Simple bookkeeping with personal support.
The Let’s Do the Books Way
Bookkeeping used to mean PDF bank statements with notes scribbled on them, followed by tedious scanning and emailing. Yikes. This is modern bookkeeping, tailored for online businesses.
Here’s how it works.
First, a short intake form to ensure the service is right for you.
Let’s Do the Books is meant for a very specific kind of coach: one with a few simple offerings, very few contractors, and a simple business banking setup.
My intake form will let me know right away if you’re the kind of coach I give great service.
Next, I’ll help bring your business financials up to date.
Some clients come to me with some basic financial structures in place: a dedicated business checking and/or credit card account, and a Stripe or PayPal account. Simple. This is the ideal scenario, and these clients have the easiest time “onboarding” with Let’s Do the Books.
Other clients (completely understandably) come to me a little less organized. Trust me–I was there once myself. If this is you, I’ll provide some simple processes, tools, and guidance to help you organize your historical financial data so I can include it in the appropriate reports. This can require a little work on your part, depending on how many transactions you have spread across various business and personal accounts.
I’ll also ask any clients who don’t have dedicated business checking and/or credit card accounts to set those up. This turns out to be the single biggest contributing factor to the success of our collaboration.
Then, we move into
maintenance and support mode.
Whenever there are new transactions in your business bank accounts, credit cards, or payment processors (like PayPal or Stripe), we’ll import those transactions and categorize them in our favorite bookkeeping software. We’ll also keep your key financial reports (the ones your tax pro will require) current, accurate, and available to you anytime.
Personal support from me--the founder.
Once each month you’ll get an email asking you to review that month’s transactions and confirm I’ve categorized them correctly (don’t worry–I’ll give clear instructions on how to do that).
This quick monthly communication will take you 2-5 minutes and give you the peace of mind that comes with knowing your bookkeeping is accurate and current.
And when tax time rolls around I’m happy to answer your tax professional’s questions about your reports. It’s all about making things smooth and easy for you.
Flexible Pricing Calculator
- One on one setup call.
- Guided cash flow planning.
- Accurate, on-demand reports.
Flexible pricing for your dynamic coaching practice.
I know there’s no such thing as a “normal” month for coaches like you and me. Some months the sales are rolling in, other months are quieter. That’s why I decided to make my pricing flexible.
When you join the service, you’ll pay a $300 setup that covers all the support I’ll give you during the onboarding process as well as up to 12 months of “catch-up” bookkeeping. After paying the initial fee, you’ll move on to my one-of-a-kind sliding scale fee model.
My fee is 3% of your collected revenue for the previous calendar month, with a minimum of $30 and a maximum of $200.
Try out the Flexible Pricing Calculator to see what your bookkeeping fee would be in any given month, and check out the three-month example below.
Three months of flexible pricing
May
One client pays you $3,000.
Your fee would be $3,000 * 3% = $90.
June
No sales this month (maybe you’re preparing for next month’s launch).
Your fee would be the service minimum of $30.
July
Your marketing efforts pay off and your business earns $10,000.
Your fee would be the service maximum of $200.
Why do I do this?
I know what it’s like to get a new business off the ground. I also know that even very successful coaching practices have “off” months.
I want our pricing to be friendly to the normal, natural ups and downs of running a coaching practice.
How do I make flexible fees work?
Experience and systems. With over ten years of experience supporting coaches, I know exactly how to deliver a great service without being a financial burden.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, no. There are three reasons: 1) I’m not set up to work with multiple currencies. 2) Non-US banks typically don’t have the bookkeeping features I need. 3) I’m not familiar with reporting requirements in other countries.
Unfortunately, no. Businesses oriented toward physical product sales require a different type and complexity of bookkeeping. Let’s Do the Books’ ideal client is a coach who offers one-on-one coaching along with other simple offerings (maybe a course or a group coaching program — that kind of thing).
You’ll pay $1 at registration so I have your information in my billing system. I’m not currently charging any kind of setup fee–I consider it an investment in a long-term relationship.
