Finding, Hiring, and Onboarding a Bookkeeper
A Bookkeeper May Be Your Practice’s Best Financial Partner
You’ve decided that hiring a bookkeeper for your therapy practice is the right next step. How do you go about finding and selecting a bookkeeper for your practice’s needs? How do you onboard and manage a role that you may know very little about? This blog addresses these questions. For more about what a bookkeeper can do for your practice, see my previous blog titled Bookkeepers, Worth Their Weight in Gold.
The Search Starts with You
Questions to Ask Before You Begin Your Search
Finding and selecting the right bookkeeper for your practice takes time and will challenge you to clarify your role as owner and your practice’s operational needs. That being said, you should never hire someone without thinking through what you want them to do, how you will manage them and how the services they provide will help you reach your goals – short and long-term.
So, start by asking yourself some questions:
- What do bookkeepers do? Review a position description (see my blog titled Bookkeepers, Worth Their Weight in Gold for details).
- Specifically though, what tasks will a bookkeeper do in your practice? Make a list.
- Are you willing to hand off some of what you may have been doing to another person? If not, what is your hesitation? Reach out to a knowledgeable third party (like your accountant, fellow owner or a consultant) to discuss your concerns.
- How will your practice benefit when you are freed up from the bookkeeping tasks you are currently performing? Make a list. Every hire should play a role in helping your practice reach its goals.
- If you are hiring in a crisis or with specific problems in mind, identify your top 3 priorities for this role.
Where to Find a Bookkeeper for Your Mental Health Practice
Your accountant or another practice owner may be able to refer you to a part-time bookkeeper who is open to working in a small business, or specifically in a mental health private practice. There are also a variety of practice owner pages on social media sites and owners there may be able to provide recommendations.
The Selection Process
When evaluating bookkeeper candidates, prioritize someone who can work closely with you at your current level of financial knowledge and experience. Make communication skills a key requirement in your job description—your bookkeeper should be able to explain what they’re doing and why in plain language.
For many owners, bringing a bookkeeper on board will allow you to step back from the how-to’s and start to build an understanding of basic bookkeeping and accounting terms and processes. But this will not be possible if the person you hire can’t communicate to you what they are doing or why.
I often recommend owners make a list of questions they have about their practice they are not able to answer confidently. Take this list to interviews with prospective bookkeepers and ask them what information they would need to answer these questions and how they would go about getting that info for you. Observe the way the interaction goes following your question. Is there an appreciation for the question or do you feel you are getting a pat answe? Ask yourself if you understand their answer. If you do not, ask them to explain further. Bear in mind that their answer should be more than technically correct. They should be able to explain it in a way that you can understand and starts to make sense to you.
Key Qualities in the Bookkeeper Selection Process
Look for someone who:
- Communicates effectively
- Has healthcare or mental health practice experience
- Demonstrates attention to detail
- Has good organizational and time management skills
- Uses current technologies and platforms
- Maintains professional certifications
Before you offer the job to a candidate, get letters of recommendation and contact them for more information. Your bookkeeper will have access to sensitive information and likely your practice’s bank account.
Be sure to ask yourself these 3 questions:
- Do they understand what the job is—including relating to you, the owner, and helping you answer the questions you have? Do they understand what this role in your practice entails?
- Can they do the work of the job? Do they have the ability?
- Do they want to do the job? Are they interested and eager to take on this role?
Only hire someone who gets the role, has the ability to perform the tasks required and wants to do so.
Onboarding Steps
1. Assessment Phase
- Assess your current financial management systems and processes and identify gaps
- Identify the bottlenecks, sticking points and issues your practice has
- Define your practice’s specific needs (payroll, monthly financials, vendor A/P, client A/R, quarterly taxes, etc…)
- Clarify your expectations
- Establish timelines
2. Transition Phase
Plan for a phased transition—don’t expect immediate perfection.
- Provide access to your platform and other programs (i.e. Simple Practice, Quickbooks, etc.)
- Review relevant procedures and identify issues and needs
- Establish communication protocols (i.e. meeting frequency & agenda)
- Create backup processes
- Tailor reports and feedback to your needs
3. Optimization Phase
- Refine workflows
- Establish new procedures if needed
- Improve reporting
- Enhance efficiency
- Develop metrics and goals
- Build strategically
- Regularly review successes and efforts that fall short of expectation
Best Practices for Success
Building a strong working relationship with your bookkeeper requires regular meetings, a clear agenda for reviewing financial activity, and a willingness to ask questions. These steps will help you start to learn about what your bookkeeper does and what more they can do for your practice.
Clear Communication
- Schedule regular meetings
- Set response time expectations
- Define urgent vs. routine tasks
- Establish reporting preferences
- Create feedback channels
Technology Integration
- Choose compatible software
- Implement secure systems
- Enable remote access
- Automate routine tasks
- Maintain data backups
Documentation
- Create process manuals
- Maintain audit trails
- Document decision points
- Keep organized records
- Track procedural changes
Moving Forward
A bookkeeper for your practice operations can offer more than transaction processing. They can become a strategic partner in financial management of your mental health practice who:
- Understands your practice’s unique needs
- Provides tailored attention to the owner’s questions
- Offers strategic financial insights
- Supports your growth goals
- Maintains regulatory compliance
While accountants remain essential for tax planning and annual filings, and payroll services can handle basic wage processing, a skilled bookkeeper provides comprehensive financial management support and can grow with your practice. Their personal touch, combined with professional knowledge and expertise, makes them an invaluable asset for practice owners focused on sustainable growth and financial stability.
Consultants
If the process of hiring a bookkeeper for your therapy practice feels overwhelming, you don’t have to do it alone. A practice management consultant can help you evaluate your practice infrastructure needs and determine how a bookkeeper fits into your financial management strategy.
Consider working with a practice management consultant to help:
- Evaluate your current financial management needs
- Develop a transition plan
- Define bookkeeper qualifications
- Create operational procedures
- Establish performance metrics
- Monitor implementation success
Remember, the goal is not just to manage finances but to build a strong foundation for your practice’s future growth and success. Have questions? Reach out to me to book a call.
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