Why you must have a book-keeper

Mr Hamilton, the member for Leeds North East, set up a graphic design business in the late 1970s, which later became an Apple consultancy and authorised dealership.

He has been president of the International Association of Book-Keepers for the last six years.

He said: “I realised that if you are employing people, you’ve got to have proper spread-sheets, proper profit and loss accounts and to chase up people who owe you money.

“It’s all very well making a profit, but if you don’t get the money in, you’re wasting your time. Chasing up debts, getting debtors to pay us, and making sure we paid our creditors on time was quite hard work.

“That’s when I realised that decent book-keeping meant not only that you knew where you were but also you were able to chase up money owed to you. You can’t make decisions if you don’t know whether the money in the bank is profit or loss.”