How To Pick a Niche For Your Bookkeeping Business
Summary
TLDRThis video script offers invaluable advice for aspiring bookkeeping business owners, emphasizing the importance of specializing in a niche such as QuickBooks Online to enhance efficiency and expertise. It discusses various payment methods, including the convenience of recurring invoices and direct debits, and stresses the significance of trust in financial services. The speaker shares insights on gaining clients without credentials, leveraging social media for marketing, and the strategy of starting fresh with a new QuickBooks account for accuracy. The script provides a practical guide for building a bookkeeping business through consistent marketing, relationship building, and proactive sales outreach.
Takeaways
- 📚 Specialize in a niche: Focusing on a specific area, such as using QuickBooks Online, can make you an expert and increase efficiency.
- 🏢 Consider industry-specific niches: Tailoring marketing to specific industries can attract clients who are more likely to need your services.
- 💰 Billing and payment methods: Utilizing QuickBooks Online for recurring invoices and electronic payments can streamline the process and minimize fees.
- 🔍 Credentials and experience: While formal education or certifications aren't always required, becoming a QuickBooks Online certified ProAdvisor can boost credibility.
- 📈 Start with the basics: Learning bookkeeping fundamentals is essential, even if you don't have a background in accounting.
- 📑 Receipt management: It's not mandatory for clients to provide receipts, but offering to upload them can be part of your service.
- 🔑 Trust is key: Building trust with clients is crucial in the financial services industry, and it takes time and consistent effort.
- 🚀 Quick start for new clients: Recommend starting fresh with a new QuickBooks account if the existing setup is disorganized.
- 📈 Marketing strategy: Consistent social media marketing and networking are key to building a client base and reputation.
- 📞 Proactive outreach: Actively reaching out to potential clients through various channels can accelerate business growth.
- 🔄 Ongoing learning: Continuously updating your knowledge and skills in bookkeeping and software is important for staying competitive.
Q & A
What type of business should a beginner bookkeeper focus on?
-A beginner bookkeeper should focus on a niche in the software they use and the services they provide. For example, specializing in bookkeeping and using QuickBooks Online can make them an expert in that area. This specialization allows them to be more efficient and handle more clients.
Can a bookkeeper have a niche in a specific industry?
-Yes, a bookkeeper can tailor their marketing content to a specific industry, such as real estate investors, trucking companies, or restaurants. This can help them target their marketing efforts more effectively, although they should be open to working with a variety of industries initially.
What are some ways a bookkeeper can manage customer payments?
-A bookkeeper can use QuickBooks Online to manage accounts receivable by setting up recurring invoices. This allows customers to pay electronically via ACH or credit card, with the bookkeeper potentially passing on the credit card processing fee to the customer.
How can a bookkeeper automate the payment process for their clients?
-A bookkeeper can set up a direct debit or ACH origination, where they can withdraw the agreed-upon amount from the client's bank account automatically each month. This requires an agreement and approval from the client's bank.
What are the benefits of specializing in bookkeeping rather than offering multiple financial services?
-Specializing in bookkeeping allows a bookkeeper to become highly efficient and skilled in their area of expertise. This can lead to faster work, the ability to handle more clients, and potentially higher earnings.
What qualifications or certifications are recommended for a new bookkeeper?
-While formal qualifications are not strictly necessary, becoming a QuickBooks Online certified ProAdvisor is recommended for those with no experience. This certification can provide credibility and demonstrate competence to potential clients.
Who should be responsible for keeping the receipts of transactions, the business owner or the bookkeeper?
-The bookkeeper does not necessarily require clients to provide receipts. However, if clients choose to send receipts, the bookkeeper can upload them into QuickBooks, potentially at an additional fee due to the extra work involved.
Why do business owners need a bookkeeper instead of handling their own bookkeeping?
-Business owners may need a bookkeeper because they either lack the knowledge to do bookkeeping or they do not have the time. Outsourcing bookkeeping allows them to focus on other aspects of their business, such as operations and sales.
