What to Do When Your Bookkeeper Walks Out

In today’s world, employee retention is harder than ever. Employment rates are high, and technology makes it easy for people to find and apply for new opportunities at the click of a button.

Employee loyalty is difficult to earn. But as the workforce continues to change, it’s essential to adapt and address the needs of your employees.

So, what happens when your bookkeeper quits? When your bookkeeper walks out the door, all of your company’s financial tribal knowledge does too.

To keep that from happening, we encourage you to have best practices in place. If your great employees decide to move on, you need to be able to pick up where they left off quickly.

It’s Time to Fine-Tune Your Financial Operations: 4 Tips For Success

Nothing can showcase your inefficient processes and procedures quite like having an employee up and leave. This can be detrimental to your business on many levels. If it’s your bookkeeper who leaves, then you risk suffering a significant financial loss if operations aren’t smoothly transitioned.

1. Transition to a cloud-based solution.

One best practice that we recommend is switching to a cloud-based accounting system. It allows you to view your finances at a glance at any given time. Outside of the office? No problem. Cloud-hosted software can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection.

If your bookkeeper leaves you hanging, you can stay on top of your accounting with automated processes and syncing in place. Whether someone is behind the desk or not, your billings, collections, and payments will continue to flow.

Read more about the benefits of using cloud platforms, such as QuickBooks Online.

2. Keep your written policies and procedures up to date.

It’s essential to have written policies and procedures in place so you can efficiently train new employees as needed. If your bookkeeper has been around for a long time, these duties could become less of a priority in their day-to-day tasks.

Make it a point to check in with your bookkeeper every so often to see what new processes he/she has implemented. Then, make sure they are documenting those processes appropriately and hold them accountable.

3. Get a password program, like Roboform.

Accounting staff usually own your accounts online, and the last thing you want is to be locked out of your accounts if they leave.

With Roboform, you can make a separate profile for your staff, so if they decide to leave, they do not take the passwords with them. It will also keep you from having to change all of your passwords to keep your information and accounts safe.

Learn more about Roboform here.

4. Hire a professional accounting department for the cost of a bookkeeper.

Is it really practical to rely on one single person to manage your company’s financial health? If that person quits, how will your company bounce back? Will you be able to handle the in-between accounting upkeep until you find a replacement?

Maybe outsourcing your accounting needs is the solution for you. By doing so, you will have a team on hand at all times to assess your financial health and answer your complex questions. You can trust that your books will be accurate and timely, and you will spend less time overall asking for reports and information.

Have You Heard about Our F.A.S.T. Team?

Outsourcing keeps you safer as a business owner, and it allows you to do the things you love most — work on your business, not on your books.

At MGA, our Finance Accounting Support Team (F.A.S.T.) provides this service. We have helped many business owners grow their businesses by freeing up their time and providing the loyal support they need with the ability to scale as they grow.

Interested in an accounting review to see if you are a fit for F.A.S.T.?

Let’s talk!