Difference between Accountants and Bookkeepers

Bookkeepers and Accountants are two sides of a coin. They are closely concerned with each other. Both are connected with a business or firm. Both are connected with money and accounting. Many of us get confused if we asked about them mix them and their roles. It is true they are associated with each other but their roles are totally different from each other. Major differences between an accountant and a bookkeeper are:

1. Qualification:  To become a bookkeeper you don’t need a degree since here you work as an data entry operator, enter  sales and purchase bills, paying bills, processing payroll data, preparing sales invoices, mailing statements to customers, etc. but to become an accountant you must a have a college degree, and accounting knowledge .
2. Cost: Cost to keep a bookkeeper is low as compared to an accountant. This is the reason many small firms select a bookkeeper instead of an accountant to maintain their records.
3. Role: Bookkeeper makes a good relationship between an Accountant and a business owner his duty is maintain books and retain documentation for transactions. He is governed by the accountant, but an accountant is handled by the business owner and focus on reporting, business analysis and processes.
4. Advice: An accountant also plays the role of an adviser for a business because it handle all the accounts, create finical statements, Tax Appeals, Tax Saving Plans, Cash flow solutions and much more so he can give excellent advise about “how to increase sales and decrease costs” according to current finical position. But a bookkeeper only doing data updating tasks.
5. Level: Bookkeepers work only on the basic level they are not connected with handling tax, Audit Defense, or expense accrual. But Accountants work on the top level their work start where a bookkeepers’ work end. He handles Tax Returns-all kinds, Profit enhancement, Audit Defense and many more.

In conclusion we can say:  Accountants and Bookkeepers are very important for any type of business however they play different-2 roles but both help to grow a business which is the purpose of haring them.