Here’s an email from Kerrie, who’s having trouble finding bookkeeping clients:
Hi Jenny
I enjoy reading your emails. It helps me to keep my nose to the grind stone so to speak.

I am having trouble finding bookkeeping clients. I have a few bookkeeping clients that are regular but not enough to keep going. Some days I think if I got a full time bookkeeping job it would not be so hard. But then the reason I started my bookkeeping business would be invalid.

I have tried the papers, that doesn’t work. The only way I have been able to get bookkeeping clients is word of mouth.

We’ve talked many times previously about throwing money away in newspaper advertising – you could have sent that money our way and had better results.

Just a few questions:
1. What area/suburb are you located?
2. Are you a registered BAS Agent?
3. How muany years FREELANCE / CONTRACT experience do you have as a bookkeeper?
4. How many hours per week do you use MYOB?
5. How many hours per week do you use Quickbooks?
6. Do you have knowledge /experience of payroll and inventory?
7. Are you a professional and skilled bookkeeper?

We’ve helped bookkeepers who struggle to find clients – like Cathy, in February last year, similar position, by the end of April we’d found her enough clients to put her in a position of making $60k p/a part time – more than she was making fulltime for less hours

It’s your call – if you’re like Kerrie, and having trouble finding bookkeeping clients we can help, or you can keep struggling to do it on your own.

” You are a gem to all whom wish to start their Bookkeeping business.

“Can you help me? Thanks, Steph.”

Steph, thanks for your kind comments – we love to get feedback from bookkeepers.

To help people like Steph, we need to know whether you’ve had any training in using MYOb / Quickbooks software, and if you have any bookkeeping experience / qualifications.

Depending on your level of skills you may find that you can gain more experience by working for some local bookkeepers

All VERY GOOD bookkeepers in your area always have MORE work that they can handle – you’ll find that they have a number of off-site clients and there’ll be some basic data entry that needs doing – in many cases they’d be more than happy to pay a “junior bookkeeper” a low hourly rate to get the data entry done

Contact them by telephone to arrange a time to go around and see them, tell them you’ve got an idea you want to run by them. Then when you eyeball them ask if you can help them with their data entry.

We helped Steph with some other questions she had about getting her bookkeeping business started, as we’ve developed a program to coach and and guide you through the minefield of building your bookkeeping business.

We offer one-on-one consultations for bookkeepers who are struggling to solve problems, or overcome challenges in sourcing bookkeeping clients

You can learn more about the program by following this link http://www.bookkeepingteam.net.au/

“My wife and I will be starting our own bookkeeping business 1 July. I have already started spreading the word amongst my network and I can see that we are going to be busy.”

Mark sent us this email after reading our free report “Secrets To Finding Bookkeeping Clients In TEN DAYS or less” and using some of the tips outlined there.

Word of Warning
Just be VERY careful how you go about “spreading the word” – We’ve known other bookkeepers to “blow their list” and then come to us wanting help because they’ve said the wrong thing, or approached their friends / clients in the wrong manner and lost opportunities through ignorance more than anything
If you’re not sure what he’s talking about, then download our free report our free report “Secrets To Finding Bookkeeping Clients In TEN DAYS or less”

Here’s part of an email we received about a bookkeeper wanting to know where to find bookkeeping clients:

He wrote to us asking for help, whilst giving us a little background information
1. How much experience do you have as a (FREELANCE) bookkeeper?
- NONE

2. What have you tried so far?
- cold calling- media advertising-internet

3. Who are you targeting?
- small to medium businesses

4. What’s the main problem that you are experiencing?
- no response

By doing what 95% of bookkeepers do, you’ll get the same result that 95% of bookkeepers get

Often it’s not necessarily what you do, but how you do it

Nobody likes “Cold Calling”, and very few businesses like being “cold-called”. Let me ask how you respond to telemarketers and door-to-door salespeople?

Most times they get a negative response because they’ve put the prospect on the back foot straight away

Imagine an icecream vendor down the beach on a cold wintery wet day – compared to the same vendor on a hot summer day – same vendor, same beach, different circumstances

Have a look at what you’re doing, and think about how you’d be if you were at the receiving end of your campaign.

We speak to many bookkeepers all around the country and hear similar problems – what we’ve found is that some bookkeepers think they “know it all” and are not prepared to open their mind to new/ different ideas – whereas others will listen and have an “Ah-aha” moment

There’s so many cooking shows on TV, and when the presenter cooks up a meal, it looks so easy. We can use that same recipe and create a disaster at home – why is that?

