You probably want to spend your time developing and growing your business instead of learning how to be a bookkeeper or accountant. While you do need to learn some basic accounting concepts and understand a profit and loss statement, learning all about those debits and credits and numerous other rules can be very time consuming and brain-draining.

Many bookkeepers have a certificate or an associate’s degree in accounting, usually from a community college. Combined with years of “on the job” experience, this gives the bookkeeper the experience needed to perform the day-to-day tasks necessary in most small businesses. There are organizations such as the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) and the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) that administer a series of tests to certify that bookkeepers have met high national standards for their profession.

Many times a small business only needs someone on a very part-time basis to keep the books up to date, and while you could hire a CPA to enter data, most likely the bookkeeper will be faster and three times cheaper. An experienced bookkeeper will also know when it’s time to call in a CPA to analyze a situation and inform you of these situations. I like to think of it like this: a bookkeeper is to a CPA as a nurse is to a doctor.