How can a new bookkeeper build trust with potential clients?
-Building trust involves consistent social media marketing, networking, and showing up every day to engage with potential clients. Being professional, positive, and polite can help establish a good reputation over time.
What is the best approach for a bookkeeper to start fresh with a new client who has disorganized bookkeeping?
-A bookkeeper can recommend starting with a new QuickBooks account for a clean slate. This approach is typically faster and more accurate, although the final decision rests with the business owner.
How can a bookkeeper effectively market their services and get new clients?
-A bookkeeper can use social media, direct messages, emails, phone calls, and even direct mailers to reach out to potential clients. Consistent and strategic marketing, along with sales outreach, can help attract new clients.
Outlines
📚 Bookkeeping Business Niche and Marketing Strategies
The speaker discusses the importance of specializing in a niche for new bookkeeping business owners, recommending focusing on specific software and services like QuickBooks Online to become an expert. They share their own experience of not specializing in a particular industry initially, allowing for a broader client base before narrowing down. The speaker emphasizes efficiency and the potential to handle more clients by focusing on one area of expertise. They also touch on the importance of trust in financial services and the need for consistent marketing to build relationships with potential clients.
💼 Streamlining Client Payments and Credentialing in Bookkeeping
This paragraph covers the speaker's approach to managing client payments through QuickBooks Online, using recurring invoices for simplicity and electronic payment options to avoid delays and unreliability of checks. The speaker also addresses the misconception that extensive credentials are needed to start a bookkeeping business, recommending becoming a QuickBooks Online certified proadvisor for those without prior experience. They suggest that certifications and understanding of bookkeeping fundamentals are more important than formal education for establishing credibility with clients.
🧾 Bookkeeping Responsibilities and Building Client Trust
The speaker clarifies that as a bookkeeper, they do not require clients to submit receipts but are willing to manage them if requested, potentially at an additional cost. They discuss the reasons business owners might need a bookkeeper, including lack of time or knowledge in bookkeeping. The emphasis is on trust as a key factor in client relationships, suggesting that consistent social media marketing and professional interactions can help build this trust over time.
🛠️ Starting Fresh with Bookkeeping Clients and Outreach Strategies
The speaker provides advice on how to handle taking over bookkeeping for a client with disorganized records, recommending starting with a new QuickBooks account for accuracy and efficiency. They also share strategies for acquiring new clients, such as direct messaging on social media, sending emails, and making phone calls. The paragraph highlights the importance of proactive outreach and sales pitches to grow the bookkeeping business quickly.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bookkeeping
💡Niche
💡QuickBooks Online
💡Certification
💡Social Media Marketing
💡Bookkeeping Fundamentals
💡Outsourcing
💡Trust
💡Recurring Invoices
💡Origination
💡Sales Consultation
Highlights
The speaker recommends focusing on a niche within the software used and the services provided for bookkeeping, such as specializing in QuickBooks Online.
Efficiency increases by specializing in one area, allowing for faster work and handling more clients, which can lead to higher earnings.
Tailoring marketing content to a specific industry can be beneficial, but it's not necessary to niche down on every marketing platform.
Initially, it's advised not to pick a niche too early, as it may limit the potential client base in the early stages of the business.
The speaker suggests using QuickBooks Online for managing accounts receivable with recurring invoices for ease and efficiency.
Discussing payment methods, including electronic payments, credit card fees, and the option for direct bank transfers.
The introduction of origination, allowing the bookkeeper to automatically withdraw payments from the client's bank account.
The importance of trust in financial services, and the need for consistent social media marketing to build trust with potential clients.
The lack of necessity for formal credentials or experience to start a bookkeeping business, with an emphasis on QuickBooks certification for beginners.
Learning bookkeeping fundamentals is crucial, and various resources such as courses, textbooks, and online classes are recommended.
