How do I know if my current bookkeeper is doing a good enough job with my financials?

Start with the basics. Are your bank accounts and credit cards reconciled every month? Reconciliation means the balances in your accounting software match your actual bank statements down to the penny. If your bookkeeper can’t confirm that reconciliations are current, that’s a fundamental problem. Unreconciled accounts mean your financial reports are unreliable, and every decision you make based on those numbers is built on guesses.

Ask for your Profit and Loss statement and your Balance Sheet. You should be receiving these monthly without having to chase anyone down. If your bookkeeper only produces reports at tax time or when you specifically request them, you’re flying blind for most of the year. Good bookkeeping gives you a clear picture of revenue, expenses, and profitability on a consistent schedule.

Look at how expenses are categorized. Open your chart of accounts or your P&L and check for oversized “Miscellaneous” or “Uncategorized” balances. A few small items landing there is normal. Thousands of dollars sitting in those categories means transactions aren’t being properly classified, which affects your tax deductions and makes it impossible to understand where your money is actually going.

Can your bookkeeper explain your numbers to you? If you ask “why was last month’s profit lower than the month before?” they should be able to walk you through it. A bookkeeper who just enters data without understanding what the numbers mean isn’t giving you much beyond data entry. You need someone who can help you actually read your financials and spot trends before they become problems.

Watch for surprises at tax time. If your CPA consistently finds errors, reclassifies large amounts, or your tax bill is drastically different from what you expected, your books probably aren’t as clean as they should be. Your tax preparer shouldn’t be doing heavy cleanup work on top of preparing your return. That means the bookkeeping wasn’t done right during the year.

Think about whether compliance items are handled. Sales tax filings, 1099s for contractors, payroll tax deadlines. If you’re the one remembering due dates and reminding your bookkeeper, the relationship isn’t working the way it should. A competent bookkeeper either handles those deadlines or clearly communicates that they’re outside the scope of work so you know to manage them yourself.

Finally, consider how proactive your bookkeeper is. Do they reach out when something looks unusual, like a big spike in expenses or a payment that doesn’t match an invoice? Or do they just process whatever comes through without questioning it? The difference between full-service bookkeeping and basic data entry is that someone is actually paying attention to your business, not just logging transactions.

If you’re reading this and realizing several of these areas feel off, you’re not alone. Many business owners don’t know what to expect from a bookkeeper because they’ve never seen what clean, well-maintained books look like. Whether you need inventory accounting in Orlando or just solid monthly reports you can trust, the standard should be the same. You should feel confident in your numbers, not uncertain about whether they’re right.