The Freelance Bookkeeper

Have you found that the recession is causing some of your clients to take a hard look at reducing expenses? Is that making them consider the idea of taking their bookkeeping in-house?

If so, don’t panic. There is actually a golden opportunity here, if we look a little deeper.

The first reaction most business owners have when they see a sudden (or not-so-sudden) dip in revenues, is to tighten the belt on their expenses. And unless they are aware of the true value of your services, they may target their outsourced bookkeeping expense for elimination. “It’s just simple data entry,” they may think.

Of course, we know that accurate bookkeeping involves far more expertise than simple data entry. But sometimes our clients don’t fully realize that.

What To Do About It

Before I show you how you can turn this into a golden opportunity, let me tell you what NOT to do.

Don’t sound devastated when your client breaks the news. If you sound rattled and scared to lose their business, that will only make them not want to discuss alternatives with you. (They likely feel awkward talking to you about it already.)

Instead, step into the role of consultant and explore whether this change truly is the best option for your client’s business success. To do this effectively, you MUST get out of your own way!

DO NOT worry about losing the client. Really. This will likely turn out to be a good deal for you whether the client wants you to continue doing the bookkeeping or not!

Focus fully on your client’s welfare for the moment.

DO look for how you can assist your client to make the best possible decision for his / her success. You will stand out from the “typical” freelancer in this situation. And you will be setting yourself up for success.

Here’s why.

If, in fact, it truly would be a wise decision economically for your client to do the books on his/her own (although, most often, this is simply not the case), some training is definitely going to be needed. Maybe a lot of it. Aren’t you in the best position to provide that training?

Even after the client has been adequately trained (and the client isn’t overwhelmed by what it really takes to get the books done right), s/he will probably need ongoing support. This is especially true if s/he is using QuickBooks. This service alone could actually save the client from making a big mess that will cost much more to clean up in the long run.

You could even offer to do the bank reconciliations and/or set up a regular review of the books on a monthly or quarterly basis, just to make sure everything stays clean and up to date. The client may find this an invaluable service that won’t break the bank.

This type of arrangement is good for your bottom line too because your fee as a trainer and consultant should be at a higher rate than what you’re charging for basic monthly bookkeeping services.

Positioning Yourself As A Consultant

The most important factor in pulling this kind of transition off is to really listen to your client and hear where the pain is coming from. You want to provide highly valuable solutions that your client will appreciate.

If your client really does want you to continue doing the books, but they are simply looking to cut overhead, offer suggestions for where else in their business they might cut some fat that will provide short-term as well as long-term results. Show them how to find these opportunities in their financial reports.

I’ve seen clients whose sole reason for taking back the books was to save money. But they had no desire whatsoever to keep track of their finances. So they soon found themselves in hot water because their bookkeeping records quickly became a disaster. And then, of course, they had to pay big bucks to have their accountant clean up the mess at tax time. Not smart.

Save your clients from this pain and offer a great solution that works for both of you! (Remember: Win-Win)

So whether they keep you as their bookkeeper or not, help your clients to avoid the penny-wise-and-pound-foolish mindset by showing you really care about their success. If needed, help them tighten the belt (as well as identify ways to pull in more revenue) by transitioning to the role of business consultant.

As a valued advisor to your clients, you will make your services indispensable, increase your rates, and hold on to top-notch clients for life.

Who knew the recession could turn out to be such a blessing in disguise?
placeholder

~Gabrielle
p

Resources

If you are looking for ways to become a QuickBooks trainer or consultant, consider these helpful resources:

QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program – QuickBooks software, training, certification and Train the Trainer resources included in the ProAdvisor Program

Successful QuickBooks Consulting – This is a helpful guide to starting and growing a consultant business that focuses exclusively on QuickBooks. Highly recommended.

7 Comments »

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

“How do I quickly and easily put up a website that will help build my business?”

There are several ways to do it, but I am very pleased to be able to invite you to a free training webinar that is FULL of extremely important information about not only how to put up a website easily and quickly, but also key strategies to make your website profitable – even if you’ve already got a great website in place.

This is a special time-sensitive invitation…

Click Here => Free Mini-Site Webinar

It’s a new, absolutely free, LIVE *webinar* being offered by my own marketing mentor, Jim Edwards. This special class is called:

“The Ultimate Mini-Site Formula“.

I’m going to be attending this one-time-only training happening THIS coming Wednesday, June 10th. And you are invited to join me.

Regardless of where you are in your business, this live online class contains proven battle-tested blueprints for making your online presence profitable with quick and easy little “mini-websites” you can create yourself in just a single afternoon!

(And if you’re just getting ready to put up your website, this is MUST-HAVE information to make sure your site will actually do the selling for you and make money!)

Get the full story right here:

Click Here => Free Mini-Site Webinar

Using the latest webinar technology, we’ll discover together….

