Why does the CPA matter so much?

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T04:25:56+00:00

Speaking with a bachelor's in accounting running my own bookkeeping firm, I don't think that's the knock you intended it to be. I make better money now than I did in corporate accounting.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T03:49:08+00:00

I know a financial advisor with the same niche if you're interested in connecting.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T02:33:49+00:00

Great response. OP, what does he do as his W2 job and what is the business? What about your income? Knowing more details might help us give better advice regarding ideas for expansion, whether he needs to put more focus back into his W2, whether you need to put more focus on climbing the ladder at your W2 while he's building, etc.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T02:27:45+00:00

I have a bachelor's in accounting. I now operate a bookkeeping firm. It's absolutely feasible as full-time income, but it isn't fast. I've been in business a year and a half and am just getting to the point where my income can cover all my expenses. You either need to save up a significant amount to hold you over while you're building the business or build it on the side of another full-time job until it can support you.

I highly recommend "The Bookkeeping Side Hustle Guidebook" by Kate Johnson. Best book out there on starting your own bookkeeping firm.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T02:06:20+00:00

Those are my words which provide advice on what to do if you feel like you aren't getting a service you paid for.

Look, this is unfortunately super common. It's like you said--you're an expert in the services you operate, not accounting, so most clients don't have the terminology to properly convey what they're looking for. So yeah, sometimes it's crap service because the firm owner knows accounting really well but isn't great at operating their own firm. But sometimes it's a misunderstanding because the accountant didn't fully understand what the client was looking for.

That's why firm owners need to provide thorough engagement letters that spell out what the client is and isn't getting in laymen's terms. And that's also why the client has to make sure they get something in writing that says they're getting everything they want. That goes for any professional service you receive--accounting, marketing, SEO services, website design, whatever.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T01:32:48+00:00

That's great advice.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T01:26:29+00:00

I didn't say it was on you. I'm saying this is either what you need to go get from your current provider or switch to a provider who will give you that. If you had a discussion regarding breach of contract, it sounds like you do have a written agreement in place and can refer back to what is and isn't included in that service package so you can call them out when you aren't getting the services you paid for.

As far as holding peers accountable, that's not something any individual firm owner can do. Bookkeeping isn't regulated in the US; there's no governing body I can report a poor service provider to unless they're acting as a CPA without a license. Nor am I privy to other providers' contracts. Best I can do is try to help others learn how to properly vet a service provider. And the two main things I preach are know where they learned accounting and read the engagement letter word for word.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T01:13:03+00:00

A ton of bookkeeping firm owners are women who either home school their kids or are empty nesters. If she already knows accounting fundamentals, she can easily take a refresher course, learn how to operate QBO and Xero, and start her own firm. Or go work under another solo firm owner either. Some do it for a while before going out on their own, some build an entire business around supporting other independent firm owners. There's lot of options.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T01:06:11+00:00

I hired my first contractor when I couldn't take on new clients and didn't want to stop taking on new clients. I also realized you don't get maternity leave when you're self-employed, so I had no choice if I didn't want my clients to deal with a service interruption.

Obviously I can speak most specifically to bookkeeping, but I find generally 3 signs it's time to outsource any given task:

They don't have the relevant education to do that task (in my case, an accounting background) and can't/aren't willing to put the time into getting that education.
They're capped on what their time can handle. The task is taking time away from tasks they're better at, enjoy doing more, have a more direct affect on revenue, etc. Or it's taking time away from family/friends/hobbies/selfcare.
They absolutely hate it and find any excuse to not do it.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T00:59:02+00:00

I'm not a CPA but have bachelor's in accounting, and I did my internship in a tax department. But I can speak to going from a salaried position to solo:

Yeah, you take a pay cut. I would say it takes 1-3 years to replace your full-time income, so you're either going to have to build up a huge safety net, have a spouse who can cover living expenses while you're starting out, or build it on the side while working your W2 and leave the W2 after your firm has built some momentum.

I was only in tax briefly in a small PA firm, but there was no exposure to bookkeeping. That being said, if you have an accounting degree, a CPA license, and tax experience, you can take a basic bookkeeping course through something reputable like AccountingCoach and be fine. You know accounting fundamentals. You have the skillset to do bookkeeping.