Your first ongoing charge will be on the 10th of the month after you join the service. I’ll calculate your previous month’s revenue and then charge the card on file 3% of that amount. Play with the Flexible Pricing Calculator (above) to make this crystal clear.
Yes. If you’re a coach with a simple set of business bank accounts and up to a few hundred transactions per month, with a few contractors supporting you…you’re the person I’ve built this business around. I’m excited to support you.
If you’re running a business with thousands of transactions, a dozen bank accounts and payment processors, a growing group of employees and contractors, and lots of different offerings…I’m happy to refer you to a trusted colleague. If you’re not sure whether you’re a fit, fill out the intake form on the sign-up page and I’ll let you know.
Yes, although it won’t be Quickbooks or Xero, both of which are overkill (and overpriced) for my ideal client. I use a fantastic tool called YNAB to manage my clients’ bookkeeping. It’s inexpensive (about $100 per year) and just right for your business (and mine).
Nope. I’ll set up your account for you and then run things month to month. (Note: you’ll pay around $100 per year for YNAB–not to me–directly to them).
No, but it is a top priority in the onboarding process. I completely understand what it’s like to have all your business transactions spread across a bunch of personal bank accounts and credit cards (I’ve been there), but as soon as possible my clients need to have business banking set up and all transactions happening in those accounts. This is the foundation of a successful bookkeeping relationship.
I don’t comment on the “deductibility” of any expense. I defer to your tax professional as the final authority on whether an expense “counts.” My job is to help you track everything so you and your tax pro can make easy adjustments based on your specific tax strategy.
My rule of thumb is: use a business bank account (or credit card) for any purchase you’re making with the intent to grow and support your business.
If your tax pro ends up saying certain expenses don’t “count,” I’ll adjust your business financials accordingly. No big deal.
I’ve categorized hundreds of thousands of transactions for coaches, so I find it pretty easy to categorize your expenses and income. But I also confirm my work with you each month in one short email exchange. That way you (and I) know everything is as close to perfect as possible.
In the early part of January I’ll complete your bookkeeping for the year, package up your reports and send them to you. You’ll forward them to your tax professional. If they have any questions, you can connect them with me. Smooth.
Yes, I’ll be using YNAB to maintain your business financials going forward. But, no, you won’t need to migrate your data over. As long as your previous accounting software offers a data export (and all of them do), you can export and safely store/archive your historical data in the event you need to refer to it later.
I’ll package up your data in a simple spreadsheet, which will make it easy for your new bookkeeper to import it into Quickbooks, Xero, and many other accounting tools. Or you can simply store your data and make a clean start with your new bookkeeper in the platform of their choosing.
(Of course I hope you’ll stay. My longest-running client started working with me over a decade ago. I’m proud of that.)
Yes. Although most accounts are used to Quickbooks, the reports I provide will do the job. (At least they have for the last 10+ years.) If your accountant wants to make small adjustments to how I present the information, I’m happy to do it. This has rarely been necessary.
Check out this happy message I got from a client:
“Just met with my CPA to go over some tax things. He said he had no critique at all with how my financials were sent to him for taxes this year. He also said $200 pers month is a steal for this quality of work.” – Jennie L
I run my monthly bookkeeping support in small “sprints”. All transaction imports, report generation and most email support happen in the first 5-7 business days of month. In the time between these “sprints”, support is “quiet” (but not “silent”). You’re welcome to send messages anytime. If your need is urgent, I’ll get back to you right away. If it’s not urgent, we may catch up during the next sprint.
As I write this, the month is two-thirds over and I’ve had just two client requests since the sprint ended. I’m always happy to hear from you, but thanks to our smooth monthly workflow, you won’t have many reasons to email me.
If you’re still not sure I’m a fit, click here to go to the home page and sign up for the multi-part “getting to know Let’s Do the Books” email series. If you’re confident this is the right service for you, you can go to the sign-up page, fill out the intake form, and expect to hear back from me.
Ready to get started?
The button below will take you to our registration form. You’ll make a $1 deposit today, and then hear from a member of our team with your next steps. We’re excited to be your bookkeepers!