• What exactly is a “mini-site” and why you NEED to have at least one for your business
  placeholder
• Breakthrough strategies that will help you to set up an autopilot mini-site that brings you a never-ending flow of new leads and customers.
  placeholder
• The Exact 4-step process every successful mini-site business MUST follow to profit online
  placeholder
• How to instantly double your mini-site profits just by changing ONE link
  placeholder
• One of the BIGGEST TRAPS you can fall into that guarantees failure (and more importantly, how to AVOID it!)
  placeholder
• A detailed run-through of Jim’s Million Dollar “Ultimate Online Success Formula” (That’s no hype, either. Jim is literally a multi-millionaire because of this exact mini-site formula!)
  placeholder
• Jim says he’ll even create a REAL mini-site LIVE on the Webinar in just 4 1/2 minutes! (And he’ll also show you a 30-second trick for turning this site into profits, almost instantly!)…
  placeholder
• – And much, MUCH more!

Plus not only will you be able to hear Jim sharing this NEW information, but you’ll also get to SEE and WATCH it happening in real time on your computer screen, complete with LIVE examples! (And it doesn’t matter what connection speed you have or even if you have a PC or Mac.)

I’m definitely looking forward to being on this webinar myself — that’s why I thought you’d want to know about it too. It’s going to to be a first-class event!

I truly hope you can join me. You won’t regret it — of that I’m 100% sure.

Gabrielle

P.S. – Considering it’s been almost ONE YEAR since Jim’s last free mini-site training webinar, and since there’s zero tuition cost for this one-time-only event, Jim told me this will be completely booked up very quickly.

If you’ve ever wanted to use the Internet and a website to build your business, this is one free event you don’t want to miss! I know I’ll be there! Don’t wait and kick yourself later.

Click Here => Free Mini-Site Webinar

1 Comment »

If you haven’t heard, Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks software, is putting on a virtual trade show / conference for accounting professionals this coming week.

As part of its “Power to Get More Done” campaign, Intuit understands that professionals, now more than ever, are in need of affordable resources. With this in mind, Intuit Academy Virtual Conference attendees will benefit by saving time and travel costs with 24-hour access to the virtual tradeshow and self-study training resources.

In addition to many other courses, attendees will to learn about:

• Products for Accounting Practices – QuickBooks Premier: Accountant Edition, Intuit Statement Writer & Client Data Review, and QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions.
• Products for Tax Practices – Lacerte & ProSeries
• Products for Clients – QuickBooks Pro and Premier, QuickBooks Point of Sale 8.0
• Partner & Networking Programs – QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program & QuickBooks Setup and Training
• Certification – QuickBooks ProAdvisor Certification Preparation
• Less Paper Solution Series – Lacerte Document Management System and Intuit Document eSort

This is the first annual Intuit Academy Virtual Conference designed as an educational event especially for tax and accounting professionals. You can learn from the comfort of your homes or offices. Similar to an in-person trade show, you can log-on and interact with Intuit product experts at the virtual booths, talk to peers as well as a panel of industry experts, and participate in informational webinars. You can also access Intuit’s Live Community and Intuit Academy’s training services to get your questions answered throughout the two-day event.

It all happens on Wednesday and Thursday, January 21 & 22, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST, with on-demand access to self-study courses and other resources

Like most trade shows and conferences, you must Register before you will be able to participate in the event

The best part is the whole thing is free.

It’s worth it to drop by and see what Intuit has to offer. Remember, they realize that it is in their own best interests to work with us who are in the trenches, since if we are excited about QuickBooks and well educated, that only helps them to hold onto their #1 position for small business accounting software. Everyone wins.

In particular, if you’re part of the QuickBooks ProAdvisor program but have yet to get certified, there is a training class available on preparing for the Certification exam that you may want to check out.

Be sure to register as soon as possible, since on their website it seems there may be a significant delay (3 business days?!) between the time of registration and the time you will give your log-on information. (Looks like Intuit is learning how to navigate this virtual routine too! )

I’m going to drop by and check it out myself.  Won’t you join me?

Register Here

2 Comments »

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.
   placeholder

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.
placeholder

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!
placeholder

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

10 Comments »

Hey everyone! I know this is a busy time right now, but I wanted to pass along a quick link to a great resource, if you are already working with QuickBooks (and you should be) or you are looking to learn the program.

If you haven’t been to the QuickBooks Community web site yet, you’re in for a treat. There is a ton of useful information  and resources there. In particular, I thought you’d like to see the videos and tutorials they have available for free. You can find them at: http://www.quickbooksgroup.com/webx/qblibrary/Tutorials/?@437.oRxze3zxvbg@

That should keep you busy until my next post, which will wrap up our business planning for the new year. So keep your eyes open for that. Let’s all jump into 2008 at full tilt!

And just so you know, right now I’m busy putting together the finishing touches on a teleseminar I’ll be hosting on January 8th with a very special guest. I can’t give you the details just yet, but suffice it to say that this free class will teach you a highly effective way to find new clients quickly. Stay tuned because I’ll be publishing the full scoop in a day or so.

Ciao for now!

~Gabrielle

No Comments »