The Freelance Bookkeeper

It’s Gabrielle Fontaine with a heads-up critical update for
everyone currently (or formerly) using QuickBooks software.

You may also want to pass this information along to any of
your clients who are currently using QuickBooks software on their own.

Intuit, the company that makes QuickBooks, just announced that
there is a potential security risk that has been found that
would allow hackers to access the data on your computer.

The threat is due to a newly discovered vulnerability in
Microsoft’s ActiveX technology, which is commonly used by many
popular computer programs.

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QuickBooks Versions Affected By The Threat
===================================

All QuickBooks Simple Start, Pro, Premier and Enterprise Solutions
versions, 2009 and older (including trial versions) are vulernable.
The new QuickBooks 2010 versions, however, are not affected.

Intuit updates its currently supported versions from time to time
by releasing software patches. Each update or patch is given a
“Release” number for easy identification.

Right now, downloading Intuit’s updates is the only immediate way
to eliminate the vulnerability in currently supported versions of
QuickBooks. In time, Microsoft will likely release a patch with
their regular security updates for ActiveX.

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How To Protect Your Computer Now
===================================

All QuickBooks users of 2007, 2008 and 2009 versions should verify
that they have downloaded and installed the most current updates.

You can check if your software is up to date by opening QuickBooks
and then using the F2 key.

These are the most current updates that include a patch which
eliminates this new threat:

QuickBooks 2009 – R8
QuickBooks 2008 – R10
QuickBooks 2007 – R13

The best way to stay up to date is to enable the automatic update
feature AND to install those updates when prompted.

You can also manually download the latest updates directly from the
QuickBooks website.

http://support.quickbooks.intuit.com/support/productupdates.aspx

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If You Are Running QuickBooks 2006 or Older….
===================================

If you are running QuickBooks 2006 or older, you are vulnerable to
this security threat. Since these versions are no longer supported
by Intuit, there is no downloadable update. Your best defense is to
upgrade your QuickBooks software to a supported version (2007-2009)
as soon as possible.

You can find both 2009 and the newest 2010 versions on amazon.com

Additionally, if you have an older version of QuickBooks installed
on your computer but it is no longer in use, remove it by
uninstalling the program to remove the ActiveX threat.

===================================
If You Are Running a Non-US Version of QuickBooks….
===================================

For Canadian versions of QuickBooks, you can download the updates
directly from the Intuit website:

http://support.intuit.ca/quickbooks/en-ca/kb/update/update-quickbooks-to-new-product-update/Update_main.html

For UK versions of QuickBooks, you can download the updates
directly from the Intuit website:

http://support.intuit.co.uk/quickbooks/en-gb/kb/update/update-quickbooks-to-new-product-update/Update_main.html

===================================
I’ve Made a Video to Show You Exactly What to Do
===================================

As an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, I want to see you
get the most out of your QuickBooks software. That’s why I created
my free video training blog, QB QuickTips.

My latest video post walks you through each of the steps outlined above to
show you exactly how to protect yourself from this new ActiveX threat.

If you want to stay informed about critical updates for QuickBooks
like this one, as well as learn insider tricks and tips on how to
use this powerful software for your business success, be sure and
sign up for the QB QuickTips notification list.

You’ll also receive private, subscriber-only bonuses that are not
even posted on the blog.

Get your free subcription here:

===> http://www.QBQuickTips.com

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Sounds good, doesn’t it? But how can you get those kinds of results in your freelance bookkeeping business….especially now?

Training.

No, I don’t mean TAKING more training classes. I mean GIVING training classes.
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Why Public Speaking & Training Will Help Your Business NOW!

When you step up and take on the role of trainer, by giving a talk or by conducting a class or seminar, you are positioning yourself as the expert. Few bookkeepers ever step into the spotlight and offer helpful advice to small businesses. If you do so, you set yourself apart from the competition and build tremendous trust in a hurry.

In this economy, trust-based marketing is more effective than anything else at attracting new clients. And not just any clients.

Quite likely the people who will come to hear your pearls of wisdom will be interested in either managing their business finances more effectively, or finding a better way to get their bookkeeping done. These are high quality client prospects.

After they see you in action and feel as though they know you, if they need additional assistance, who do you think they will contact? (And who will they recommend when a colleague needs assistance with cleaning up his books at year end?)

