James Carlin has been a bookkeeper since 1992. His business serves clients in many different industries in the Pacific Northwest. He enjoys writing about bookkeeping and helping others pursue their own career in it as well. You can learn more about James and his business at: Success-in-bookkeeping.com or at his blog. Also, you can connect with James on Facebook by clicking here.
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As a professional bookkeeper for 15 years now, I have come to understand that the relationship between a bookkeeper and his/her client is an important one. Many small business owners are going it alone and don’t have a lot of support. Most of my clients take the time to discuss their successes and failures with me as well as their plans for the future.
Because I am so familiar with the cash flow of their businesses and all the financial transactions that take place, they trust me to keep that information confidential. I also have enough information to give them a solid picture of how their business is doing and see if I can suggest ways to make improvements.
If you are a professional bookkeeper I am sure you understand that what we do is more than just pick up paperwork, do some data entry and then return for the next batch of paperwork. A professional bookkeeper should help guide their clients when it comes to financial statements and help them avoid making bad decisions.
How I Give Better Customer Service
Listen: I have found that my work for small business owners goes beyond recording transactions, reconciling accounts and preparing financial statements. Listening to my clients and trying to understand their goals helps me to communicate more clearly with them. When I know how they think I can explain the financial position of their business to them in a way they understand.
Ask Questions: I find it helpful to ask my clients questions about the industry their business is in and look for ways to tailor the bookkeeping system in a way that will benefit them the most. I also do not want to be in a hurry when working with their books, no matter how fast I might be in Quickbooks. I want my work for them to be accurate and detailed.
If you find your work as a bookkeeper becoming a bit boring and redundant, try taking a fresh approach to your work by taking an interest in your clients and their industry. Take more time to analyze their financial statements and look for patterns that might uncover problem areas to be fixed. Your clients might rely on you for more than just filing the paperwork out of sight.
E.T. Barton has been in bookkeeping since 1998. In 2002, she began her own business specializing in bookkeeping, office administration, and market financial feasibility research. She has worked on a large variety of books - from construction, retail, restaurants, and resorts - and completed research for businesses both large and small. To learn more about her, read her article: 