The speaker's approach to handling clients' receipts, where they do not require but can manage them if provided by the client.
Business owners may need a bookkeeper due to lack of time or knowledge in bookkeeping, and the importance of outsourcing administrative tasks.
The process of starting fresh with a new bookkeeping client, emphasizing the benefits of a clean slate in QuickBooks for accuracy and efficiency.
A 30-day social media marketing strategy guide is mentioned as a tool for consistently marketing the bookkeeping business.
The necessity of proactive sales outreach for new bookkeepers to quickly gain clients, including direct messaging, emailing, and calling potential clients.
The speaker's success in growing their bookkeeping business to 70 clients and a monthly income of $30,000, serving as motivation for others.
Transcripts
tips for new bookkeeping business owners
what type of business do you recommend
to Market to as a beginner not knowing
what is my Niche how do you have
customers pay you is there a better
route versus another I have no
credentials and experience where do I
start who should be responsible for
keeping the receipts of transactions the
business owner or the bookkeeper why do
business owners need you they can save
money to do it themselves also without
trust who's going to hire you and
disclose all of their company Finance
secet secrets to you what would be the
best way to start fresh for a new
bookkeeping client how has everyone been
most successful getting new clients I
have five clients for my small part-time
bookkeeping business but looking to take
it full-time soon I'm going to answer
all of these questions that I received
in the past week from people just like
you who are trying to start and grow
their own bookkeeping business I have
been running my own bookkeeping business
for the past four years I have 70
clients I'm making $30,000 every month
in my bookkeeping business I tell you
that not to convince you that I'm making
a lot of money but instead I want to
convince you that you can make a lot of
money so let's jump right into it what
type of business do you recommend to
Market to as a beginner not knowing what
is my Niche when it comes to having a
niche I generally recommend have a niche
in the software that you use and the
services that you provide so for me I
only do bookkeeping that means I don't
do payroll role I don't do taxes or CFO
services and I only work with QuickBooks
online that enables me to be a
QuickBooks Online expert and a
bookkeeping expert I might be able to
get more clients if I offer Tax Services
I might be able to get a couple extra
clients if I offer to do QuickBooks
desktop however my efficiency will
significantly decrease if I'm trying to
do too many things at once if I'm trying
to learn QuickBooks online and
QuickBooks desk top I'm just naturally
not going to be as good at both instead
of focusing on just one same thing with
taxes and bookkeeping and payroll if I
try to do everything I'm not going to be
as good of a bookkeeper which means I'm
not going to be able to work as fast
which means I'm not going to be able to
handle as many clients which means I'm
not going to make as much money as I
could potentially if I just focus on
bookkeeping work really efficiently work
really fast handle more clients
make more money when it comes to having
a niche I don't have a niche in the
industry that I work with I accept
everybody however you could potentially
tailor your marketing content to a
specific industry let's say for example
you love Real Estate Investors or
trucking companies or restaurants or
plumbers or electricians you could
tailor your marketing content to be
specific to Real Estate Investors maybe
the majority of your bookkeeping tips
and strategy
is relevant to Real Estate Investors or
trucking companies or maybe you have
your website and it's all about
bookkeeping for restaurants the thing
with marketing to a niche you don't have
to pick every marketing platform and
Niche down on every marketing platform
maybe your website is open to all
businesses but on LinkedIn you're
specifically targeting electricians and
plumbers or maybe your Facebook is super
generic I welcome any and all businesses
but my site is the real estate investor
bookkeeper.com so like super specific to
Real Estate Investors or you don't need
to pick a niche in the industry who you
work with the other thing I will say
real quick in the very beginning I don't
necessarily want you to pick a niche
until you get several clients because
imagine if you only accept trucking
companies and a restaurant comes along
and says hey can you do my bookkeeping
and you have zero clients imagine saying
no sorry restaurant I only do
bookkeeping for trucking companies or
Real Estate Investors I'm not going to
work with you that would kind of be
silly and the other thing maybe you
actually love restaurant owners you
actually love doing restaurant
bookkeeping you would never know that if
you weren't open to trying new things in
