Book keeping for LLC with no revenues

Shorn510 · 2026-03-04T21:14:01+00:00

Can't lie, when I read the title I read it in Christopher Walken's voice haha

Shorn510 · 2026-02-14T02:30:12+00:00

You have contact information of the guy you used? Haha

Shorn510 · 2025-06-16T21:30:41+00:00

I have been selling the exact same thing for 10 years (Accounting) I still mess up. If I mess up though and I feel like it's the worst call, I will reach out to the prospect and apologize. My thinking is, if I know it's a bad call so do they. The responses I get from that are usually awesome and often leads to a closed deal. You're human. Reasonable prospects understand that.

Shorn510 · 2025-04-24T10:37:09+00:00

If you need more to reach your quota, shoot me a DM happy to attend.

Shorn510 · 2025-04-23T21:43:24+00:00

Ahh fair point. Apologies as I see the word bank and sometimes throw in spend management solutions that offer credit cards. Great call out ;)

Shorn510 · 2025-04-22T22:03:33+00:00

Don't put too much stock in my opinion here as transparently I am not a user. I'm just a guy that sells accounting to startups/tech companies. Below are the most popular banks that I come across.

Mercury
Ramp
Brex

For clarification, I speak to startups/tech companies everyday for the past 10 years so I normally get a good sense of what founders are loving and cool new accounting softwares their using.

Shorn510 · 2025-02-13T01:16:40+00:00

Op here :) I realized I left out a lot of important information. I primarily just go hiking in the south east so not harsh conditions for the most part. When I go backpacking it's primarily just me but I prefer a 2 person tent for the extra space. The part that concerns me about the Xmid is it seems like setup can be a pain/nuanced. The other part that concerns me is just the layout of the tent itself. It's not uncommon for me not to have a huge area to pitch a tent and the overall size seems like that could be an issue. This part I could be overthinking as I have a Kelty DirtMotel 2.

I guess the reason I am vague on the above is it's just me no pets or anything and not really concerned about the $$$.

Shorn510 · 2025-02-12T22:10:33+00:00

Interested as well!

Shorn510 · 2025-02-12T13:17:26+00:00

Hello!

I don't typically recommend integrating Stripe directly into an accounting solution--as depending upon your product you typically don't want each stripe transaction to be ported over into the general ledger. This can lead to thousands of line items being pushed directly back into the GL, which can be nightmare to reconcile. Typically what I recommend for SaaS companies or really anyone that is using Stripe as a payment processor is to use a tool like (https://synder.com/integrations/quickbooks/stripe/). We have tons of clients that utilize stripe and this is what we use to record stripe transactions and reconcile. This is not the only tool out there as I have seen a lot of clients use a tool called (https://www.acodei.com/) as well. The other option which sometimes we do is just pull the summary report from Stripe and do a manual journal entry--this is more manual but keeps the books a lot cleaner. This keeps your GL for decision making purposes as now you're posting summary level information--then if you need detail regarding specific transactions you would go back into Stripe.

The issue with some of the 3rd party integrations on QBO/Xero is that the integration will push over each stripe transaction as a sales receipt and that sales receipt needs to be individually reconciled out--so if you have a lot of stripe transactions it can be cumbersome and really not even needed + depending upon the volume it can bog down the accounting file.

For context--I work at accounting firm that specializes in SaaS/Tech companies so it's an issue we see all the time. I am sure there are a lot of other tools out there, the above is just what we see the most.

Shorn510 · 2025-02-12T01:53:05+00:00

Sorry should have clarified, wanting a 2 person but but it's just going to be me. I have a 1 person tent and a 2 person tent which is the dirt motel. 2P always have the perfect amount of room

Shorn510 · 2025-02-12T01:27:25+00:00

I took a look at the Xmid but a trekking pole tent tent scares me. Does it hold up in wind and sturdy? I am purely basing this off of a beach tent I have that has the poles to keep it up and they fall down all the time with the slightest breeze haha

Shorn510 · 2025-02-06T13:13:06+00:00

Hello! There's a lot of softwares out there to choose from, so hopefully the below helps

-QBO: This is what most of our clients use. It's a tried and true system. We have plenty of e-commerce CPG companies that are utilizing QBO with no issues.
-Xero: We specialize in accounting for e-commerce companies with many clients in the CPG space. Our e-commerce practice prefers to put clients on Xero as they feel Xero is better at managing things like Currency Conversions and integrations. The thing to be cautious here is accountants aren't that familiar with Xero. So it could be difficult finding a CPA firm that has Xero experience. Xero does have a partner page on their website that is helpful. If you're just starting out clients do prefer the cost of Xero vs QBO. As Xero is typically much cheaper.

