Why Hire A Builder, When You Can Buy A Hammer?
Hello! My name is Donna Carswell and I own a Bookkeeping Business, called Decryption Limited.
Today, I’m going to talk to you about the benefits that a bookkeeper can add to a business. I am also going to discuss why business owners choose to work with me. I could tell you about debits & credits, GST and Xero, but to keep you all awake I am going to tell you a couple of stories.
The First Story Involves A Hammer, A House And Xero
One day, a lady started a business and decided to DIY her accounts. She setup her own spreadsheets, attended a lot of talks about finances and did a short business accounts course. Pretty soon, she started to feel really overwhelmed and confused. Her business was growing quickly, so she decided to Register for GST – then she hit a snag. Her course didn’t cover much about GST! The IRD didn’t answer her phone calls and she didn’t know what to do next.
She posted on a Facebook group, asking if I could explain accounts in English, instead of “Accounting Speak”. I gave her a call and after a 15 minute chat, she told me that she “suddenly felt a lot lighter and happier”. She knew Decryption could help!
I sent her a list of stuff I needed her to get together, along with a contract via 2Shakes. I chose this, to make sure that we complied with the new Anti-Money Laundering rules – if you haven’t heard about those, let’s talk – but back to the story.
As A Xero Certified Advisor I took her spreadsheets, asked a few questions, set up a Beautiful Xero System. We did a few hours of online training, which she did at home, while in her slippers. I supported her through her first GST Return and she was off and her business is growing by the day.
She now has more free time, the feeling of overwhelm has disappeared. She has me as an expert bookkeeper, at the end of the phone, via email & in person, when she needs me.
Now, I can hear you all thinking, “what does any of this have to do with a hammer, and a house?” Anyone can buy a hammer, or setup their own accounting systems, but if you build a house, while learning to use a hammer, expect some issues. We are all specialists and it pays off when you get the foundations of your business systems right!
The Second Story, Involves A Successful, Mid-Sized Manufacturing Company
They were looking for a bookkeeper, as the owner was tired, stressed and trying to do accounts at 2:00 am, because the”kids were asleep then”. The owner believed that they were doing a good job with the accounts, but needed to delegate.
We had a coffee chat, I listened to her story and I could tell that she was tired, frustrated and she wasn’t enjoying her business anymore. It had also started to impact her husband and most importantly, her 3 young kids.
I agreed to take a look at her Xero file, to make some changes and to see how we could work together.
During the review, I corrected her Xero Setup, created reports to help her understand her finances and changed the way she entered bills. By making a change to how her bills were entered into Xero, we found over $10,000 of overcharges on just 3 invoices. The price x the quantity, didn’t equal the total on the bills and she had never noticed. She had overpaid her supplier for several months!! She was horrified and immediately asked me to “take over the books”
After 2 months of working together, we had improved process, made corrections and had a plan to move forward together as a team.
4 Years later, she has told me she “can’t imagine a business without me”. Best of all she can take time off, the bills still get paid, she gets to play with her kids & she is getting a lot more sleep.
I have now told you two stories, out of many, of different businesses that continue to see great results, from getting Decryption on board as a bookkeeper.
If you, or someone you know, is in a similar situation, call me or refer me for a 15 minute, no obligation chat.
Special Offer!
As a special offer, for reading these stories, we would like to offer you a Xero Setup Warrant of Fitness. This involves 30 minutes, online, with some quick wins, because a specialist bookkeeper, knows how to build a solid foundation for your Accounting Systems.
Thanks for explaining that so simply! I love how you’ve likened it to building. It’s so true.
Love this! I use xero and absolutely love it – it makes my life so much easier! 🙂
Great article. If I were in New Zealand, I’d definitely use you.