This article is written for the small business owner who has a part or full time bookkeeper and has given some thought to terminating that employee. As a small business owner, tough decisions are made all the time and this one is very important. There comes a time for any small business owner, to make a change, either to replace or eliminate an employee’s position. Terminating an employee, especially in this economic environment is emotionally draining, especially for long standing employees. We all know, that its important to always care about our employees, so this type of decision is very important, and often is hard to make. Sometimes your perception of the problem is blocked by your feelings for the employee, which frequently results in no action. This is article is written to help you understand that now, be the correct time to make a decision.

Most small business owners do not have anyone to consult with, so the decision to terminate an employee may be hard to make. Also, other business priorities may be preventing you from giving the requisite time to analyze this problem. Below are 10 reasons to assist you in making that decision, or to reinforce your decision to change your bookkeeper. If you are able identify with a couple of these reasons, or just one, and you are of the opinion that the problem cannot be corrected, then it may be time to terminate your bookkeeper or reduce their working hours.

1. Financial information is always received late and when received, it has mistakes.

2. You or a family member are financial and computer savvy and willing to invest some additional time to do the bookkeeping.

3. Someone in your family lost their job(s) and you need to replace their income.

4. You want to get more involved in the accounting because you are too dependent on the bookkeeper and your bookkeeping doesn’t seem as complex as they make it out to be.

5. You have discussed this problem with your employee, have concluded that it can’t be fixed and you have made every effort to be fair and equitable.

6. The communication avenues are poor and you don’t understand what the bookkeeper is saying.

7. Your bookkeeper doesn’t answer your questions to your satisfaction.

8. Your bookkeeper lacks a sense of urgency and priorities.

9. The economy has negatively impacted your business and you think you have too many people employed.

10. Other people have mentioned that’s its time to terminate your bookkeeper or reduce the bookkeeping hours.

Sometimes no decision is the wrong decision. If you have experienced one or more of the aforementioned indicators then it may make sense to internalize the bookkeeping within your family, assuming the replacement person is, or willing to learn, how to be computer and financial literate. Before making this decision, ask your CPA or accountant for their input.

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