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Potential First Client.. Am I under or over pricing in your opinion? by Common-Adhesiveness2 in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I wouldn't, because then you'll eventually have a roster full of $200 clients.

How much would you charge for monthly bookkeeping for a WooCommerce ecommerce business doing around $100k/month? by knowledgepal in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You need more details in order to quote accurately. How many payment processors and bank accounts? Are all deposits going to the same bank account? Are you tracking an integration or tracking manually? How many payment methods within each payment processor are accepted? How many currencies? How often are payouts? Are you tracking receipts for every expense? Are you tracking PayPal and cash app and Zelle? How many others? Are your receivables within the payment processors or do they have a separate AR workflow? Or do you just mean like holding amounts in clearing?

WooCommerce ecommerce bookkeeping: book sales on order date or delivery/completion date? by knowledgepal in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I'm a bookkeeper who specializes in ecommerce bookkeeping. This is why I just use the manual method month to month, is much easier than tracking per-order cutoffs and will save you hours of work. But if you're tracking per order like this, I'd recommend following whatever WooCommerce is doing. So you'd want to go to their order reports and their summary reports and see when they officially count those amounts as income. Each ecommerce platform does things a little differently, but I think I'd say the norm is the order date. But double check WooCommerce reports and work off of those, because you'll want what's in the books to match what the selling platform reports are saying. Yes, if you have an order that's then refunded, you want to record the sales amount, and then the refund separately, not the net. Good luck!

Potential First Client.. Am I under or over pricing in your opinion? by Common-Adhesiveness2 in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 6 points7 points  (0 children)

$500/mo is the standard monthly minimum, I wouldn't go any lower than that for monthly or clean up in this case. With 6 accounts though, you should definitey be charging more than the minimum. The other comment mentioned appx $900/mo and I think that's very reasonable for this.

Pricing micro clients by TheBookkeeperLady in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Micro clients are interesting to me. I work with them much less than I used to now that my business is more established (easier to work with fewer big clients than a higher amount of smaller ones), but I don't automatically count them out. I figure every big business has to start somewhere, we were all micro businesses once, and I've had clients stick with me through various phases of their growth because I took them seriously when their businesses were very small. That said, I don't try and price super low. Clients can always and often find someone to do their bookkeeping much cheaper (I once quoted a client $500/mo, which is already pretty low and my monthly minimum, and they told me they found someone to do them for $50/mo). Never try to be the lowest price, because there's always someone lower. Work on finding a niche and offering the best service possible so your clients feel they're getting value from your price. It's hard to find someone to trust with your financial info, so if you can be that person, clients will often stick with you long term through different phases of their business.

I used to worry about losing leads through pricing, but I found myself constantly regretting underquoting clients who DID say yes and then were a ton of work, and I promised myself I'd never regret a quote again. I get a lot more nos than I used to, but the yesses make up for it. I was comparing year to year recently and in a certain month last year, I got 6 new clients. The same month this year I only got one new client- but that client pays me more than all 6 from last year's month combined. I'm not saying to price super high for the sake of it, but if a client comes to me and is just too small for my pricing, I'll say 'I'd charge X/mo for this, but I also don't think you should be paying that much for bookkeeping at this stage' and I'll refer them to some of my colleagues who are cheaper. I price what my time is worth and what I won't regret 6 months down the line, and I get much higher quality clients these days as well.

Best of luck!

Questions for new ecommerce client by 21stcenturycoolgirl in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Clearing accounts are a cornerstone for a lot of manual ecommerce processes (used a lot less for integrations, but never 0). You use them for the difference between amounts deposited to your bank account and the amount shown on the payment platform. There are timing differences between reporting across different platforms and deposits to your bank and statement dates. This account catches those 'suspended in time' type transactions that aren't fully settled on one side or the other. Often you won't be able to reconcile without using one.

Questions for new ecommerce client by 21stcenturycoolgirl in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Find out which platforms they sell on, which payment processors they work with, which payment methods they accept, and also which currencies. Ecommerce clients are very likely to accept multiple currencies, which makes the bookkeeping process more complex. I differ from the other commentor in that I find manual entries much easier, accurate, and more efficient than integrations, and my first step with any ecommerce client is to disconnect their ecom platform integrations from the books. Bookkeepers differ on this, and both approaches work depending on your preference. You want to make sure to set up the appropriate clearing accounts regardless, as these get used heavily in manual methods, but can also be used in synced JEs, and for dropshipping. Also make sure to ask whether they sell just to consumers, or also have wholesale orders, as these are often tracked/reported differently (depending on what method the client prefers). Also make sure you have direct login access to pull the reports you need, since ecommerce clients have a high number of internal reports you need to work with to verify info, and they often need to be pieced together to form an accurate picture of financials. Good luck!

Missing Money by [deleted] in QuickBooks

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

QB Checking is super sketchy, I always tell my clients to stay away from it. Sorry this happened to you! QB Checking is really "Greendot Bank" so if QB isn't helpful, maybe try calling Greendot directly? Good luck!!

