Launching a Freelance Bookkeeping Venture: Seeking Insights from Industry Pros

Starting a new chapter in her professional journey, my wife is on the verge of launching her freelance Bookkeeping business. After dedicating between 15 to 20 years in the Accounting and Bookkeeping field, she is ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship.

Her wealth of experience spans various roles, including staff accountant and Accounting supervisor at a cable company—where she managed payroll for over 800 employees—as well as office manager and bookkeeper for a real estate developer, a construction firm, and an automotive service provider. This diverse background equips her with a solid foundation in handling a wide range of financial tasks.

Currently, she is honing her skills with QuickBooks and completing several certifications to further bolster her expertise. With her website nearly finalized, an engagement letter drafted, and an updated resume in hand, she is poised to begin marketing her services to potential clients.

It’s important to note that she will not be providing tax services, nor is she a CPA or EA. Instead, she aims to serve smaller, mid-sized, and emerging businesses by offering cost-effective bookkeeping solutions. Her proficiency includes organizing messy financial records, preparing profit and loss statements, generating balance sheets, and identifying cost-saving opportunities to enhance efficiency—essentially tasks she can perform with ease. Additionally, she is passionate about integrating automation into her processes for improved productivity.

As one of her initial strategies, she plans to connect with local CPA firms. However, we would greatly appreciate your advice on how best to initiate contact. Should she reach out via email, phone, or perhaps make an in-person visit? Moreover, any tips for creating a positive first impression would be immensely valuable.

We are contemplating an hourly billing structure and remain open to any suggestions for acquiring clients or general strategies for running a successful freelance bookkeeping business.

Thank you for your insights!