Quickbooks or a Bookkeeper? Do you Need Both?

Bookkeeping Is a Profession Which Requires Concentration

What is Quickbooks?

Quickbooks is accounting software used to track and record the financial information of small to medium businesses. This practice is otherwise known as ‘small business accounting’ or bookkeeping. Traditionally, this includes recording accounts receivable, accounts payable, Bills, invoices, tax forms, and payroll. Essentially, it is meant to be a user-friendly tool that assists in small business accounting needs.

What is the difference between Quickbooks and a Bookkeeper?

The main difference is the lack of a human presence since Quickbooks is just software that receives input from an outside source. Otherwise, both QuickBooks and a bookkeeper will track the same type of financial information.

Of course, the other main difference is that a bookkeeper is a professional who handles the data entry of small businesses, whereas QuickBooks is a tool.

In other words, a bookkeeper is autonomous and can manually enter and prepare data for you, whereas QuickBooks cannot necessarily do that on its own. Additionally, QuickBooks software is commonly used by bookkeepers as a way of streamlining business while also limiting any margin of error. Our definitive guide explains the duties of bookkeeping in context.

Can You Teach Yourself Quickbooks?

Teaching Yourself Will Require Reading From Various Sources

Yes, just like any software, it is possible to teach yourself how to use QuickBooks using the information provided on the internet. The following sources apply.

QuickBooks Tutorials

Intuit, also known as the developers of QuickBooks, provides online tutorials outlining the basics of their program. These tutorials come in the form of short videos detailing the processes of each segment of bookkeeping.

Online Tutoring

While QuickBooks advertises itself as user friendly, learning the software with no background in bookkeeping means tackling a steep learning curve. Specifically, while QuickBooks software can automate and process regular bookkeeping duties with ease, the software itself cannot teach you the art of bookkeeping. In this way, you will still be learning two subjects at the same time. This is why having a professional bookkeeper provide tutoring is a preferred option for those seeking to improve their skills.

It makes sense that in order to improve yourself, you must make an investment. All post-secondary education relies on this model, and it also applies to learn any skill on your own. One of the best ways to fully master QuickBooks is to have a professional provide training via online tutoring. Luckily, plenty of online tutorials are offered by experts in the field, which can expedite the learning process.

Quickbooks As a Professional Tool

While there are avenues for being self-taught in the QuickBooks program, there is also another route which certifies mastery over it. Many bookkeepers will take a course which details everything about the program. If they pass, they become what is called a ‘certified proadvisor’, which signifies their depth of knowledge and expertise.

Is the Quickbooks Certification Hard?

For someone with no experience at all, gaining the certification may be a little less difficult as learning the program by yourself. There are three levels of certification, two of which require completion of the previous course in order to progress. For the first course, no prerequisites are required, and online workshops are provided before taking the exam.

One main downside of these certifications is that obtaining them once may not be enough. Since the program is constantly improving over time, re-certifications are required to be taken each time it updates.

Where a Bookkeeper Makes a Difference

While it is ‘possible’ to learn on your own time, it may not be worth it in the long run. Quickbooks is a complicated tool used by professionals in the field of accounting and bookkeeping. Since these professionals are dedicated to the specific subject of bookkeeping, it makes sense that they take all of these certifications. However, all of this in-depth learning can get in the way of an expanding business.

The purpose of hiring a bookkeeper is to put that anxiety to rest by relying on a competent person, who is likely using QuickBooks. With a bookkeeper, you can just pay someone who is already an expert in the program.

At the end of the day, QuickBooks is just a tool to expedite a process. If there is no expertise, then errors are likely to occur in the data entry, and nothing but an expert can stop that.