What Does a Bookkeeper Do? (and What They Don’t)

 If you’ve ever wondered what a bookkeeper actually does (beyond “tracking expenses”), you’re not alone. Most small businesses don’t need a full finance department but they do need clean, reliable books so decisions aren’t based on guesses.

What does a bookkeeper do (core responsibilities)

A professional bookkeeper manages the day to day accuracy of your financial records. That usually includes:

• Transaction categorization: income and expenses mapped correctly to the right accounts

• Bank + credit card reconciliations: ensuring your books match reality (not just what you think happened)

• Invoicing and A/R support: helping you track what customers owe

• Bills and A/P tracking: making sure you know what you owe vendors

• Monthly reporting: P&L (income statement), balance sheet, cash flow summaries

• Cleanup and catch-up: fixing errors or rebuilding missing months

  
  

What a bookkeeper typically does not do

Depending on your setup and jurisdiction, these are often handled by an accountant/CPA or a specialist:

• Filing complex business taxes (though your bookkeeper prepares the numbers)

• High-level tax strategy

• Audits and formal assurance engagements

• Legal structuring decisions

  
  

What you should expect every month

A good monthly bookkeeping deliverable is:

1. Reconciled accounts

2. Clean financial statements

3. A short summary: what changed, what looks off, what needs attention

   
   

When it’s time to hire a bookkeeper

Common signals:

• You’re behind more than 30 days

• You don’t trust your numbers

• Cash flow surprises keep happening

• Tax time feels like a disaster every year

 If you want clean monthly books without the stress, Rockies Bookkeeping can build a simple monthly system that stays audit ready don't stress reach out today @rockies.bookkeeping@gmail.com