We want to help you, and we know what it takes to get a GREAT bookkeeping business making money. Some say the first thing you need is clients. That is not true, clients will come when you're ready for them. You need to be sure you are ready before you ask for the work or you may run the risk of damaging your reputation. Don't fool yourself, reputation is everything in this business! You will find that word of mouth advertising will far surpass any other form you will make use of.

The first thing you need to do is be sure you have adequate training and knowledge. You can develop knowledge by practicing, a lot! There are a number of different programs out there that can help you learn to do bookkeeping, and there are many books on the subject also. You need to pick the delivery method that works best for you and complete the study course as fast as you can without compromising the practice involved. If you're like most people, once you get the Debits & Credits straightened out, it's all a breeze from there.

Now you need to determine what your market is. Are you going to offer complete services, payroll only, audit only, accounts receivable, payables, or all of the above? Once you know what services you are comfortable with, you can determine who your clients will be by deciding what size of business you want to service. There are plenty of businesses out there, and you will have your pick of most of them. My personal preference is small businesses, often sole proprietors who operate their business from their homes or work trucks. With a small business you are rewarded with the knowledge that you are offering a service that is helping them grow. There can be more income in servicing larger businesses, but there are drawbacks involved in the in-personal nature that businesses can be conducted. Deciding who to service is a big step, and you need to be sure you are comfortable serving your choice. You can change your preference later in business, but it can set your growth and productivity back on a large scale because you will want to adjust your entire marketing perspective. The costs to "change your mind" can far outweigh the costs to research you decision to begin with.

When you are comfortable with your knowledge of the basics and know what your market is, you are ready to get a client. The best way to gain practical experience is through a small business. You will want to secure one client at a time so that you do not find yourself with too much work, and too little time. A business can fold in seconds if the work gets behind and the clients drop your services. If you find yourself one client and work hard to keep them happy, and keep their accounting current and accurate, that one client over time will bring you many others. People tell each other when they get great service so that's what you need to do, provide the best service you possibly can. In my bookkeeping business I have several clients who refer others to me on a regular basis, but one client in particular stands out in my mind because of his free advertising. I get at minimum one call each week from people who say things like "Joe told me to call you about this bookkeeping mess I have. He says if anyone can fix it, you can!". You will be surprised what great service can do to your reputation.

I tell you about the importance of client relationships because you need to be sure you get it right from the start, and keep that client happy. If you follow these simple steps you will develop a busy practice with several profitable clients. To build a client relationship with a good base, you need to be sure the first presentation is one the client wont forget, and completely understands. A client presentation is not complete until both of you are positive you understand what services are required and what those services will cost on a monthly basis. Strong visuals will always boost the impact your presentation has on the prospective client. Visuals not only increase the interest of the client, but also reduce your presentation time by up to 45%! The best presentation is one I have used for many years, a three-ring binder displaying the different reports, and summaries available with each particular software package I use. When you are going to see the client, be prepared! Only use the visuals for the software you will be using, and be sure to use reports relevant to the industry in which your prospective client has their business. Once you have several clients, you can use the actual reports from those clients as visuals to use with prospects, but be sure you remove all trace of identification from the report so that you do not compromise the confidential information.

Now that you know how to get the clients, be sure you continue to offer a consistent level of service and let your clients know you are there for them. You need a website in today's market, even if you are only going to work local! When your customers want to get in touch with you, you must have more than one option, and because statistics tell us that the world is getting online faster today than ever...you need to be online! Websites are getting more affordable every day, and the costs involved in maintaining them are also getting lower. You need to invest in a website, and have direct email that you monitor and respond to in a timely manner. If you don't think you can afford a website, you need to check out our Starter Website offer.

Rates are also an important thing to discuss with your prospective clients. You should decide on a monthly charge before you offer to take on the work so that there are no misunderstandings later. I prefer billing clients a set amount each month rather than an hourly rate. Small business owners want to know the costs of your services for each month, so that they can prepare, and plan ahead. You will find that if you bill your clients a pre-set amount each month, you will generally get paid faster, and your clients will be happier knowing how much the services will cost. Billing by the hour can be so uncertain that it makes clients uncomfortable, and creates more work for you in billing. Bookkeepers can earn an average of $25-50 per hour if they are billing properly and accurately. To estimate a monthly billing amount, you should first know how many transactions occur in an average month. Transactions can include checks, invoices, deposits, cash sales, purchases and other business transactions. If a business estimates 400 transactions in a month, you should multiply that number by fifty cents (eg. 400 x .50 = $200), and then add $75 for month end processing and preparing financial statements. If a business does about 400 transactions in an average month their bookkeeping should be $275. These are averages of course, and represent only one method of billing. You will develop your own custom ways of estimating monthly costs with experience, but do not undersell yourself as you will only regret the client later when you find you are spending more time than you should making less money. Keep in mind that if a businesses transactions grows over time, you must re-negotiate your monthly fee with that growth.

We sincerely hope your business does very well, and that you are able to build a profitable bookkeeping business with great income and wonderful clients!

--Author, Candi Morash, the original face behind www.BookkeeperList.com