the beginning so get five maybe 10
clients and then if you really love a
particular industry then maybe after you
get 10 clients then you could start only
accepting clients in that industry if
that's what you want to do how do you
have customers pay you is there a better
route versus another option real quick
before I answer that question let me
just say I have a ton of resources that
I made just for you they're all in the
description of this video I've got a
course that I made just for you it will
literally teach you everything you need
to know and it's going to save you time
if you want to learn everything in a
clear and concise compact course and you
could watch all of my YouTube videos and
spend 50 hours resear searching on the
Internet or you could simply just take
my course it's like 10 maybe 12 hours
and it goes through step by- step
everything you need to know check out
all the other links in the description
of the video I got a ton of digital
downloads one-on-one consultations I've
got weekly meetings check it all out
okay how do you have customers pay you
is there a better route versus the other
so I use QuickBooks Online to manage my
accounts receivable so I have all of my
customers set up on recurring invoices
that way I don't have to manually create
the invoice every single month and it's
easy because our clients pay us the same
amount every single month so if I have
Billy Bob the electrician I quote him
$400 a month for bookkeeping he's going
to pay me one time right now and then
the first of every month in the future
I'm going to send him an invoice for
$400 and they can pay electronically via
a or they can pay with credit card just
keep in mind there are credit card fees
and a fees so a lot of people pay charge
3% to process credit cards and a lot of
people charge 1% to process a transfers
sometimes I won't pass on the a charge
to my customers but I almost always pass
on the 3% credit card charge and then if
they don't want to pay the credit card
charge they can just pay with a if they
don't want to do either of those options
they can mail me a check but I strongly
discourage all of my clients from
mailing me a check check simply because
the mail can be unreliable and I don't
want to wait 3 to 10 business days for
the mail to show up so I much prefer
electronically paying me finally I just
set this up last month so it took me
four years to get this set up I got a
origination so now every time I onboard
a new client I'm having them fill out an
agreement saying that here is my bank
information I agree that you can
withdraw $400 every month from my bank
account account until the agreement ends
on the 1st of every month so now I have
a origination through my business
checking account so I can actually pull
the money straight from your business
from your bank account just like
whenever you get a mortgage usually the
mortgage company is automatically
pulling your mortgage payment the exact
same concept I got I had to go through
an approval process with my business
bank
account and now I get their Bank
information I have them sign the
agreement and now I enter their their
information into my banking system and I
can actually pull my own payment so
they're not paying me I'm basically
paying myself from their bank account
strongly recommend look into it if you
haven't already somebody else asked and
by the way these are all questions that
people ask me on my YouTube channel and
in our Facebook group so if you are not
in the Facebook group definitely
recommend join the Facebook group and if
you have any questions strongly
recommend drop a comment on this YouTube
video and I will do everything I can to
answer your questions all right somebody
else said I have no credentials and
experience where do I start the cool
thing is you don't need to have a
college degree work experience or any
certifications to start a bookkeeping
business we are not CPAs we are not
licensed we are basically just
specialized office managers or we're
basically just virtual assistants or
secretaries who just do bookkeeping so
we are really no different from like an
in-house office manager or office
administrator except we are outsourced
and specialize in just bookkeeping so
there are no specific certifications
that we need however I do recommend you
should become a QuickBooks Online
certified proadvisor if you have no
experience if you have your bachelor's
degree in accounting or if you have your
NBA or if you have five years of work
experience as a bookkeeper already you
might not need to become a certified
QuickBooks proadvisor however if you
have no experience I strongly recommend
get that certification that way when you
have your first conversation with a
prospective client they're going to ask
you do you have any experience are you
qualified to do this job you can say yes
as a matter of fact I am a certified
QuickBooks proadvisor and that's all you
need to say that means that you have
passed the QuickBooks exam it does not
