Bookkeeper Training Checklist
This has not been voted on. It's intended to help new Bookkeepers figure out what they're doing, and to help Treasurers train the new Bookkeepers.
1. Read the RentPaymentPolicies several times. Know them like the back of your hand.
2. Read the Bookkeeper & Treasurer JobDescriptions. Know who does what when.
3. Get the following items from the outgoing bookkeeper:
- Accounts receivable books (binder, member pages, receipts)
- Lockbox key
- Any other bookkeeper paraphernalia
4. Get added as a signor to the bank account. See: HouseBankAccountPolicies
5. Learn how to use the bookkeeping system. Current system: Quick Books (see QuickbooksQuickGuides)
6. Be familiar with the following: ProratedRent, PaymentPlans, FinancialCalendar, OpenBooksPolicy, and any other financial policies.
7. You and the Treasurer will function best as a tight-knit team. Have each other's backs, keep an eye on each other to make sure you're both doing your jobs well, keep the lines of communication open, and help each other out.
8. Know your history: Circa 2004, the Treasurer was snorting his rent money and cooking the books to make it look like he was paying rent. (It's also said that he was keeping books on post-it notes.) So the Bookkeeper position was created to keep an eye on the treasurer (and vice versa). Our finances are too important to trust to just one person, so now we have a team working together to make sure things run smoothly.
9. Don't just do your job -- look for ways to improve the system and make the job easier for the next person. Revise and update your labor descriptions (with house approval), propose new and better systems to increase transparency and accountability, etc. Work to improve things for future co-opers.
- parker, treasurer, Sept 2011. (This was not voted on, these are just tips.)