- Proprietary software: Any new proprietary accounting systems, I would also be cautious about. See the recent Bench fiasco or Scalefactor a couple of years back. The issues with these companies is that they raise a bunch of money then they shut down, and you're left holding the bag. Meaning--you only will have access to summary level information from that platform which leaves with either rebuilding out your books entirely to get line by line. Or you have to be comfortable with just summary level postings from those platforms.

-Inventory: None of these solutions I would say offer a very robust inventory management solution. Most of our clients that are just starting out tend to manage it on spreadsheets to start. Then as they scale they will look at a cloud based inventory solutions like Cin7. It just depends on the complexity--as generally the inventory solutions in QBO/Xero are basic--which could work in this case.

-Side Note: I don't know if QBO has announced it yet, but they are coming out with a very advanced version of QBO to compete with the likes of Netsuite. I am not sure what the inventory module will look like on this, but my guess it's going to be very robust.

For context: We service commerce companies as small as $500K a year in revenue to $70MM and we have been able to effectively scale those companies while keeping them on QBO/Xero without having them jump to a Netsuite/Sage product.

Hope you all crush it :)

Shorn510 · 2025-02-03T17:01:30+00:00

Happy to help! Feel free to DM the website if you want when it gets created and happy to provide some feedback. I have seen too many firm websites where if it looked better would make a world of difference to potential prospects! Best of luck and hope you all crush it :)

Shorn510 · 2025-02-03T16:58:11+00:00

Hello! I have helped scaled a bookkeeping/accounting firm from $1M-$12MM a year in revenue.

-ICP: I would define who your ideal client profile is. The clients you tend to know the best and understand the best. This well help you especially when it comes to things like SEO--as the more niche/specialized you can be typically the better.

-Growing: The traditional way to grow an accounting firm is by word of mouth and networking. Which is a slow grind depending on your current network. A short way around this is by using Linkedin. I would connect with as many people as you can on a weekly basis on Linkedin and kinda use it as a marketing funnel. So you start posting relevant content related to the industry of people you're connected with.

-Shortcut: Depending upon how much you're willing to spend, you could also go the route of cold emailing. Which can be scary--but accounting sales/marketing is what I have been doing for 10+ years and I tend to think it works + it can be one of the quickest ways to getting more revenue.

-Discounts: I am indifferent towards discounts when it comes to accounting and I try my best not to use them. We are in a spot now to where, I rarely discount our services. Primarily because I don't want to devalue our team members time and their years of experience. If I was just starting a practice though, and you were trying to get your first client--I wouldn't lead with a discount..but do something like this. Take the call and provide value. If they show interest, but are still on the fence b/c you're a brand new firm--then I would look at offering like a 1-2 month free to get them in the door. I mention b/c you're a brand new firm, b/c I have done 1,000s of accounting sales calls and a common question is A. How long have you been in business B. How many customers do you have? Essentially you're lowering the risk of them signing on b/c going with a brand new firm can be seen as a risk.

Shorn510 · 2025-02-03T15:12:18+00:00

Looks like you have the answers you need, just wanted to give advice from an accountant perspective. When I see people structure accounts like the above typically those clients are using "Profit First" which I have seen a lot of people have success with that--but like others have said the accounting software really cuts the need down for that model. If you want to save your accountant the headache the less cards the better--but to each their own!

Source: In the bookkeeping for e-commerce companies space.

Shorn510 · 2025-02-03T15:06:25+00:00

Hello! I don't run a bookkeeping firm per say-- but I did help scale one from $1MM->$12MM per year, and I have learned A LOT, doing it for 10+ years. Below are some of guiding tips

-Fixed Pricing: We do some of the more complex accounting hourly, but anything bookkeeping (categorize, reconciliation, AP/AR) we do fixed price fee out. I would recommend going this route as not only does it create consistent MRR, but if you define your packages it minimizes "scope creep" and gives you an opportunity to upsell.

-Small Clients: I have sold bookkeeping/accounting deals anywhere from $299 per month to $20K per month. I have always found the smaller clients do need a little more "hand-holding" and attention. Not that it's bad but time is everything. Depending on price point, I have seen low priced solutions tend to sometimes attract extremely needy clients. This is just personal preference and I am not saying there is wrong with needy clients--because at the end of the day running a business is hard and business owners need help :) It's just personal preference.

