Category Archives: Bookkeeping

Bookkeepers – How to Keep Forward Momentum for Your Business Building Goals

  By Linda Hunt | February 20, 2012 - 6:29 am | Bookkeeping, Guest Bloggers, Small Business Advice, Spotlights
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You don’t want to be like business owners who go blindly year-to-year, making just enough money to get by, but knowing deep down they’re capable of so much more. Each year they make New Year’s resolutions or goals to do things differently. Each year they stay in the same old rut. Is it your goal this year to increase your income to reflect your true value as a freelance bookkeeper or accountant? Wonderful! Now that you’ve made it, what have you done with that goal? Are you consciously building the energy to accomplish it or have you already allowed the energy to fade away? To me, the energy of this year feels hopeful and limitless. It feels like this will be a breakthrough year for many freelance bookkeepers. How about you? Are you feeling like this going to be your year for taking your freelance bookkeeping business to that 6 … Continue reading →

Diary of a Bad, Bad Bookkeeper – (Day 9) In the Clear

  By "Betty Bookkeeper" | February 7, 2012 - 10:49 pm | Diary of a Bad Bookkeeper
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Dear Diary, Well, it’s been a little over a week, and I would say I’ve got “the lay of the land.”   Apparently, the Owner wasn’t kidding when he said he’d be out of the office a lot.  I have yet to actually see him in the office for more than an hour a day.  He comes into the office in the morning to give his field guys their daily assignments, then he talks to me for about 10 minutes before he too heads out.  Right before he walks through the door, he stops and talks to the receptionist, telling her to forward all of his important calls and take messages on the less important ones.  Yada yada yada.  Everyday is the same.  (Which bodes well for me.) Today though was a really good day.  Since the first day I got here, I’ve been the sole person in charge of the … Continue reading →

A Surefire Way to Get Your Bookkeeping Clients to Agree to Your Rate Increase

  By Linda Hunt | January 18, 2012 - 5:01 am | Bookkeeping, Getting Customers, Increasing Profits, Money Making Tips
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In a recent article, I shared how a bookkeeper can face their fears and have the “money conversation” with clients about raising rates. Today, I want to share some practical ways to approach this touchy topic with clients. Over the years I’ve come up with what I call a price increase formula. I have never had a bookkeeping client object to my rate increase since I began implementing it. I discovered that the key was to be prepared. I recommend that you script out what points you want to cover in a verbal conversation as well as written communication in the form of an email or letter. Start off with what you’ve accomplished since you’ve been working together. This is not every single little thing that you’ve ever done. If you’ve been working for a client for several years you can reference some big things that you’ve done together. Next, … Continue reading →

Lessons Learned from an Email Hacker

  By E.T. Barton | January 17, 2012 - 10:11 pm | Fighting Fraud, Internal Controls, Money Saving Tips
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Last week, I was the victim of an Email Hacker.  For the first time in 12 years of having my Yahoo , someone managed to get in and change my email password.  As I tried frantically for days to get control of my account back, I realized that I had made several small mistakes that – if I had known better – could have prevented the nightmare it quickly became.  You see, not only do I have a Yahoo email account, but I also have Yahoo Messenger, a Yahoo Website, a secondary Yahoo email, the customized Yahoo Page, but I am also on many Yahoo groups.  And while I LOVE Yahoo because everything can be accessed via one email and one password, you can imagine how frantic I was to suddenly not be able to contact anyone I know and tell them what happened.  Here’s what I learned, and what … Continue reading →

10 Ways to Make Your Office Go Mobile

  By E.T. Barton | January 10, 2012 - 10:03 pm | Decreasing Expenses, Internal Controls, Virtual Bookkeeping
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The other day, I came to a stop at a red light behind a big white sedan.  As I sat there, waiting for the light to change, I noticed a funny shape in the passenger seat of the car.  To top it off, there was a small round thing where a GPS would usually be found.  When the light turned green, the driver reached over to the passenger seat and – to my surprise – made the funny shape disappear.  In that instant, I realized exactly what I was looking at, as well as what the round thing was:  a laptop on a tray in the front seat and a webcam attached to the windshield.  It was then I realized that during the three minutes that the light had been red, that driver had been doing business with his webcam, computer and Bluetooth earpiece.  Apparently, that was all he needed … Continue reading →