Hiring a full-service accountant doesn’t mean your in-house bookkeeper is out of a job.
A lot of business owners ask:
“If I hire someone to handle all the accounting, what does my bookkeeper even do?”
It’s a fair question. You’re not trying to double up on work; you’re trying to get the most out of your team and run a more efficient operation. When your bookkeeper and accountant each focus on what they do best, you get a setup that’s not just organized; it’s more profitable.
In this article, we’re breaking down:
- What your in-house bookkeeper still does
- How the two roles work together without creating a mess
What Is a Full‑Service Accountant?
A full-service accountant is a team (or sometimes a person) that handles the financial side of your business all year, not just during tax season. They take care of:
- Bookkeeping and account reconciliations
- Payroll for employees and owners
- Monthly and year-end reports
- Subcontractor tracking and 1099 filing
- Tax planning and filing
Basically, they become your behind-the-scenes accounting department—without adding a full-time hire.
What Your Bookkeeper Still Handles:
Even with a full-service accountant, your in-house bookkeeper still plays a key role in keeping the day-to-day running smoothly. Here’s what they’ll likely continue doing:
- Tracking down receipts and purchases from the crew
- Uploading receipts, invoices, and statements
- Gathering and entering payroll hours
- Creating and sending invoices to customers
- Following up on unpaid invoices
- Paying bills, vendors, and subcontractors
- Collecting W-9s from subcontractors
- Tagging expenses or labor to jobs for job costing
- Monitoring job progress or material purchases
- Clarifying transaction questions for the accounting team
- Acting as the go-between for your crew, office staff, and accounting partner
They’re the boots-on-the-ground person who knows what’s happening on jobs and in the office, they help make sure everything gets where it needs to go.
What the Accountant Takes Over:
Once you bring in a full-service accountant, your bookkeeper doesn’t have to stress the technical side of things. That includes:
- Managing and reconciling your books each month
- Processing payroll for owners and employees (including payroll tax filings)
- Handling subcontractor payments and preparing 1099s
- Reviewing and categorizing transactions
- Producing monthly financial reports (like profit & loss, balance sheet, and payroll summaries)
- Advising on payroll structure, owner compensation, and tax strategy
- Preparing and filing business tax returns
- Filing year-end reports (including W-2s and 1099s)
- Completing year-end audits to ensure everything is clean and compliant
- Providing proactive, year-round tax planning
- Flagging red flags, missed deductions, or growth opportunities
So, while your bookkeeper keeps things moving, your accountant’s job is to make sure everything is accurate, compliant, and working in your favor.
How the Two Work Together:
Your bookkeeper keeps the day-to-day moving—collecting paperwork, entering hours, uploading docs, and flagging questions.
Your accountant takes that info and turns it into clean books, payroll, reports, and a tax strategy that actually saves you money.
It’s not about doing the same job twice. It’s about making sure nothing gets missed—and you’re not overpaying the IRS because your systems are a mess.
When to Bring in a Full-Service Accountant:
If any of this sounds familiar, it might be time to level up:
- Your bookkeeper is buried in admin and stretched thin
- You’re not getting clear reports to help you make decisions
- You’re unsure how much to pay yourself—or if you’re doing it right
- Tax season keeps blindsiding you with big bills and no warning
- You don’t know where your business stands until it’s too late
With a full-service accountant, you get more than bookkeeping. You get a team that’s looking at your numbers after each month end spotting issues, tracking trends, and helping you plan, so you’re not scrambling come tax time.
It’s not about replacing your team. It’s about giving them the backup they need to help you run a more profitable business.
Not sure what kind of support your business actually needs?
Let’s have a conversation. We’ll walk you through how a full-service accounting team plugs into your current setup and helps you move forward—with less stress and better numbers.
