The Freelance Bookkeeper

In November I attended the Sleeter Conference, which was held this year in Phoenix, Arizona. This conference is where the top accounting software consultants, QuickBooks ProAdvisors, freelance bookkeepers and accountants from all over the country gather to talk shop and learn the latest and greatest about QuickBooks in particular, and accounting-related software and technology in general.

The theme for this year’s conference was two-pronged:

1. Taking your business online.
2. Prospering in a tough economy.
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Online Business and Prosperity

Serving clients virtually is becoming more and more common. The technology is rapidly improving and becoming more accessible and affordable. To work virtually means never leaving your office while still fully serving your clients’ needs.

It’s exactly how I’ve been running my business for the last five years.

I can give you many reasons why running your bookkeeping business online opens big new doors leading to prosperity. One has to do with the size of the market you can serve. Instead of just working with businesses in your local area, you can literally have clients from all over the world!

Imagine the possibilities.

This is far different than the way most of us tend to think about our businesses, isn’t it? That’s because it is different.

At the conference, many of the sessions surrounded the technolgy needed to successfully run your bookkeeping business on a virtual basis.

There were four major areas of technology discussed:

- Paperless technology – using scanners, PDF files, and digital document storage systems

- Virtual application hosting services – which means programs like QuickBooks are installed and run from “computer servers in the clouds” instead of on yours or your clients’ in-house computer systems. This means geographic location becomes irrelavant for getting the bookkeeping handled.

- Portals & collaboration – This technology allows clients to access their financial records by logging into your website. Other collaboration methods may also be used through the Internet to supply, access or share data with your clients.

- Software as a Service (SaaS) – Quickly taking hold are business applications that are being sold as low-priced, month-to-month subscription-type services provided by third-party companies, completely replacing desktop applications. An example of this that you may already be familiar with is QuickBooks Online Edition.
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Virtual Service Means More Flexibility

Providing virtual bookkeeping services gives you advantages over serving local clients alone. Working virtually saves travel time and costs, allowing you to serve more clients more conveniently and efficiently.

Working on a virtual basis also allows you to take on projects that might otherwise be too large, if you work as a solo freelancer. That’s because you can easily collaborate with other virtual colleagues to provide comprehensive services for your clients’ exact needs.

For example, I am currently working on a large project with a client on the other side of the country where I set up a clean new set of books. Working with me is another virtual bookkeeper who is inputting all of the historical data. Once she’s finished, I’ll follow up with training the client for the in-house functions. The client, my colleague and I are all located in different parts of the country.

If the project needed to be handled completely at the client’s physical location, it would have been impossible for me to accept this engagement.

Of course, there will always be a need for more traditional local and on-site freelance bookkeepers. But as more and more business is conducted online, the demand for virtual bookkeeping services will grow. There are many ways to work with your clients online, and the technology is moving quickly.

If becoming a virtual bookkeeper is something you want to pursue, stay tuned. I’ll be posting more articles on this topic in the coming months.

As always, be sure to drop me a line if you have any specific questions, or simply post a comment below. Together we can prepare for our virtual future as freelance bookkeepers, and prosper all along the way!
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Resources for working virtually with your clients

www.FindVirtual.com
www.FilesAnywhere.com
www.RightNetworks.com
www.SmartVault.com
www.LogMeIn.com
www.YouSendIt.com

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