If you\u2019re just starting out with your small business, you\u2019ll probably be satisfied with the services of a regular bookkeeper. They\u2019ll be in charge of getting your finances organized, keeping track of sales, income and expenses, and executing payrolls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, as your business appetites grow and your company scales, you might ask yourself whether this role should be taken to a higher level as well. In this article, we\u2019ll answer the \u201cWhat is full charge bookkeeping?\u201d question and explain the job\u2019s duties, responsibilities, educational requirements, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
FC bookkeeping is a term that refers to professionals who are fully responsible for a small or medium-sized business’s full-cycle accounting and bookkeeping needs. They usually have more responsibilities than regular bookkeepers and are often in touch with the company\u2019s CEO and upper management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Larger companies sometimes have the assistance of an outside certified public accountant to review and audit more complicated financial statements and tax returns. If the company grows to the size of a corporation, the full charge bookkeepers\u2019 duties are shifted to a controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The full-charge bookkeeper job description goes beyond the usual responsibilities that typical bookkeepers have. Like regular bookkeepers, they keep records of finances, bank transactions, income and expenses, create monthly or weekly statements, and run payroll and timesheets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, on top of all that, they have certain accounting duties: gathering insights from all the tracked financial data and preparing financial records and budget forecasts. They also ensure that business practices comply with laws, compute taxes, and prepare tax returns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter how much bookkeeping and accounting duties might differ<\/a>, a full service bookkeeping job combines some features of both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though we\u2019ve gone through the main full charge bookkeeping responsibilities, let\u2019s delve deeper into how an FC bookkeeper\u2019s career differs from that of an accountant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Full charge bookkeeper duties include many accountant duties, also adding bookkeeping to the bundle. While a regular bookkeeper mostly deals with maintaining the ledger, an accountant is engaged with managing day-to-day financial activities, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we compare a full charge bookkeeper vs. an accountant, we can clearly see that the main difference between the two jobs is that an accountant deals with financial analysis and has to be familiar with tax laws. They usually have a bachelor\u2019s degree in accounting or a related field and often pass an exam to get a certification and become certified public accountants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Certified public accountants, on the other hand, have greater powers, and are entitled to prepare audited financial statements, represent taxpayers and companies before the Internal Revenue Service, and conduct external company audits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What is the full charge bookkeeper\u2019s role in comparison to an accountant\u2019s, then? Although FC bookkeepers do provide accounting services, they usually don\u2019t act as financial advisors or deal with auditing and tax reports. Full charge bookkeepers usually seek external assistance from a certified public accountant or a controller. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As we\u2019ve seen earlier, the duties of an in-house bookkeeper frequently overlap with those of an FC bookkeeper. However, a regular bookkeeper often works in a company where there is a fully staffed accounting team that deals with business accounting tasks. The role of a bookkeeper is to perform basic tasks such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, let\u2019s take a look at full charge bookkeeper vs. bookkeeper job descriptions and compare them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While regular in-house bookkeepers deal exclusively with bookkeeping services and should possess basic data-entry and math skills and be familiar with the use of online bookkeeping and accounting software<\/a>, the duties and responsibilities of full charge bookkeepers are much broader. They should also prepare financial statements, maintain the ledger, and perform all the other bookkeeping services. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, they are also in charge of some accounting services, too. They will perform tax-related and payroll tasks, coordinate tasks with certified public accountants, and prepare information for auditing purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019ve already mentioned some of the skills that full charge bookkeepers should possess, but we\u2019d like to focus more on their educational background. <\/p>\n\n\n\n First of all, bookkeeping doesn\u2019t require obtaining a college diploma, unlike accounting. To become a bookkeeper, a high school diploma or equivalent and some basic bookkeeping knowledge are enough. However, knowing that there are various types of bookkeeping methods<\/a> and lots of math and calculation involved, a bookkeeper should have math, data entry, and computer skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you wish to work your way up and earn a full charge bookkeeper salary, you\u2019ll need to get formal qualifications and obtain an associate\u2019s or bachelor\u2019s degree in accounting, business administration, or a related field. Some of the courses you might enroll in are tax procedures, business law, payroll accounting, economics, and business math.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFull Charge Bookkeepers vs. Accountants <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Full Charge Bookkeepers vs. In-House Bookkeepers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Full Charge Bookkeeping Educational Requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n