Launching a Freelance Bookkeeping Business: Seeking Guidance from Seasoned Professionals

My wife is on the brink of an exciting new chapter, stepping away from traditional employment to establish herself as an independent freelance bookkeeper. With nearly two decades of experience in Accounting and Bookkeeping, she has honed her skills in various roles, including serving as a staff accountant and Accounting supervisor for a cable company, managing the financials for a real estate developer, and overseeing Bookkeeping for a construction and auto repair business. Her breadth of experience equips her with a solid foundation for this venture.

As she prepares for this transition, she is currently completing certifications with QuickBooks and putting the finishing touches on her website. Additionally, she has drafted an engagement letter and updated her resume, positioning her for a successful launch. Her focus will be on catering to small to mid-sized businesses, offering them a cost-effective bookkeeping solution. While she isn’t a CPA or EA and won’t be providing tax services, her expertise includes cleaning up disorganized financial records, creating profit and loss statements, managing balance sheets, and providing consultancy on cost reduction strategies. Streamlining processes through automation is also a key goal.

As part of her marketing strategy, we plan to initially reach out to local CPA firms. I would love to hear advice from experienced freelancers on the best way to make our first contact. Should she introduce herself via email, a phone call, or perhaps a direct visit to their offices? Any recommendations on how to make a lasting first impression would be greatly appreciated.

In addition, we are considering an hourly billing structure for her services. If you have tips on acquiring clients or best practices for starting out, we are all ears!

Thank you for your insights and support as we embark on this journey!