How to Choose the Right Bookkeeper for Your Med Spa or Small Business
When you’re running a growing med spa or small business, your time is too valuable to be buried in spreadsheets, reconciling transactions, or guessing at your cash flow. A skilled bookkeeper isn’t just a nice-to-have—they’re a key part of your financial foundation.
At Visional, we’ve supported aesthetic practices and service businesses across the country, and we’ve seen firsthand how the right (or wrong) bookkeeper can make or break your ability to grow. Whether you’re hiring in-house or outsourcing, here’s what to know before bringing one on board.
Why Your Bookkeeper Matters
Your bookkeeper does more than just track expenses and categorize transactions—they help you:
Monitor cash flow and profitability
Catch billing errors or fraudulent charges
Prepare for tax season (without panic)
Understand the real-time health of your business
With accurate books, you can make smarter decisions about hiring, inventory, marketing spend, and expansion.
What to Look for in a Med Spa Bookkeeper
1. Industry Knowledge (or Willingness to Learn)
While a general bookkeeper can be helpful, working with someone who understands medical aesthetics, elective healthcare, or wellness services will save you time explaining the basics. They’ll know how to categorize merchant fees, handle retail product sales, track memberships, and manage variable payroll cycles for providers.
2. Familiarity with Your Tools
Does your practice use QuickBooks, Wave, or Xero? Do you pull revenue reports from Aesthetic Record, Vagaro, or Boulevard? Your bookkeeper should be able to work with your existing systems—or help set up a more efficient one.
3. Clear Communication
You want someone who explains financials in plain language, not just accounting jargon. They should proactively flag concerns, trends, or discrepancies—not just send you a spreadsheet at the end of the month.
4. Consistency & Timeliness
Monthly reconciliation should happen like clockwork. If you’re constantly chasing your bookkeeper for reports or waiting on them to close your books, it’s time to reassess.
5. Scalability
Choose someone who can grow with your business. Will they be able to support additional locations, service lines, or team members as your practice expands?
Red Flags to Watch Out For
🚫 They don’t ask questions.
A good bookkeeper will need some initial information to set things up properly. Silence isn’t a sign they’ve got it all under control—it might mean they’re missing critical context.
🚫 They categorize everything as “Miscellaneous” or “General.”
Your financial reports should give you real insight into how your business is performing. Vague or lazy categorization defeats the purpose.
🚫 They disappear at tax time.
If your bookkeeper is leaving your CPA scrambling, or you’re not getting 1099s and P&Ls sent out in time, you’re not getting the support you need.
In-House vs. Outsourced: What’s Best?
For many med spas and service-based small businesses, outsourced bookkeeping provides the best value. You can often get expert-level service at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire. However, if you have complex operations, multiple entities, or a high monthly transaction volume, an in-house bookkeeper or accountant may make more sense.
Visional often recommends starting outsourced, with a monthly or bi-weekly cadence, and reevaluating as you grow.
Our Take at Visional
When we step into a fractional COO role with our clients, we often begin by assessing financial systems—and bookkeeping is almost always a priority. The right bookkeeper gives you clarity. The wrong one leaves you guessing.
Need help evaluating your current financial systems or finding a bookkeeping solution that works? That’s what we’re here for.
Let’s Talk
Ready to get your financial house in order? Book a free consultation to see how Visional can help streamline your operations and support your growth—starting with the books.
