The Freelance Bookkeeper

It’s an important question.

I was reminded of this the other day when I happened to see an email that was sent to a potential bookkeeping client by an accountant.

The email left the potential client confused and overwhelmed. And this is also how it goes when I see fellow freelance bookkeepers attempting to offer their services to their potential clients too, whether in person or in writing.

The email was intended as a way to persuade the potential client into doing business with the accountant by illustrating the services he had to offer. In his lengthy message he ran through a technical list of all the customized functions he could perform for the client.

Whenever we do that, we often defeat our purpose and snag far fewer clients than we could, for several reasons:
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• We don’t realize we are using our own accounting jargon, which the vast majority of our clients don’t understand (Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Balance Sheet, Adjustments, etc.) They have no idea what we are talking about, and worse yet, it does not communicate ANY value to solve their problems
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• We tell them WHAT we can do laundry-list style, instead of demonstrating how we can truly BENEFIT their business. In an effort to show how experienced and knowledgeable we are, we often make what we do sound like a lot of work and complicated. Again, this defeats our purpose because it doesn’t communicate value to the potential client
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• We are oblivious to the true needs of our potential clients. Instead of asking questions and finding out what they really WANT, we tend to tell them all about us and what we do and what we think they need.
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Do you really know what you have to offer your clients? How is what you do for them different than what other freelance bookkeepers offer?

If you don’t know the answers to those questions, you will be treated as a commodity, just like any other bookkeeper they can find online.

Likely, more than a few of your potential clients will try to get your rates as low as possible, since your services provide nothing of particular benefit to them, at least none that you are communicating.

And that’s the crux of the problem. Do YOU know what unique VALUE and BENEFITS you are providing for your clients? It is impossible to offer value that your clients will be willing to pay for if you are not crystal clear about the value you provide them yourself.

In my own business history, I’ve found it extremely helpful to come up with a short “elevator speech” which is what you say to someone that you meet in person who asks you, “What do you do?” It is a short blurb you give to help show WHO your ideal client is and WHAT you do for them.

But I think we need to dig deeper and know what our core offer is that we are offering as individuals and as a business. In fact, here’s a great short video I saw by Jim Edwards (my own marketing mentor) that really boils it down to four main components. These help you enter the conversation that is going on inside your client’s head when they are considering hiring you to do their bookkeeping. It’s definitely worth watching.

“Your #1 Business Problem” (6 min video)

And according to Jim, you have to be able to communicate what you have to offer in only 3-5 SECONDS! Wow! But if you think about it, that’s what Federal Express has done, and it’s easy to remember. That’s very powerful.

“When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight”

Companies sometimes come up with a slogan that communicates their true offer (and sometimes they don’t) So it got me thinking about what my own true “sweet offer” is. Hmm…

It really takes some thought to come up with just a few well-chosen words that “say it all” about what we have to truly offer our clients.

So, I’ve decided that it’s time to come up with a laser-targeted short phrase for my own business. Care to join me? What is the essence of the VALUE you provide your clients that you can express in 3-5 seconds?

We can do some brainstorming and then share ideas and compare notes. I’ll also do a follow-up post when I’ve come up with just the right “sweet offer” for my own business and share it with you.

It sure does seem that we can always improve how we communicate to our clients and our prospective clients. And being able to get absolutely clear on what VALUE we have to offer is probably one of the most important bits of communication we all really need to master.

What do you think? How do YOU communicate what value you provide your clients that sets yourself apart from all the other freelance bookkeepers in your area?

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3 Comments »

That’s the question I’ve been asking.

Like me, I’m sure you’ve heard all the noise about the BIG claims of mega-success by businesses who are using Social Media to promote their businesses. But is it really just that – a lot of NOISE that doesn’t mean a hill of beans in the real world? Or is this an important trend that small business owners need to pay attention to for the sake of their bottom line?

Cut through the hype and find out what the real deal is with social media. Get straight answers from an expert who’s actually doing it and knows first hand whether it’s really just a big waste of time, or if you can truly use it to market your business profitably.

