bookkeeper produces high quality work that means the accountants duties are made much easier and therefore much faster, which will be saving the client money on their accountancy bill.

Do you use a qualified bookkeeper?