TaxAssist Accountants breaks down the differences between bookkeeping and accounting

The franchise gave its customers some expert advice in a recent blog post, diving into the key reasons that bookkeeping and accounting aren’t quite the same.

TaxAssist Accountants, first established in 1995, is now the largest network of accountants in the UK. The bookkeeping and accounting franchise is proudly dedicated to helping small businesses and self-employed individuals, and as such, often shares helpful expert advice via its website and social media channels. But what is bookkeeping, what is accounting, and what’s the difference?

According to TaxAssist Accountants, “Bookkeeping is recording your information and transactions so that you can monitor your incomings and outgoings. This needs to be done on a regular basis so that you can have a better idea of what the financial position of the business is to allow you to make decisions and make the necessary filings for your taxes.” For a bookkeeper, common tasks include entering customer and purchase invoices, reconciling cash and preparing and filing VAT returns.

Accounting, on the other hand, “is recording the financial information but then summarising it in a way that is useful. This allows you to interpret the data that you have for crucial decision making.” For an accountant, common tasks include determining profit and loss, valuing assets and liabilities and monitoring trends and variances.

Bookkeeping is considered to be one part of accounting - bookkeeping is the gathering of the financial data, whereas accounting is more focused on how that financial data can be used. Or, in the words of TaxAssist, “Bookkeeping is how you record and categorise your financial transactions, whereas accounting is putting that financial data to use through analysis, strategy and planning.”

To become a TaxAssist Accountants franchisee, educating and supporting small business owners across the UK, you’ll need to make a minimum investment of £39,950. Find out more about the franchise via its profile page, linked above.