Of course, if you are conducting a training class, say in QuickBooks, you can charge a fee for sharing your knowledge. You won’t get rich on teaching these classes, but it can help smooth out any cash flow pinch you may be experiencing right now. You’ll also be sowing seeds for pulling in new clients in both the short and long terms.
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Don’t Be Afraid to Give Away Your Secrets

Even in this tight economy when many of us are losing clients because of cut-backs, you can be the hero who teaches small businesses how to get the most out of their financial reports, or teach them how to use QuickBooks effectively. You won’t be teaching how to live without you. In fact, they will likely be calling you for help to  clean up their bookkeeping mess later when they don’t apply what you’ve taught them. (See my previous article on how to handle this situation gracefully – “When Clients Want to Do Their Own Books” )
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What’s Involved?

In-person talks – Small business networking groups or your local Chamber of Commerce are usually looking for speakers who can share useful information with small business owners.

On-site or off-site classes – Another option is doing small group classes, such as for QuickBooks basics, for an organization such as the SBDC, Chamber of Commerce, or even a local continuing Adult Education programs. These may be paid or free gigs.

Online training – This is my favorite way to conduct training events. You can do both free and paid events at very little cost. Both teleseminars, which are conference calls, or full-blown webinars work well, depending on the topics you will be presenting. Even hands-on QuickBooks classes can be done on a virtual basis with small groups. Lots of possibilities here.
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What to Teach?

Answer FAQs – Answering the most common questions clients ask or giving helpful tips on how to handle the most common problems you see clients struggle with is an easy way to provide very useful information to your audience.

Practical How-To Info – Of course, how-to information is always popular. This could include a class on how to interpret financial reports, or a simple way for small business owners to set up a working budget or forecast their cash flow. And of course, QuickBooks training is the most popular for full-blown classes.
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Is It Really Worth the Effort?

YES! Whether you pull in some quick cash, pick up a couple new clients, or simply establish yourself as the go-to bookkeeping expert in your community, you WILL see results for stepping up and providing valuable information to small business owners. That’s the stuff on which powerful relationships are built. And building powerful relationships is the most solid way to grow your freelance bookkeeping practice.
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Get Into Action

The best way to learn is by doing. If you are already involved in your local business community, see what opportunities are available to get you started. Start out small to build your confidence.

If you’re more on the shy side, online is the way to go. That’s why I started with online classes. They’re less scary. Your choices are teleseminars or webinars. I prefer the latter, but they are more involved.

I learned how to do webinars from an online training course that was only available one time, a couple years ago. It was far and away the best of the few trainings I’ve ever seen available since.

If you do want to try your hand at doing online events, I’ve got good news! Just last week I learned that this same online webinar training course has just been updated (due to changing technology) and is available again, right now, in fact!

In my experience, webinars are THE best way to build your reputation online and thus open your business reach to a more than national scale. So this training course gets my top recommendations. In fact, I’ll be attending it again so I can stay up to date on the latest techniques. (See more details under the free Resources below)

So get into action and get out there by speaking and teaching to attract more clients and more revenue. You’ll never look back once you do!
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~Gabrielle

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Resources

Free mini “crash course” on doing webinars

Free “Insider Webinar Strategies” LIVE webinar on Monday, October 12th

Free teleseminar conference lines

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Gabrielle Fontaine here with some special news for you.

Last month I conducted a survey asking freelance bookkeepers this
question:  “What do you [as a freelance bookkeeper] need most in
your business, right now?”

I must have touched a chord. The response I got was amazing! There
were several different areas of concern that surfaced. But can you
guess what the BIG #1 need is?

Effective Marketing Methods

Nearly every single person cited this as either their most
important, or at least one of their most important needs. Of
course, the benefits of marketing your bookkeeping services
effectively is bringing in new clients and increased revenues.
That’s more important now than ever.

So here’s the special news…

I will be presenting a LIVE webinar entitled, “Effective Marketing
for The Freelance Bookkeeper” next Tuesday, September 29th at 7:00
PM Eastern Time

This brand new material will show you exactly what it takes in the
current economic environment to attract more paying clients,
without costing you a lot in advertising or forcing you to employ
traditional hard-sell tactics.

So mark your calendar now, and get all the details right here:

www.thefreelancebookkeeper.com/webinar/

Here’s to YOUR success in your freelance bookkeeping business using
easy and effective marketing methods for the “new” economy!

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~Gabrielle

P.S. If you’re ready to bring in more high-quality clients, or
you’re just getting your freelance bookkeeping practice off the
ground, you won’t want to miss out on this live webinar, where
you’ll get everything you need to build your own highly effective
freelance bookkeeper marketing system.

Get all the details here:

www.thefreelancebookkeeper.com/webinar/

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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?
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~Gabrielle
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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 »

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

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