necessarily mean that you know
everything about QuickBooks you won't
know everything about QuickBooks until
you actually start working in QuickBooks
but it gives you a talking point during
your sales consultation so that you can
say yes I am certified I am qualified
I'm a certified QuickBooks Pro advisor
other than that I recommend look into
learning bookkeeping fundamentals if you
don't know them already it does you
don't need to get an associates degree
or you don't even need to get a
bookkeeping certification you can take
my course if you want I teach
bookkeeping fundamentals and I teach a
full QuickBooks online tutorial you can
take my course if you want or you can
just watch YouTube videos or you could
probably get a few textbooks and you
could read the
textbooks or you could probably take an
online college class I recommend look
into like an intro to accounting online
college class at a local community
college or an online college if you
learn debits credits bookkeeping
fundamentals assets liabilities Equity
accounts payable accounts receivable
income statement balance sheet if you
learn those bookkeeping fundamentals
it's going to make you a much better
bookkeeper apart from Simply only
knowing QuickBooks Online who should be
responsible for for keeping the receipts
of transactions the business owner or
the bookkeeper so me as a bookkeeper I
am not requiring my clients to give me
receipts if I have questions if they go
to the ATM and pull out $200 I will ask
them I will say hey question July 15th
$200 who did you pay what did you buy
but I am not requiring that they give me
receipts if they ask me to keep track of
their receipts absolutely if they send
me their receipts and ask me to upload
them into QuickBooks I will do that but
I'm not requiring them to send me their
receipts if they ask about receipts I
will always say I strongly recommend
that you keep your own receipts but I'm
not requiring that you send them to me
and if they do ask me to upload the
receipts into QuickBooks I might
increase the bookkeeping fees a little
bit just because that is a lot of extra
work there's a number of different ways
they can send you their receipts they
could just email them to you they can
upload them directly into QuickBooks or
they could have some sort of Google
drive or Dropbox or Microsoft One drive
and they can upload the receipts into
the cloud and then give you access that
way why do business owners need you you
as in a bookkeeper they can save money
and do it themselves also without trust
who will hire you and disclose all their
company financing secrets to you this is
a two-part question why do business
owners need you two reasons they don't
know how to do bookkeeping and or they
don't have time to do bookkeeping there
are a ton of business owners who are
super busy and they're really really
smart people really technologically
savvy like they have a computer they
they probably know a ton about business
finances and accounting they could
totally do it themselves but a lot of
people are really busy and this is just
one extra task in their business that
they want to Outsource they want to
focus on operations and sales and
growing their business they don't
necessarily want to focus on the mundane
administrative tasks so a lot of people
simply don't have time to do their own
bookkeeping that's where we come in we
say hey I understand you probably know
how to do this but your time is more
valuably spent doing something else so
I'm here to take one extra task off your
plate reduce your stress now the other
side is that there are some people who
simply don't know how to do their own
bookkeeping if they're not able to
figure it out they need to hire somebody
to do their bookkeeping for them so they
don't really have a choice they might
have all the time in the world but if
they don't know how to use a computer or
they don't understand accounting or
bookkeeping or if they don't understand
how to track their finances they need to
hire a bookkeeper because we need
financial reports to file our taxes the
only way to get financial reports is to
have bookkeeping so the IRS requires
that all businesses file taxes so in
order to keep up with IRS requirements
they need to have bookkeeping whether
it's me or somebody else it doesn't
matter who it is they need somebody to
be doing the bookkeeping and then second
part of the question who who will hire
you and trust you with their company
financing secrets that's the whole thing
that's what I talk about every single
day bookkeeping is all about trust
Financial Services all about trust and
that is why I recommend you got to
create social media marketing content
every day to get your name out there to
get exposure to get your face in front
of these potential clients so that they
can see you get to know you build a
relationship with you and then they will
start to trust you this is not a getrich
quick scheme you're not going going to
start a bookkeeping business today and
make $10,000 tomorrow I'm sorry it's
