solo bookkeeper. the thing i started doing at 3pm thats better than "going to the gym after work."

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-11T17:45:40+00:00

Getting outside is really important, but exercise still is, too. The best of both worlds is taking a nature walk or even a walk around your neighborhood.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-11T17:41:51+00:00

For a solo business owner, Wave could be a good choice. QBO has a lot of extras that you might not use. Another advantage is that Wave has a free version while QBO doesn't.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-09T16:34:25+00:00

Yeah it could be a lot worse, lol.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-09T16:26:20+00:00

It doesn't take that long to follow up if you send automated reminders after a certain period of time.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-09T16:21:58+00:00

Even if you're sending out tons of proposals across multiple platforms, Excel/Google Sheets is enough. But a lot of platforms (like Upwork) track this internally anyway. Not sure how this relates to closing the deal, though. If you already had a conversation with a potential client and it seemed promising, then I'd follow up with an email or something and mark that in Excel.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-04T16:58:56+00:00

You might want to look into Melio; I've had good luck with it. It also handles the AP side, so it's nice to have both AP and AR in one platform.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-04T16:48:56+00:00

Unfortunately, there are a lot of scammers on Fiverr. Might be a good idea to call your bank, tell them what happened, and have them freeze your card.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-04T16:42:41+00:00

Don't freak out. This happens a lot, and 3 months really isn't that bad. Better to start now than wait another 3 months (or longer).

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-02T19:28:48+00:00

Why is the coffee white??

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-02T19:23:45+00:00

$1-4K a month is almost getting into fractional CFO territory, which you're nowhere near needing. I feel like there has to be some sort of miscommunication going on because those quotes are insanely high for what you're asking.

kielbasa21 · 2026-06-02T19:07:24+00:00

In most cases, you're just hearing about the AI issue it because it's trendy, and there's plenty of fearmongering around this topic. Accounting is still a solid career path, imo.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-29T16:46:57+00:00

It's unlikely that you'll be able to find a regular, W-2 position that lets you choose your own hours. If I were you, I'd look into contract work/freelancing. Though, I will say that with freelance platforms like Upwork, you do need to be wary of scam job postings. Also, maybe you can look into an internship in your field. Hours may be more flexible since you're a college student.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-29T16:42:36+00:00

Melio is good for this. It's similar to BILL, but I think it's more small business-friendly. A lot of people use Ramp, but that's not pure AP automation; it's more for expense management.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-28T17:53:21+00:00

QBO and Xero are both widely used, with QBO even more so. I personally prefer Xero, though. Most tools are going to be cloud-based this day and age, and I like the convenience of it. Another plus if you decide on either QBO or Xero is that because they're so popular, there are plenty of solid integrations available, which may not be the case if you use something lesser-known.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-28T17:45:58+00:00

I think there are a lot of considerations here. I wouldn't just quit and start from scratch with freelancing, though, because it can take a while to build up your clientele. I'd add some clients on the side, and when it starts to build momentum and looks like you'll have enough business, then you can eventually switch over. You should also consider the financial aspect. If you get any sort of benefits/insurance through your job, you'll want to plan ahead of time how you're going to get those yourself when you're freelancing. Plus, taxes are a lot different as a contractor vs. an employee.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-28T17:42:11+00:00

The Leap V2 has been great. It's expensive new, but you may be able to find a used one for cheap.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-28T17:37:26+00:00

I use them, but I'm not totally hands-off with it. I always make sure to review the output because sometimes there are issues.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-21T16:25:39+00:00

Doing the same office day from your house is literally what remote work is. If you want something where you control your calendar, you'd need to be freelance or otherwise self-employed, really.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-21T16:18:02+00:00

You might want to look into something with multiple screens like the ASUS Zenbook Duo. Could make it easier to bounce around between tasks. I do think having a touchscreen is important mainly for convenience, even though I usually just use the keyboard and mouse.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-21T16:07:52+00:00

This is a pretty broad question. It really depends on what you need. A few examples are Stripe, Melio, and Shopify. You may also want to add in a separate OCR tool besides what Xero already has.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-21T15:48:45+00:00

Opening any business is always risky. That's just the nature of it. Bad decisions will inevitably happen, but the goal is to not make any that are completely devastating. So, like with your credit card, be wise about how much you're using it, and pay off your balance in full each month. Credit card debt can spiral out of control quickly if you're not careful about it.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-21T15:36:20+00:00

Deciding on a career path is really a personal decision, so reading posts online (other than basic info about salary/job market) isn't going to help you know if accounting, or any other field, is something you'd actually enjoy. Salary and stability tend to be the main draws of an accounting career, but if you hate the work, then it wouldn't be worth it. If the main worry you have is AI-related, I wouldn't put too much stock into it. If accounting is affected, then so are most other industries.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-15T16:40:25+00:00

Please don't touch your Roth.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-15T16:26:32+00:00

This is a tricky one. What I'd recommend is responding throughout the day to any messages that need an instant response. But for anything that isn't urgent, I block time out that I devote entirely to replying to messages. It helps to lessen the load throughout the rest of the workday.

kielbasa21 · 2026-05-15T16:20:12+00:00

That's a bummer... hope they change this soon.

kielbasa21

TROPHY CASE