Join me, Gabrielle Fontaine, and my special guest, marketing expert and social media guru, Ely Delaney as we cut through the hype and finally learn…

* How to use social media to build relationships with prospects, customer and referral sources

* How social media is changing the way we do business

* How to easily get up and running on the three biggest and most strategic social media networks

* How to attract quality “friends” and “followers” without getting caught up in the numbers game

* What free automation tools you can use to maximize your reach and save time in the process

* How to avoid getting sucked in to wasting a ton of time keeping up with your social posting

* What NOT to do so you don’t make enemies, or worse, get banned from the social networking sites

* How networking online is not the same as in-person networking

Find out for yourself why such respected business authorities as Inc. Magazine are now saying that Social Media really is worth your time.

Isn’t it time you found out how to put it to work for YOUR business? Now you can, right after you attend this cut-to-the-chase, FREE, get-action webinar.

Join us Thursday, July 8 at 8:00 PM Eastern Time for this LIVE webinar training.

“Social Media” Online Business Networking Basics”

Grab your seat as our free guest right here:

=> Register Here

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2 Comments »

I’d like to ask you an important question: In your business, are you a perfectionist or a pursuer of excellence?

Many bookkeepers tend to be perfectionists. It makes sense really, when you think about it. We are very good at organizing and processing lots of small details, and getting them booked into business financial records accurately. An admirable skill that many simply do not possess.

But being a perfectionist does not mean that you are pursuing excellence.

The reason? Perfectionists have a tendency to focus on the wrong priorities.

Haven’t you found yourself spending way too much time fussing over details? I know I am always at risk of getting sucked into making every little detail on my clients’ books exactly perfect. If you haven’t had this experience, well, you’re probably not a perfectionist! (But read the rest of the article anyway. You’ll learn how to pursue excellence with a simple system even non-perfectionists can use effectively.)

Perfectionists can easily waste a lot of time and energy (that they ultimately cannot bill out to their clients) trying to do certain tasks exactly right. Sure, we tell ourselves that we are providing top-notch client services. However, the truth may be, doing those tasks “perfectly” may not be necessary or even valuable to our clients.

Interestingly, this is often the difference between bookkeepers and accountants as well. Accountants tend to look at the big picture and make adjustments accordingly. Bookkeepers have the tendency to want every little transaction booked exactly right.

Who generally makes more money?
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The difference between Perfectionism and the Pursuit of Excellence
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Perfectionism: A disposition to feel that anything less than perfect is unacceptable — Princeton University website

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It’s easy to see how being a perfectionist can be a double-edged sword when it comes to running your own business. Perfection, of course, is not possible in an imperfect world, so it is an unrealistic expectation.

The good news is, perfectionism, with a little tweaking, can be directed toward the pursuit of excellence, with amazing results.
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Excellence: Achieving a high level of performance; exemplary performance; exceeding normal expectations of performance or meeting the highest expectations of what can be achieved; performing well in excess of the norm; outperforming most. — University of Southern Queensland website

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How can you pursue excellence while letting go of perfectionism?

Rewards help.

It’s a lot like how I learned to become a Scrabble® champion (among family and friends). I learned this lesson from my Lithuanian immigrant grandmother.

When we would play, I used to come up with fantastic words using nearly all my allotted letter tiles all at once. But I never seemed to make many points. My English-as-a-second-language grandmother, however, had this knack for dropping a single letter on the board and raking in mega points – usually from my big fancy words! That used to really burn me, and it just didn’t seem fair. I was doing all the work, but she was getting all the points!

But then I figured out her strategy. She was paying attention to different priorities than I was. She was focused on points, looking for opportunities to put her letters on the Double and Triple Word Score boxes. I was just trying to use as many letters as possible by coming up with long and thoughtful words. Her priorities were in the right place. I needed to pay more attention to WHERE I was placing those big brilliant words.

Once I started putting my words in the right places, I virtually become unbeatable! I even dethroned my grandmother from her long-standing family champion position. (No one wants to play with me anymore.)

This is exactly how perfectionists can learn to pursue excellence and build a highly profitable business as a result. It takes a little practice and discipline, but once you apply the tenacity of perfectionism to the pursuit of excellence, you will be reaping extremely powerful benefits for both you and your clients.

