There was a time when I attended an event and was asked what I do for a living, and I simply replied, “I’m a bookkeeper.” To my surprise, the other party responded, saying, “Ah... You must have read a lot of books then.”
I was not sure whether he was just kidding since his dimples reveal when he talks, or just that he was uncertain about the kind of job I am in.
So, to give an insight into what bookkeepers do, well, we ensure the availability of readily accessible reports from all the transactions encountered by a business enterprise.
With my current job as an accounting staff at a hospital, I am responsible for the payroll, expenses, and billings.
In light of this, the role of bookkeepers in how they record documents and secure transactions in terms of expenses, payables, billings, and payroll will be discussed in this article.
Keeping records of transactions, we use BizBOX that allows us to maintain accuracy, money distribution, check control, audit trail, run bank balance, and do an instant review. Through this software application, summarizing transactions that normally require tedious steps could now easily be generated.
When it comes to recording expenses, each expense is grouped according to its classification, such as utility expense or what we call city services, and then totaled. This process could be susceptible to human errors, such as omissions, arithmetic errors, and typographical errors. Luckily, bookkeepers are here with the system of “checks and balances”. We could verify the accuracy of recorded amounts.
This applies the same to the accounts payable system (list of owed money to suppliers) because numbers will have to be transferred to sub-ledgers for all suppliers. Thus, errors of omission, transpositions, and other related issues are likely to occur. But this again could be counterchecked during reconciliation where cashbook records (the one we prepare) are compared to bankbook records (the deposited amount) to ensure accuracy and that all paid checks and collected funds are accounted for.
When bills are due for payment, charge invoices are reviewed by bookkeepers for content and approved before being paid. A purchase order system documents the legitimacy of all the purchases incurred. Like the procurement processes of government agencies, purchase orders are used to streamline requisitioning of supplies and identify the person making the requests. All delivered products should come to the property custodian who is responsible for distribution. A receipt is confirmed by someone’s signature on the delivery invoice. Purchase orders are signed by the office manager. Non-performance from this system could imply a weak internal control and thus, may result in poorly accounted purchases, leading to possible losses of items or materials.
In terms of payroll, deductions must be properly accounted for, such as SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and loans made by employees. Failure to properly account for these could lead to fines, interests, and penalties for both the employer and the employees. With this, before Daily Time Records (DTRs) are submitted, an officer ascertains that all hourly, per diem, and salaried employees have accurately recorded their time.
Overall, these tasks of bookkeepers may vary from each workplace. They could either be concentrated on the payroll only or be doing several of these, depending on the size and availability of a company’s manpower.
Hence, when someone introduces himself or herself as a bookkeeper, now you have an idea. They may be keepers of books, and yes, they do read them, but they read them in a way that only the business world understands.
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