Simple bookkeeping with pesronal support.

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. Once I review your intake form and confirm you’re a fit for the service, you’ll pay a one-time $300 fee that covers all the support I give during the onboarding process as well as up to 12 months of “catch-up” bookkeeping. (Remember: if catching up your bookkeeping involves hunting through various business and personal accounts for relevant transactions, that work will be mostly done by you and guided by me.)

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 a few dozen to a couple of hundred transactions per month, with very 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 in the registration process and I’ll let you know.

You’ll access the intake form through the “getting to know Let’s Do the Books” email series linked from the home page.

Yes, although it won’t be Quickbooks or Xero, both of which are overkill (and overpriced) 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 and freelancers, 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

Here’s what I’ve learned after over a decade as a bookkeeper for coaches: almost nothing in bookkeeping is urgent. Yes, there are moments where you need something now and I provide it for you immediately. But in the vast majority of cases, there’s nothing in our collaboration that can’t wait a few days or a couple of weeks.

I know that sounds strange in a world where we prize speed above all else. But it works both ways: there’s almost nothing you’d request of me that can’t wait until our next early-month bookkeeping interactions, and there’s almost nothing I’d ask of you that can’t wait. 

That being the case, I run my monthly bookkeeping support in small “sprints”. All transaction imports, report generation and email support happen in the first 5-7 business days of month. In the time between these “sprints”, as defined by the day you receive your monthly bookkeeping update email until the first business day of the following month, support is “quiet”. You’re welcome to send messages in between sprints, and I’ll reply to those during the following sprint.

If your issue is urgent, you’ll just add “urgent” to your subject line and I’ll get back to you right away. 

Again, I know all of this sounds wild in a speed-driven world. It will be a deal-breaker for many prospective clients. Please go through the email series linked from the home page of this site to understand why I do this and why I’m convinced it contributes to better, more-reliable support–not to mention lower mental and procedural overhead for both you and me.

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. Because of my atypical approach, all prospective clients have to complete the series before hiring me. The emails contain further instructions.

No, you don’t have to stop using your preferred tools for invoicing or processing your client payments. 

If you use a tool we’ve never dealt with (which is unlikely), we’ll learn how to get the data we need from it so you can carry on as usual.