Who Is Today’s Professional Bookkeeper?

Bookkeeping can be a very rewarding home based business if you know what you’re doing.

Here’s a profile of today’s book keeper from the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers to let you know if you’ve got what it takes.

It’s an excellent overview of a potentially fast paced occupation.

For those not holding a CPA and wanting a credential, they offer their own certification program.

Today’s professional bookkeeper (as opposed to “bookkeeping clerkâ€?) is expected  to know…

* that Joe’s health insurance is tax-free, but Alice’s must have federal income tax and Social Security tax withheld;
* that $25,000 of the purchase price of an SUV pickup truck or van may be written off it weighs over 6,000 pounds or weighs less and is “specially modified�—and when these vehicles do (or do not) come under annual IRS depreciation limits;
* how much the company v. employee can contribute to Bob’s 401(k) and Jane’s SIMPLE IRA—and the special rules for including a Roth IRA to a 401(k) starting in 2006;
* that when Jill worked 40 hours, then worked all day Saturday—after being specifically ordered not to work—she must be paid overtime
* that the free weekend at the company-owned (or paid for) fishing cabin is taxable income to Bill

…and this is the easy stuff.

…in today’s entrepreneurial company, the heart of the American economy and the key to its future job growth, the bookkeeper is the de facto CFO. Even the greatest CPA cannot create strong financial statements from flimsy data. Who cares about a small company’s financial statements? The bank making a loan decision. The vendor deciding whether to extend credit. The large corporate customer that cannot roll station-wagons off the assembly line if its steering-wheel supplier goes out of business.

Read it all…