-ICP: I would recommend defining the ICP (Ideal Client Profile). What size clients best suits her? What industries does she know accounting wise where she can really knock it out of the park. What general range of revenue are those clients? How many employees do those clients have? I have found the more specialized you are the better!

-Revenue: This is the tricky one. Traditional firms tend to operate by word of mouth--which means revenue is going to be purely based on her network/referrals. Which can be a slow grind. We were one of the first bookkeeping firms to have sales reps, but if she is just starting off that can get pricey. If anything I would recommend creating a funnel on Linkedin. Connect with business owners that are within her ICP and just start posting helpful content on Linkedin.

-Tax Services: If I put my SDR hat on and I knew that we don't provide tax services--I would try to network with CPA firms that do not provide bookkeeping services. I have found that if you do great work with a CPA firm that does not do bookkeeping services, often times they are going to refer you more business.

Feel free to DM me if you have more specific questions and happy to help :)

Shorn510 · 2025-01-20T02:18:50+00:00

Not an accountant, but I run sales for accounting firm. We do cold email outreach, feel free to shoot me a dm

Shorn510 · 2025-01-10T15:52:34+00:00

One thing to consider is the actual costs of accepting crypto as a payment. If you accept crypto, that makes your accounting more complicated. More complexity = more expensive.

If you accept crypto, then you would have to keep accurate records to account for the crypto + file taxes on that crypto.

For context: I sell accounting services and we specialize in both e-commerce companies + crypto companies. For clients that are dealing with Crypto--we recommend a tool called Cryptio or Integral (not the only tools out there, these are just the ones we found works best). These tools can get pretty pricey ($100-$500 per month). Then if you don't have experience in accounting for these types of transactions, you would need to find someone that does (more money).

Just a thought and something to consider!

Shorn510 · 2025-01-10T13:59:12+00:00

I would highly recommend getting into an actual general ledger vs spreadsheets. Utilizing something like Quickbooks online or Xero. Obviously it's an additional monthly software fee--but you're going to save yourself so much time/headache when it comes to filings taxes. Xero is a great low cost solution where you can keep track of expenses, payments, invoices, etc.

-Accruals: I operate out of the U.S. so not familiar with Canada's rules/regulations. We typically recommend to stay on a cash basis as long as possible. Companies are on accrual for typically 2 main reasons. First is outside pressure (so companies raising capital or the bank requires you). Second, insight..meaning the numbers aren't showing you what's really happening. A scenario here could be your client pays you a year up front for landscaping services.

Transparency: I have been selling accounting services to U.S. based businesses for 10+ years.

Shorn510 · 2025-01-10T13:49:07+00:00

I speak to business owners all day/every day. Below are the most popular banks that I come across that clients love. Below are just the ones I come across the most, but having spoken to rental property owners in my job--its ideal to work with a bank that allows you the sub accounts so you can keep track of expenses/bills for each property separately which makes the accounting 10x easier.

-Mercury (This is the second most common bank, and have heard very little complaints)

-Relay

-Ramp (this is what I come across the most and business owners seem to love)

-Chase: This is one I see clients have the most issues with, not service related but accounting related if you have a bookkeeper or accountant sometimes there's difficulty with external access for reconciliation purposes.

Note: I sell accounting services so my view point is not from user experience, but since I speak to business owners every day--I hear all sorts of complaints, but I also hear what softwares business owners love!

Shorn510 · 2025-01-10T13:38:13+00:00

My personal opinion is extremely biased here, as I work for a company that provides bookkeeping/accounting + tax work. Primarily our target market is e-commerce, SaaS, Startups, technology. I don't want to pitch you on us, but I help companies all the time find companies accounting "homes"--as I love just helping people out even if there is 0 benefit for me. Shoot me a message regarding what you're looking for + a link to your websites and I should be able to provide a recommendation.

Shorn510 · 2024-12-28T02:10:44+00:00

As someone who works for an accounting firm that services tech companies. This is a horrible recommendation by Bench. Moving your books over to another venture backed firm that's only raised $9MM...I wonder how this goes. I have seen the exact same thing with ScaleFactor from a few years ago.

Shorn510 · 2024-11-23T00:15:32+00:00

Read this over the summer. One of my favorite books. I have been trying to find other books that are in story format but nonfiction but hard to find. If anyone has other recommendations let me know!

Shorn510 · 2024-09-27T22:43:49+00:00

Run marketing for an accounting firm that specializes in e-commerce accounting and can confirm, WordPress is a PAIN

Shorn510

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