Focus and Priorities

Simply put, you must keep the end result of what is most important clearly in focus at all times. Then set definite deadlines for reaching those results.

In practical terms, I do this on a daily and weekly basis with priority lists. I keep deadline-driven project priorities visible at all times. I also block out specific time periods on my calendar for the week’s top priorities.

Each of my clients’ files also have outcome-based priority lists. These are reviewed and revised whenever I work on my clients’ books.

When time runs short, I know exactly what needs to be accomplished and when. I evaluate which details matter and which ones don’t. Then work in high gear only on the tasks that matter and let go of any other details so projects are delivered on time. This results in truly excellent service that is ALL billable.

How will being an excellence-focused perfectionist affect your bottom line?

By channeling your skills as a perfectionist toward the pursuit of excellence, you will see a dramatic increase to your bottom line! You will be concentrating your efforts in a way that will not only boost your self-esteem, but also your profits and reputation.

What action will you take starting this week to use your skills as a perfectionist to build a freelance bookkeeping service focused on excellence?

I want to hear from YOU! Commit to a healthier bottom line (by making a comment below)

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~Gabrielle

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Inspiration for Excellence

In a discussion about the vast distinctions between Perfectionism and Excellence, Jeff Baas of One Stop Web Support penned these inspiring contrasts which I’ve excerpted below to help us all stay on the road to excellence without getting tangled up in perfectionism:

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PERFECTIONISM is the fear of being wrong.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is the willingness to be wrong and to learn from it.

PERFECTIONISM is seeing any effort that doesn’t turn out exactly as planned as failure.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is seeing any effort that doesn’t turn out exactly as planned as a valuable opportunity to refine the plan and make it better.

PERFECTIONISM is fear that others might think you don’t measure up.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is a desire to be the best you can be.

PERFECTIONISM is staying stuck in anger and frustration.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is growing beyond where you ever expected to grow.

PERFECTIONISM is confining.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is freeing.

PERFECTIONISM is conformity to presuppositions.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is exploring new possibilities.

PERFECTIONISM is self-doubt.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is confidence.

PERFECTIONISM is closing yourself off.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is opening yourself up.

PERFECTIONISM is remaining right where you’ve always been.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is a journey of discovery.

PERFECTIONISM is fear.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is trust.

PERFECTIONISM is the fear that something unpleasant will come from our efforts.
THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE is an excitement over the improvements that we will help discover.

Jeff Baas is a website guru and Internet marketer who knows the challenges new business owners face (with perfectionism being only one of them). He has a new special report for anyone starting a business who wants to avoid the #1 business-killing mistake so many of us make. It’s free. So if you’re just starting out with your freelance bookkeeping service, you’ll want to get your hands on this helpful information right away.

Click Here to get your free copy now ==> Going From Employee to Entrepreneur

3 Comments »

Many freelance bookkeepers also do taxes for their clients. That’s probably why I so often hear the question, “Is it necessary to be a tax preparer in order to run a successful freelance bookkeeping service?”

The answer I usually give is…it depends.

Successful Bookkeepers and Taxes

There are many ways to be successful in the bookkeeping field. While tax preparation services can be a good source of seasonal income, it is NOT necessary of offer this service to do well. In fact, there are situations where NOT offering tax services may even be an advantage, depending on how you position yourself.

For instance, if you don’t have experience with tax preparation and don’t want to offer that service, it may be easier to build complimentary relationships with CPAs. They won’t be worried that you’re a threat to their tax clients, who are often their bread and butter. You can position yourself as a strategic ally by referring clients who need tax services, while they refer clients who need help with their bookkeeping to you. This works as a mutually beneficial relationship, especially at year end.

Taxes and Bookkeeping are Not the Same

Bookkeeping and taxes are two different things entirely. True, the information found in a client’s bookkeeping records is used to prepare the tax returns, but that’s where the similarities end.

If one knows only how to prepare individual tax returns, that does not mean that that person can handle bookkeeping. In fact, I know of a CPA who struggles with this very issue with his staff during the off season. His staff primarily knows tax prep. But when he needs them to work on adjusting a trial balance for his business clients, they are helpless.