Maybe it’s because the methods that we use initially seems straight forward and often familiar, but the way the recipe is followed is what makes a difference

How open are you to hearing “the same old stuff” that you think you already know – how open are you to learning the “fine tuning” that it may take to go from getting what 95% of bookkeepers get, to achieving what the other 5% achieve

Having no experience as a bookkeeper would also make your task more difficult – business owners are not dumb – they can sense whether someone knows what they are talking about or whether they are just being “sold”

We have a program to help bookkeepers find clients – we will also work with those bookkeepers and actually source clients on their behalf

Just got off the phone from a bookkeeper who thinks that he wants help finding bookkeeping clients

Have you read our FREE REPORT “Secrets To Finding Bookkeeping Clients In TEN DAYS or less ?

Oh, yes, we’ve read that and done everything in it, but it hasn’t worked!

Really? If that was the case, then perhaps the WAY that you’ve done everything has made a difference to the results that you’ve achieved.

It would be great to have all the secrets revealed in depth and to give those secrets away to everyone. Whilst we could do that, we’d have no income to feed the kids, and keep a roof over our heads.

The free report is just an appetiser of what’s to come. It’s to help people to get started.

This particular bookkeeper went on to say that he’s doing everything that he can be doing and not getting the results. And that there’s nothing new in the book

So you don’t need our help then?

Well, yes, because we need to find bookkeeping clients.

So do you think that perhaps we do have some secrets that we can reveal to you when you join our program?

As you build your bookkeeping business, you’ll come across clients that think they know everything, and just don’t appreciate / want your help.

The best way to handle them is to shake them off, and move on. You’ll come across clients that WANT and NEED your help, and they’ll appreciate what you have to offer

We recently worked with an expereinced accountant wanting to start his own bookkeeping business in his home town 2000kms away from us. Within ten days we found him clients under his nose using the same techniques that we’d showed him how to use – clients that nhe’d been unable to find for himself

What we we doing that he could not do?
He knew best and wanted to follow our techniques using his methodology

If you change the recipe, you’ll change the results

When you start out with your bookkeeping business, have you considered the image that you are projecting?

After all, like it or not, you can only make a first impression once.

That’s right, you can only make a FIRST impression ONCE.

Are You Projecting a Professional Image?
We are amazed by the number of bookkeepers that are telling their clients they a run a professional bookkeeping service, and issue their invoices on an excel spreadsheet or a word document.

We asked one bookkeeper in our Bookkeepers Marketing Program why she was not using her MYOB accounting software for raising invoices.

Her response was that since she didn’t have many clients “it wasn?t worth it”

Since when does projecting a professional image become dependant on “having enough clients”?

How many bookkeeping clients is “enough” to justify using your software package to generate invoices?

Should I be GST Registered?
The ATO rulings regarding the income level of which you are required to register for GST are clear.

Does that mean that you don’t need to register for GST if your income is below the
threshold? Absolutely

Does that mean that you SHOULDN’T register for GST until you reach that threshold? – that’s your decision.

From a marketing perspective, how does it look to your client if you are not GST registered? Maybe they don’t care.

However if they see a bookkeeper that is GST registered and one that is not, they may automatically assume that the bookkeeper that is registered has a stronger business, and a higher turnover.

Similarly we’ve seen bookkeepers getting lovely “fluffy” pink feminine business cards with a free clipart image to further “pretty up” their cards.

What does that project to a prospective client?
Does it project an image of professionalism, or rather the archetypal stay-at-home-mum wanna-be bookkeeper who’s doing hubby’s books and a few other mates for some extra income?

Maybe they want to project that image, and play at being a bookkeeper.

Have a look at your invoice templates? Do they project a professional bookkeeping image?

Have a look at your business cards / stationery ? Do they project the image of a professional bookkeeping service?

Have a look at your website? Does it project a professional image and give your potential bookeeping clients confidence in your services?

Have a look at your business attire? Does you project a professional image in your dress code, or look like you do bookkeeping as a hobby? Some bookkeepers don’t care how they dress, and turn up to clients looking scruff, and then wonder why the clients are concerned about their attention to detail

When you start out with your bookkeeping business, look closely at the image that you are projecting,

Ask any accountants, or any experienced professional bookkeepers, and they’ll tell you : “There’s bookkeepers and there’s bookkeepers”

And since 1st March 2010 [in Australia], “there’s bookkeepers, and there’s bookkeepers and there’s bookkeepers!”