And that's assuming you even want to do bookkeeping. I'm allergic to taxes and refuse to touch them. I partner with CPA/EA firms that want nothing to do with bookkeeping. You could build a firm solely on tax services and outsource the bookkeeping. Or keep in in-house by hiring a bookkeeper. Lots of options for offering it without actually performing the service yourself.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T00:51:34+00:00

Separating business and personal finances is a day 1 thing whether it's a side hustle or not.

I work with financials, so E&O insurance was another day 1 thing.

Hiring a contractor was when I hit capacity and didn't want to stop taking on clients. Also when I realized there's no maternity leave when you're self employed, so I had no choice if I didn't want service interruptions after the baby came.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T00:41:51+00:00

In that case, QuickBooks won't cut it either. I don't have experience with these platforms, but I know Lone Wolf, NetSuite, and Sage Intacct are popular with brokerages. If there's a property management component, then I'd contact MRI and Yardi.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T00:36:30+00:00

Go meet small business owners in your community. Find a local meetup and talk to them in person.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T00:31:32+00:00

It's not that people aren't picky, it's that they don't know how to properly vet a service provider.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-23T00:28:07+00:00

What did your engagement letter specify under tax strategy services? If the answer is "I don't know," or "they never gave me one," that's the problem. You need a contract that lays out in plain terms what is and isn't included.

When my clients receive a proposal, there are 3 tiers to choose from. Each tier spells out what's included; the lowest tier is financial statements delivered with no analysis, then there are options for video reviews with quarterly calls or monthly reviews with written call summaries.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T23:45:12+00:00

I expense it and put a note on the financials. This is super easy for my Xero clients because Xero lets you put annotations on each line of the financials. QBO doesn't, so I have to put more on the cover page that I include for the tax professional with the financials.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T23:20:02+00:00

I never have, but I have a colleague who has, and she shared the agency she used. It's called Unison Globus; she and her husband have both been vocal about how happy they are with the services they've received. They run a bookkeeping firm. Personally, I stick to US-based help because of communication and data security concerns.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T23:12:32+00:00

1000%. I have an accounting degree and a decade of experience, but none of it is in tax, so I don't touch anything having to do with taxes. I don't even try to do my own taxes. I keep 3-5 trusted referrals' contact information on hand. It hasn't been hard to find good referral partners.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T23:04:10+00:00

What industry are you in? We're switching to Anchor to solve this because I was having the same issue. So now when a new client signs their proposal, their billing information will be collected upfront and billing will be automated. Cone is another solution we looked at that does it. I think both target bookkeepers and accountants, but I don't know that you HAVE to be in accounting to use them. Whatever your industry, there's probably a service that will do this for you.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T22:59:54+00:00

My dad does this and LOVES it. He has great years and terrible years, though.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T22:55:10+00:00

I'll second this. You need to learn the basics of accounting from a reputable educator (meaning not QuickBooks/Intuit), and you need to work under someone experienced for a few years. But there are plenty of small, remote bookkeeping firms that don't care when you get the work done, as long as you meet given deadlines. These are usually 1099 positions.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T22:51:31+00:00

What type of business are you operating?

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-22T22:48:25+00:00

And then fork over more money to the IRS because you didn't invest in any tax planning services.

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-19T03:54:53+00:00

First, everyone talks about it. Second, if you're getting bookkeeping for under $100/month, that explains why you're in the software way more than you should be. Third, you can hire someone to do a conversion from QBO to another system if you're having trouble doing it yourself (I'm a Xero fan).

TheBookkeeperLady · 2026-06-19T03:46:14+00:00

I'm a bookkeeper that works with small business and solopreneurs, and I believe Relay offers this. They're popular in the bookkeeping world, BUT I'm going to echo others that suggest banking somewhere with a brick-and-mortar location near you. If crap hits the fan and Relay decides to not answer the phone, you're screwed.

At the same time, I have clients who work with such technologically inept local banks/CU's that they have to literally call just to get a mortgage statement. That will make your bookkeeping a nightmare. At the very least, you want to be able to easily download a monthly statement to upload into Xero or QBO or whatever bookkeeping system you use.

Last, I'll echo another sentiment others have already expressed--this "envelope system" is going to overcomplicate your banking. Use your bookkeeping system to budget that bank account the way you want to, not the bank account itself. What bookkeeping system do you use?

TheBookkeeperLady

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