The reverse is also true. Just because you understand double-entry bookkeeping does not mean you can breeze through tax return preparation. You need to be adequately educated to offer either service if you want to offer that skill to your clients.

Should You Offer Tax Services?

So my first bit of advice is, if you already have income tax preparation experience, and you enjoy it, then by all means consider adding it to your service offerings. It provides a one-stop-shopping convenience for your existing and future clients who may be in need of professional tax preparation.

However, I do NOT suggest that you attempt to “steal” tax clients away from their current preparer, especially if that person is their CPA. A strategic relationship with your local accountants is far more valuable than the preparation of an annual tax return or two. You always want to be building strategic alliances, not promoting adversarial competition.

If you offer tax services, be sure to keep your knowledge up to date. The tax laws change every year, so this is not a service you should offer if you are not willing to invest in ongoing education. Lack of knowledge in the tax arena can come back to bite you hard. The IRS is actively raising the bar for tax preparers and will continue to do so over the next few years. You’ve been warned.

Tax Laws ALL Bookkeepers Need to Know

Up to this point, we have been talking about income taxes. While including income tax preparation to your service offerings is not a necessity, there are some types of taxes you really do need to know about, at least on a basic level.

Most, if not all of your clients will need your guidance when it comes to payroll taxes, state and local sales and use taxes, and possibly meals and/or lodging taxes.

If you don’t already know the ins and outs of these types of business taxes, then you need to educate yourself so you can handle them responsibly. Usually the information needed can be found directly from the taxing authorities at the federal, state and local levels; checking their websites is the easiest option. I’ve included some of the most common resource links at the end of this article.

Pay Attention to Payroll Taxes

Probably the stickiest of business taxes are for payroll. Penalties and interest on mishandled payroll taxes are very stiff. So don’t fake it when it comes to handling your clients’ payroll services. Get help if you need it.

If you are not comfortable with handling payroll taxes yourself, you may want to insist that your clients hire an outside payroll service. These providers are well worth their fees.

Payroll companies not only prepare payroll checks, but they will also prepare and timely file payroll tax returns, seeing to it that your client’s liability deposits are made when due. That is of key importance.

Personally, despite the fact that I have experience handling payroll, I HATE it. So I insist that my clients use an outside payroll service. This keeps my clients out of hot water with the authorities, and lets me focus on the services I truly enjoy providing.

That being said, if you actually enjoy doing payroll, it is a valuable service that can provide a source of steady revenue, if you aren’t already offering it to your clients. The QuickBooks ProAdvisor program has a nice package at a reasonable price for those who provide payroll services to their clients.

It All Depends on What You Want

As is clear from this discussion, there are lots of choices when it comes to taxes and bookkeeping. In reality, you get to choose which combination of service offering will best support what you envision for yourself and your business. Just realize that there are advantages and disadvantages to each situation.

Make Your Choice and Stick With It

Once you’ve decided which service combo is right for you, keep up to date with the education requirements. Provide the best service possible for your clients. After all, that’s why they hire us – for our expertise.

Top quality service will fetch you the best fees and keep your business growing. Happy clients are your best source of new referrals. That holds true no matter what the economy is doing.

So “should” you offer tax services? That’s entirely up to you. It just all depends on your current (or desired) skill set, how you envision your business, and the services you enjoy providing the most.

Resources

National Tax Training School

National Association of Tax Professionals

Federal Income Taxes – Tax Professional Resources

Federal Employment Tax Resources

US Sales Tax Information

Sales Tax Rates Quick Reference List

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WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR OWN BLOG OR E-ZINE? You have permission to re-publish it, as long as you include the author’s bio paragraph and links below:

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Gabrielle Fontaine, PB is a freelance Professional Bookkeeper and Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor. She publishes the free online newsletter, The Freelance Bookkeeper, and is co-author of the new book, “How to Start A Successful Home-Based Freelance Bookkeeping and Tax Preparation Business,” available at Amazon.com

1 Comment »

Here’s a solution to one of the most frequent questions I’m asked by my TFB blog readers:

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