What does that mean?
Until 1st March 2010, anyone in Australia could start a bookkeeping business and call themselves a bookkeeper. Who knows what experience they had, or how profficient they were!

The Federal Treasury, the Australian Taxation Office, and a number of organisations loosely representing bookkepers all got together and decided that every bookkeeper who chooses to work as a contractor needs to have a Cert IV (Financial Services – Bookkeeping) to be legally entitled to lodge a Business Activity Statement on behalf of their clients.

That is, of course, the minimum requirement – there’s some other hoops you have to jump through to become a registered BAS Agent – including “being of sound mind” – whatever that means. Sometimes we think we must be crazy to want to process the paperwork of some clients – so does that mean we are not “of sound mind”?

Having a qualification, and being a registered BAS agent is just the start of the journey towards a successful bookkeeping business

Finding bookkeeping clients is the next step

Keeping bookkeeping clients, knowing what to charge your clients, keeping your clients happy and finding more bookkeeping clients are more steps towards building a successful bookeeping business

One bookkeeper who started on our Bookkeepers Marketing Program last week picked up her first client yesterday, and was so excited!!

She had been very nervous in anticpation of the first meeting with the client, and emailed us yesterday saying she’s got her first bookkeeping client.

Why should we be surprised? We are not – you see, it’s not difficult with the right preparation!

What other result would you be expecting?

After all, the purpose of the client meeting was to seal the deal, and she did. That’s all it takes!

The most important step in starting your bookkeeping business is not to focus on how many clients you have right now, but how many clients you will have in the future.

The mindset of a bookkeeper can make such a difference to the growth of their business. You learn more about this in our Bookkeepers Marketing Program

Do you need some new bookkeeping clients in Perth’s northern suburbs, Western Australia? If you are an experienced bookkeeper skilled in using both MYOB and Quickbooks accounting software, then contact Us HERE

Do you need bookkeeping clients in Perth’s Northern Suburbs?

We’ve successfully been helping freelance bookkeepers starting their bookkeeping businesses around Stirling and Warwick, and they have reached capacity

We only work with selected bookkeepers in finding them clients, negotiating the contracts and organising the appointments – all you need do is show up and do the bookkeeping work

This is a limited opportunity and is suitable only for experienced bookkeepers who are prepared to go on-site. Contact Us HERE

Without any clients, a service industry business is not really in business. Bookkeepers, whether they like it or not, are in the service industry, and thus need bookeeping clients to service

Every day we are asked “Secrets to Finding Bookkeeping Clients”. 99% of bookkeepers seeking help in sourcing new clients for their bookkeeping business ask us the same questions.

Can You Find Me Some Bookkeeping Clients? – YES

Can we find them clients for their bookkeeping business? Yes, we can.

We have helped many bookkeepers “kick start” their bookkeeping business, and have compiled a book that answers many of the questions you have about getting started, finding clients etc

There’s also answers to questions that you haven’t even thought of yet

By reading the book you’ll learn of some innovative strategies to help your business move forward, and gain an understanding of what’s involved. You’ll also get an understanding of how we think and our approach as a start to help you with your bookkeeping business

Details about the book can be found HERE

Do You Really Want Our Help?

By having a quick chat to bookkeepers looking for new bookkeeping clients, we can generally very quickly ascertain why they are having trouble sourcing new clients for their book-keeping business.

We picked up a bookkeeping client that’s returned over $200,000

Learning how to be a bookkeeper is very different from having to talk to potential clients. There’s the right way to say something and the wrong way to say something. How you speak to a potential client is important.

How you answer the questions that they ask you is also very important.

Bookkeepers who are serious about seeking help in finding bookkeeping clients will make sure that they secure a copy of our Ebook “Secrets to Finding Bookkeeping Clients”. Details about the book can be found HERE

“Oh, I’m too busy to read your book!”, we were told by one bookkeeper. Really? Then if she’s that busy, how come she’s asking us how to find bookkeeping clients?

“Just answer my question!”, said another. We have already done that, many times, and compiled the answers in our Ebook “Secrets to Finding Bookkeeping Clients”. Details about the book can be found HERE

Why is it such a big deal? Well, a few years ago we picked up a client that’s been worth over $200,000 to us! How would you feel if you were the bookkeeper that missed out on that contract because you handled the initial client meeting in the wrong manner?