To qualify for the title of an accountant, generally an individual must have a bachelor’s degree in accounting. For those that don’t have a specific degree in accounting, finance degrees are often considered an adequate substitute. It is not an unusual career move for a bookkeeper to gain experience at a job, study, get certified, and work as an accountant. There are critical differences in job growth and salaries between the two.

But keeping accurate books and understanding what the numbers mean can spell the difference between business success and failure. Various stakeholders use financial statements to make informed decisions. For instance, investors might use them to assess the risk of investing in a company.

If you’re only focusing on expenses and not big-picture financial data, you’ll miss out on some strategic opportunities. A bookkeeper manages the increased volume of transactions and ensures your financial records scale with your business. An accountant offers strategic guidance on financial management, tax planning, and regulatory compliance.

Salaries and job opportunities

Accountants, on the other hand, tend to use the bookkeeper’s inputs to create financial statements and periodically review and analyze the financial information recorded by bookkeepers. Accountants are more specialized, so not every company has an in-house accountant. You can use a firm or work with accounting software for your business needs. Some small companies may not have an official bookkeeper, so an accountant will also take on the responsibilities of a bookkeeper too. Or the bookkeeping duties may be assigned to an accountant with less work experience.

Should you hire a bookkeeper or an accountant?

Other common options include the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) or Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designations. Get free guides, articles, tools and calculators to help you navigate the financial side of your business with ease. If you are proficient and comfortable using mathematics and computing differential cost in accounting figures, plus punctual, organized, and detail-oriented, it is not hard to learn how to be a bookkeeper.

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Accountants advise leadership on how to make more strategic financial changes that save the company money or generate more profit. For some of the businesses that they do, accountants also need to be registered certified public accountants (CPAs). Accountants not only record financial transactions but also create financial statements, conduct audits, and offer strategic financial advice to help organizations make informed decisions. Instead, an accounting firm may hire an in-house bookkeeping team or partner with their client’s bookkeeper to provide business owners with the expertise and financial support they need. In the U.S., certified public accountants (CPAs) are accountants who have specific training and education and pass a rigorous exam on business and accounting concepts and regulations.

Is bookkeeping hard to learn?

1. Bookkeepers are commonly responsible for recording journal entries and conducting bank reconciliations.
2. Book a demo today to see what running your business is like with Bench.
3. Accounting produces reports that show important financial information.
4. The best bookkeepers and accountants work with you, giving you visibility into your finances and helping you get a better understanding of your company.
5. As a business owner, you can accomplish these tasks with bookkeeping software, or you can hire a bookkeeper to do them for you.
6. The most sought-after credential is the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license, which is necessary for any accountant who files a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

People often confuse bookkeepers and accountants—and with good reason. While there are certain similarities and overlaps between the two, there are distinctions that set these two roles apart. Bookkeepers don’t necessarily need higher education in order to work in their field while accountants can be more specialized in their training.

You’d pay more for the same service a bookkeeper could do for less and, in the process, underutilize the accountant’s expertise. A key part of the accounting process is analyzing financial reports to help you make business decisions. The result is a better understanding of actual profitability and an awareness of cash flow in your business. Accounting turns the information from the general ledger into insights that reveal the bigger picture of the business, and the path the company is progressing on. Business owners will often look to accountants for help with strategic tax planning, analysing their financial position, forecasting, and tax filing.