New businesses often don’t have bookkeepers yet or may not have realized that they should hire one. When they grow, they may remember your advice and hire you as their bookkeeping firm. The initial networking might also generate immediate prospects who have a need you can meet with your services, so it’s worth the time and effort. Onboarding establishes the foundation of a great client relationship, which will, in turn, lead to future referrals and more business.

• Fed up of rummaging through files and folders just to find a basic piece of information about a client?
• With everyone up to speed, all that’s left to do is book a final meeting to wrap up your involvement and build trust with the client with a smooth transition to their bookkeeper.
• With each post you make, add relevant hashtags to attract potential clients.

This will require you to record this calendar month and calendar day on the first blank line and the year on the second blank line. Thus, locate the space labeled “Accountant” and produce the legal name of the Accountant being commissioned. You must solidify this entity’s identity by producing his or her mailing address across the next three empty lines.

How do accounting professionals and accounting clients meet?

You’ll want to share some information, benefits, the value you offer, and a way for people to get in touch with you. The first interactions you have with your clients are always going to be the most crucial, as they set the tone for the remainder of your working relationship together. The exact type of content you create depends on the market you serve and your expertise. Some common objections potential clients may have include cost, time commitment, trust, and control. If they are concerned about cost and time commitment, you can emphasize the value of your services and how efficient bookkeeping can save them time.

Next, give the client a tour of your file-sharing system, e.g., Google Drive. Be sure they have all the proper permissions to use it and edit files as needed. Get the names and email addresses of other employees who might need access to the system.

Seventy-eight percent of small businesses responded that it’s very important that their accountant can act as a trusted advisor. They ranked this as more important than being affordable or responsive. According to a study by Nielsen, 89 percent of customers trust recommendations from people they know all other forms of advertising. Alternatively, you could just send a quick email to your contact list. This works well if you have already built a relationship with clients and want to keep them in the loop about what’s happening in your business. Job boards such as Upwork and Thumbtack often have job postings for freelance, part-time, and full-time bookkeepers.

Also, they have so much other work to do and should be working ON the business rather than working IN the business. Hiring a freelance bookkeeper also allows the company’s finances to be looked at from an objective viewpoint rather than involving emotions. Bookkeeping is all about cash management and ensuring the business is financially sound and is able to make smart business decisions based on those financial records.

As you get things set up, you should complete a health check of your client’s records. Doing this will give you a picture of where things currently sit and whether or not extra work is required. Next, get your meeting off to a good start by setting expectations and running through the agenda.

What are some common objections potential clients may have about using bookkeeping services, and how can I address them?

The good news isthat by using a resource such as our new bookkeeping client checklist, you can complete the steps that work for you and ignore the ones that don’t. Finding out how to get bookkeeping clients for your business takes some experimentation. You may find some methods come naturally to you, like social media marketing, while others, like networking, are more difficult. Use this guide to learn the 6 best strategies to get bookkeeping clients. But before we begin, let’s look at why bookkeeping clients hire you.

These include diversifying your services, working your referral network, and focusing on a niche. Loan Application FormA loan application form is a document used by banks to collect the relevant information from a potential borrower when applying for a loan. Whether you run a bank or work in another financial service, use our free Loan Application Form template to manage loans online! Simply customize the form with your own logo, add your own questions, and start accepting loan applications in minutes. It’s ideal for remote applications — allowing you to collect the information you need, fast.

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Better yet, it can be fantastic for brand building and an opportunity to gain feedback that could improve your practice. Gettingnew clients is always a moment to celebrate, but for many practices, the effort stops once the sale is made. Sadly, it’s too common for the onboarding process to be a last-minute thought. Learn how ecommerce accounting leaders improve the client experience through onboarding. Download our free checklist for key actions to take during pre-onboarding, onboarding, and post-onboarding.

Finally, recap the meeting, mention any upcoming work and tasks that need to be completed, and make a note for your team. After the meeting, send a follow-up email with notes and the next steps. Follow up the meeting with a summary of what has been set up, any outstanding to-do items, and your next steps. This will remind them of any responsibilities and mean you have something to refer back to.

Tips for External Communication

Get into those communities and make yourself an expert by spending some time giving valuable information to the group without the expectation of receiving anything in return. If you do this, you will become well-known in those communities as a resource, and people may start contacting you to find out how they can work with you. Bare minimum, you will want a Facebook page, a LinkedIn page, and possibly another content creation platform such as YouTube, a podcast, or a blog.

Therefore, balance sheet exampleing hashtags like #ecommerce may help you to attract clients. The approach is slightly different, though – your goal is to seek introductions to potential clients. Everybody else you know – including students and retired people – has their networks and might be able to introduce you to even more potential clients. The first two benefits – reducing risk and saving time – are the main rational reasons business owners hire bookkeepers in-house or freelance.

Some postings will be one-time jobs, but don’t let that deter you. After the first job, ask them if they’d like to become a regular client. You can easily see all the events coming up and even filter them down to networking events and industry events. Just like other relationships, you need to nurture your relationships with referral partners so they don’t go stale. Meet with them every 2 – 3 months so you stay fresh in their mind when a referral opportunity comes up. Another way to share valuable insights is to guest blog on websites where your target audience might spend time.

I’ve learned over time to be intentional about the people I want to work with and not just take any client that comes along. Sometimes a difficult client is going to cost you more time, energy, and money than it’s really worth. This just requires a bit more networking skills, getting to know people, and being confident in talking about your business when opportunities arise. It’s important that you know exactly what your needs are and how you can provide value to others and be able to articulate that well. When you get to know accountants, often those accountants or firms have too much work, and they may refer some of the work to you.

Remember, you don’t need to do all these things at once, and you probably shouldn’t even try. It’s not about passing out business cards, giving your elevator sales pitch, or connecting with dozens of people on LinkedIn with no real connection. A great way to do this is to become certified with your accounting software and join a partner program. Most accounting software tools offer training and certification, which can give your clients confidence that you know your stuff. An inexperienced salesperson is the one who immediately talks to the prospect about business. It’s important to build relationships that go beyond the day-to-day.

Unless they allow for a Windows host control, we don’t support network attached storage devices as file servers, because they don’t meet the requirement of using a Windows operating system. NAS devices often use proprietary operating systems that may not handle file locking properly and may cause data corruption and/or performance issues. Practical business and financial insights, lessons, perspectives, and know-how brought right to your inbox. Lastly, look for other professions that could coincide with yours that you could build relationships within those fields.

There are many creative ways for your bookkeeping business to stand out from competitors. If you’re wondering how to find bookkeeping clients, read our tips below. The good thing about an onboarding process is that it can change and grow over time, especially if you notice recurring questions or concerns that new clients should already be aware of. This new bookkeeping client checklist has been designed so that you can edit it to make it your own, keeping as much or as little as you need for your practice. A bookkeeping client intake form is a questionnaire that your customers fill when they want your services for the first time.

Be the trusted advisor your clients need, and you’ll always have a constant flow of new bookkeeping leads. Consider creating social media profiles for your business and engaging with potential clients online. LinkedIn and Facebook, in particular, have strong group page dynamics.