How Digital Bookkeeping Works

So, how does digital bookkeeping work?  

The relationship between a business owner and a bookkeeper boils down to document sharing and efficient communication.  Technology can be a godsend in both of these regards.  A good digital bookkeeper can make a business' financial processes more efficient and cost effective.  Let's get into the nitty-gritty.

So, how do we share documents?

Your bookkeeper is going to need quite an array of financial documents from your business.  We're talking bank and credit card statements, receipts, invoices, bills, online payments etc.  Luckily, there are many different ways to share documents these days over the internet.  My preferred way is to use a cloud-based document system like Dropbox or Google Drive.  Some clients may prefer to use a dedicated file transfer service or use a virtual data room like Sharevault.  You can even send documents via email if you like.  Finally, snailmail is always an option too.

The only major differences between these systems and handing documents to a bookkeeper directly are building the habit to send it to your bookkeeper electronically and the ability to scan documents.  You may need to invest in a good scanner but I've had great personal success with CamScanner--a smartphone app that uploads pdfs of your documents using your phone's camera.

So, how do we regularly communicate?

This is an even easier question.  The internet provides an almost overwhelming variety of ways to communicate.  Email and instant messaging are probably the most popular.  Obviously, you could always give your bookkeeper a call too.  If you are looking for a face-to-face meeting you can use any of the online meeting clients or video chat services like Skype or Google Hangouts.  

There is one final way that digital bookkeepers operate.  Some clients--probably use to having a bookkeeper physically come to the office and sit down at a computer--prefer to have their digital bookkeeper use software to remotely access the business' computer.  This can be accomplished using services like LogMeIn or GoToMyPc.

Your bookkeeper should be willing to train you on any of the particular software if you run into any problems.  You can also reach out to me and I'll be willing to help.