5 W's: Where is Bookkeeping

Where is Bookkeeping? This title is not the most grammatically accurate sentence, however if we said “where is Bookkeeping done?”, this might encourage a little more discussion, especially in today’s world where almost any job can be done from almost anywhere, with the use of an ever expanding touch of technology.

The terms Bookkeeping and Bookkeepers alike create images of men and women wearing black visors cooped up in some back office as the sound of turbo tape electronically ticks away while the Add button on the calculator is tapped almost continuously. All while working in a cloud of cigarette smoke without any windows to open for a breath of fresh air. Needless to say the accounting & bookkeeping world has come a long way from these old stereotypes, especially within the last ten years.

Over the last decade, advances in technology have allowed business owners and accounting professionals to handle data in a more efficient manner from how the data gets processed to how it is reported. For example, the ability of an individual or business to file tax returns and payroll remittances online with only a couple of key strokes is crazy when you think back to the days of mailing paper returns.

Bookkeepers have readily accepted these new technologies and have emerged out of those old back offices and are now able to set up shop anywhere with a WiFi connection. Bookkeepers are now just as mobile and efficient as the business owners themselves. With the new virtual world just beginning to gain momentum, the relationship between the bookkeeper and business owner will only improve where ever the technology leads them.