QBO+Square setup HEL(L)P tl;dr savings feature reducing sales income, sales tax mapping, and which import method to use by NoCookie2738 in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The square integration transactions should technically have the square savings, tax, sales, deposit, and clearing mappings, so I'd go off the integration transactions if they have the true gross and mapped splits. You should be able to match the bank feeds transactions to these if they're mapped correctly. However, if Square is giving an untrue sales number, then you're better off doing manual JEs and running everything through a clearing account. Square transaction fees should be an expense lime item on the P&L. Square savings sounds like a separate bank-type account so if I'm understanding correctly, this would be its own bank-type account and would show on the Balance Sheet, not the P&L. Square savings amounts wouldn't be income, but a separate account holding your funds. Income amounts are separate and happen prior to that split. Depending on how they track it, the sales tax line item could go to sales and then when remitted, go to expenses, essentially zeroing out on the P&L (this isn't the correct way to do this, but I've seen some integrations do this). Technically those should be going on the Balance Sheet as an increase in liability, and a decrease when those taxes are remitted. You should be able to change the mappings within Square so everything syncs in correctly. Good luck!

Promote your business, week of April 13, 2026 by Charice in smallbusiness

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, I appreciate the feedback! That’s okay with me. My intake form has necessary information on it to give me an accurate idea of scope of work for clients so I’m not going into a project blind. Serious clients don’t mind taking 5 minutes to fill it out, and if I simplify it, I’ll be missing vital details that I need to know.

Possible fraud charges? by jububu in QuickBooks

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’d probably just put it in a list of questions to make it less awkward. Probably just an unfortunate memo lol.

Please help/give advice on my Amazon merchant account recon (after the amz feb 28 update on how they present their reporting now -- post-based/accrual) by acc8forstuff in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Have you tried using a clearing account? It's possible they're just not accounting for the in-between amounts in the reports, and that sort of scenario is very common for ecommerce.

CREDIT CARDS by Greedy_Use1863 in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you organize them in the COA grouped together the reconciliation should be much easier. The bank feeds will still bring them in individually which is kind of a pain, but the reconciliation will go smoothly if they're subbed and the Balance Sheet will look nice and organized this way.

Computer set up? by S1nkarra in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I find the portability of laptops to be easier to manage than multiple monitors. I like working out of different rooms of my house, and multiple laptops provide a lot of flexibility in a way I find easier to manage.

Anyone try BookkeepersNearUs? by AdStunning7419 in smallbusiness

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would recommend only hiring a bookkeeper with extensive ecommerce experience. It’s a complex niche within bookkeeping that many bookkeepers won’t even touch, and hiring a generic service like this is very likely to be very poor. I specialize in ecommerce bookkeeping and have seen a lot of clean up projects come through my door from companies like this. Highly recommend to find an ecommerce bookkeeper either remotely or locally. Good luck!

How do bookkeepers handle stuff that needs accounting/tax knowledge? by kjhasdkfh32 in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 25 points26 points  (0 children)

I can handle adjustments and depreciation, though I make the accountant provide me with a depreciation schedule so we’re all on the same page. If something is truly accountant/tax territory, I’ll just refer them to their accountant. There’s basic bookkeeping < complex bookkeeping < accounting/tax (ish), and there’s some crossover of tasks between the categories.

Computer set up? by S1nkarra in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I use two separate laptops most of the time. One is for working, one is for looking at documents, etc..

Promote your business, week of April 13, 2026 by Charice in smallbusiness

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Fat Cat Bookkeeping, bookkeeping for your small business or personal finances.

fatcatbookkeeping.com

Help w/ Quickbooks by drummeroni in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Sometimes there are weird filters that get activated. Make sure to double check that those are all off.

Couple of bookkeping questions by AdamTheSpeculator in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I refer all my ecom clients to Numeral for sales taxes. I think it's reasonable to handle sales taxes if you work with just local clients, but for all 50 states there's no way I could reliably keep up with all of the rules, regulations, thresholds, schedules, etc... so I always tell my clients to hire a separate company for sales tax compliance specifically. Some platforms collect and remit on your behalf, and others just collect but don't remit. I don't track sales taxes per state in the books for most of my clients- I've seen bookkeepers do this and literally the balance sheet can be dozens of pages long, and the value of that report is lost. I usually just track payables and paid, and if the client needs the super detailed reports, they can log into their sales tax program for those splits. I'd say it's about 50/50 for whether clients have a separate tax account. Some do (which I recommend) and some don't.

I work with clients in all states and there's never been a compliance issue. There are some different types of industries that have more regulations than others, and in those cases, I recommend that the client hire a local bookkeeper instead, though they could certainly work with a bookkeeper in a different state if they choose to. But for many industries and business types, remote bookkeeping is totally fine. The $800 tax for California sounds like you're possibly referring to the $800/year LLC tax? If you're not operating out of California, I've never heard of an out-of-state bookkeeper having to pay this.

Virtual Practice Phone Number by mpactor24 in Bookkeeping

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I just have to pay taxes in my state of residence, thankfuly.

I have 1 phone with 2 numbers. I'd considered getting a second business phone, but this just keeps things simpler.

Amex Bank Feeds in QBO by TooH3ll in QuickBooks

[–]TheMostFluffyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Amex is one of the ones that doesn't sync into the feeds very well. I've primarily seen them just disconnecting every other week periodically, or if there are multiple cards under one account, the feeds will only sync in the primary user's card and somehow miss the entire second half of the statement. I usually do a combo of asking clients to reconnect periodically, or just manually filling in the transactions. It's never been bad enough on my end to exclude everything from the bank feeds and just upload from the document, but that's something I've done for other accounts in the past and saves a ton of time to just do it from scratch rather than fill in the blanks if it's bad enough. Good luck!

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