just literally impossible it's going to
take a long time it's going to take
consistency and commitment you got to
show up every single day on the internet
in live inperson networking events
wherever you're doing your marketing and
advertising you got to show up every day
get your face out there talk to people
build real relationships be a good
person be positive be polite be
professional if you do this for 30 days
you're going to develop the habit and
you're going to get started and then if
you continue doing this for 6 months
you're going to naturally build a
reputation and you're going to start to
build relationships and trust with these
total strangers who are more likely to
hire you that's literally the whole
point okay two more questions what would
be the best way to start fresh for a
bookkeeping client this is a great
question they're asking like somebody
just asked me to take over their
bookkeeping and their book their
QuickBooks is a total mess so what can I
do how can I start fresh I generally
would approach the client and just try
to Comm communicate the issue I would
say hey like your balance sheet here's
your balance sheet here's your profit
and loss it's got a ton of inacurate
accounts a ton of wrong numbers your
customers and vendors are really
unorganized and everything is just point
out all the things that are wrong in
their QuickBooks obviously be polite be
professional don't be condescending but
just point out to them like hey your
QuickBooks is really unorganized and
it's going to take me a long time to fix
your bookkeeping and your QuickBooks
from the past so if you've already filed
taxes for 2022 and you just want me to
do a 2023 cleanup I actually recommend
let's just start fresh let's just get
you a new QuickBooks account because
it'll be much easier and more
importantly stress this it'll be more
accurate that's what it's all about
these business owners they want their
finances to be accurate and they want
them to be taken care of and done with
so you can stress to them two things
it'll be done faster and it'll be done
more accurately if we start with a clean
slate ultimately it's up to the business
owner so you cannot force your business
owner to get a new QuickBooks account
but you can strongly encourage it
strongly recommend it I'm a big fan of
starting fresh with a new QuickBooks
account you get a new chart of accounts
you get new vendors a clean slate for
vendors and customers I I'm a big fan of
starting fresh with a new QuickBooks
account okay last question how has
everyone been most successful getting
new clients I have five clients for my
small part-time bookkeeping business but
looking to take it full-time soon so I
have real quick on my website I have a
30-day social media marketing strategy
guide totally recommend check it out
Harrisburg bookkeeping.com store the
link is in the description of the video
this is a 30-day done for you social
media marketing strategy guide I show
you everything to post in the first 30
days so that you can build the habit of
posting consistently on social media and
marketing your bookkeeping business to
get started most successfully getting
new clients it's going to take you doing
sales because right now nobody really
knows who you are more than likely a
bunch of people are not going to come
calling you and messaging you and
emailing you asking for bookkeeping
services simply because you're brand new
and people don't know about you you
don't have that online reputation you
don't have six months of marketing so
people don't really know who you are so
it's going to require you to reach out
to other people and you can do that
through a multiple of different ways you
can DM people on Facebook and Instagram
and Linkedin you can send them message
I recommend find business owners friend
request them on Facebook wait a couple
weeks let them see your social media
marketing content engage with them a
little bit on your news feed comment on
their posts reply to their comments and
then two to four weeks after you become
friends you can send them a message you
can say hey I'm a bookkeeper let me know
if you ever need help with your
QuickBooks or some variation of a sales
pitch and then you can email people you
can find local business owners you can
get their email address on their website
and and then you can email them you can
get their phone number you can call
people you can get people's address and
you can send them a direct Mailer in the
beginning if you want to FastTrack
getting new clients it's going to take
some Outreach it's going to take some
sales you're going to have to reach out
to people if you don't want to do that
that's totally fine it's just going to
take you a little bit longer to get more
clients because you're going to have to
wait for people to reach out to you but
if you want to make things go faster and
get more clients quickly in the
beginning you got to reach out to other
people people
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