Your Accountant Shouldn’t Be Learning on Facebook

Introduction: Red Flags - The Facebook Accountant

Picture this: You visit a GP because you’re feeling light-headed. After waiting in the lobby, you’re told your doctor has no formal qualification, no practical experience, and recently learned about blood pressure... from a Facebook post. And then they hand you a $60 invoice and say, “Just get some rest.”

You’d be angry, right?

That same thing is happening in small business bookkeeping, every day.

No, it’s not a COVID-style pandemic. But it is a credibility crisis. We’re seeing a flood of self-proclaimed bookkeepers who don’t understand basic accounting, and most small business owners don’t know how to tell the difference until it's too late.

What You’ll Learn

1. What Even Is Bookeeping?

2. My Experience With the "Facebook Bookkeeper"

3. What This Means for Businesses

4. Ask Yourself These 3 Things Before Hiring a Bookkeeper

What Even Is Bookkeeping?

Let’s rewind. Imagine taking your car in for a service. The mechanic checks your brakes, tops up your fluids, makes sure your vehicle is roadworthy. That’s compliance - basic maintenance to keep your car safe and running.

Bookkeeping is the business equivalent.

A good bookkeeper keeps your business running smoothly by ensuring:

· Transactions are recorded correctly

· Reports are accurate

Now imagine your mechanic poured oil into your fuel tank. That’s what happens when your “bookkeeper” doesn’t know where things go.

My Experience With the "Facebook Bookkeeper"

When I was 16, I worked for an e-learning company creating accounting tutorials. After my contract ended, I needed a bookkeeper for my own project, so I joined a few Facebook bookkeeping groups and made a post.

My phone lit up. Dozens of messages. At first, I was excited. My problems were about to be solved, right?

Not quite.

Here’s what I noticed as I read through the replies:

1. Everyone sounded the same.

So, I started asking questions:
“Do you have a website?”

“No.”
“A Facebook business page?”
“No.”
“What do you charge?”
“Anywhere from $500 to $2,000.”
“Do you have a qualification in accounting?”
“No, but I’m certified in QuickBooks.”

I had no idea what that meant at the time. I assumed it was like a diploma. Turns out, it’s an online certificate you can earn in one weekend.

And then I really got curious.

I scrolled through months of posts in the group. What I found was concerning: Self-described bookkeepers asking basic questions like, “How do I record payroll?” or “What’s a journal entry?” — questions even I could answer as a teenager with no formal experience.

What This Means for Businesses

The consequences? Painful.

Incorrect Accounting = Disaster

Bad bookkeeping is like a bad mechanic. You won’t notice the damage right away, until your business breaks down.

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Your tax return, your financial reports, your funding applications, they’re only as good as the data behind them.

Tax Season Becomes a Nightmare

Tax is a once-a-year event. But it depends entirely on the 12 months of work your bookkeeper did. If your books are a mess, tax season becomes damage control.

Ask Yourself These 3 Things Before Hiring a bookkeeper:

1. Do they have an actual accounting qualification or meaningful experience?
   If not, how can they understand your financials?

2. Do they understand your industry?
   Your books should reflect how your business really works, not a generic template.

3. Have you treated this like a job interview?
   Ask tough questions. Ask for samples. Check if they understand your software, your needs, and your business model.