In this situation, when we say, “Books and Records” we mean your bookkeeping program. It’s important that your accountant have access to your bookkeeping program for many reasons, not the least of which is making life easier for both you and your accountant.
Thankfully, accounting apps like Xero have made giving your accountant access to your books and records much easier than it used to be.
Providing Access to Your Books and Records Makes Life Easier
Things are so much simpler in the world of cloud-based accounting. Here are a few ways giving your accountant access to your books makes your business life easier.
No more back ups to email to your accountant
Remember when you used to make a backup then have to arrange to drop it off at your accountant’s office? Then by the time you dropped it off, you’d made a few more entries that weren’t on your back-up. Ugh! Not anymore!
Your accountant will know exactly what you’re talking about
If you have a question about an entry you made or how to reconcile something in your accounting app, your accountant can view the transactions in your account and know exactly what you’re talking about. You can both be in your accounting app at the same time, looking at the same information even if you are in different cities.
Your accountant won’t have to call you when they want to check something
Once your accountant has access to your accounting app, they can log in anytime they like to check a number or view the numbers they need to file necessary business reports like GST and PST. As long as you keep your records up-to-date, they won’t have to phone or email you to remind you that they need certain paperwork from you in order to file the form that’s due at the end of the month.
You’ll Be Inspired to Keep Things Up-to-Date
If you know your accountant has access to your books and records, you may feel like you need to record things in a timely manner in case your accountant wants to check some income or expense numbers or do a preliminary assessment of your tax situation.
Giving your accountant access to your records in Xero is quick and easy. Go to your settings, then select “users.” Click “invite a user” and enter your accountant’s information. Choose the access level you’d like your accountant to have (“adviser” is what we recommend). Then, you can add a personal message if you like and send the invite.
We love working with our clients in Xero. If you’d like to know more about getting set up with a cloud accounting app like Xero that makes information sharing with your accountant quick and easy, give us a call. We’re a Xero-certified partner. Contact us to learn more.
You can also learn more about Xero here: https://www.xero.com/ca.
