

This made bookkeeping tasks that little bit easier for the ‘lay-person’. This is all thanks to advances in technology, including cloud accounting software such as Xero.Īccounting software was designed to eliminate the need for knowledge of ‘double-entry’ bookkeeping. Bookkeeping in today’s businesses allows for a greater depth of business analysis and insight. Since computers and computerised accounting software, bookkeeping has progressed from being a very manual and time-consuming task focused on data entry, to an efficient business function.

Transactions were essentially recorded in a number of actual books, hence the expression “keeping the books” or “doing the books”. In slightly more recent times, but before computers were mainstream, bookkeeping involved manually created ledgers, charts of accounts, and a tedious double-entry system. Prior to that, financial records were maintained with clay tablets and abacuses! He devised the double-entry bookkeeping method that we still use today – even with the advent of cloud accounting software such as Xero. Bookkeeping was a concept that was invented around 500 years ago – by a monk named Luca Pacioli. Now for a little bit of bookkeeping history. How bookkeeping has evolved over the years With the technology that’s available In today’s world, data entry is such a minimal part of the bookkeeping services needed by modern business.īookkeeping is about understanding how a business works and providing accurate figures that enable you, as the business owner, to know exactly how well your business is performing and knowing what your next move should be so that you can stay ahead of your competition. It’s a misunderstanding that causes a lot of business owners to think that they can do their own bookkeeping without any problems or difficulty.īut data entry is not the extent of ‘true bookkeeping’. This couldn’t be further from the truth in this day and age. Many business owners think of bookkeeping as a mechanical and repetitive process of ‘data entry’ that almost anyone can do. A well managed bookkeeping system will give you a competitive advantage in business.īookkeeping has traditionally been thought of as the routine recording of the daily financial transactions and information of a business. We know from experience, that the key to business success lies in the accuracy and timeliness of your business numbers because, what gets measured gets managed. We’re business accountants in Melton who work with Australian small businesses, including startup businesses.
