Bookkeepers Struggle with Client Acquisition
Independent bookkeepers and accounting professionals find themselves limited by working for firms, capping their income potential. They desire client acquisition but struggle with the sales and marketing aspects of running their own business, seeking alternatives to direct outreach and feeling overwhelmed by the process.
SOURCES (60)
“Interested to hear some stories. Anyone here just never interested in climbing the corporate ladder and felt like you earned enough as a staff/senior so never tried to advance? submitted by /u/Affectionate-Owl-178 [link] [comments]”
Have you looked into bookkeeping or executive assistant work?
“Same. Senior accountant here on track to assistant controller, one year designated.”
“I primarily do 1040 prep work + admin if needed. Its a super small firm. 1.5 YOE as I transitioned into the field submitted by /u/Badgerfoot [link] [comments]”
“I pivoted into Accounting because I was tired of 50 hour work weeks in logistics. Minimum 50 where I was easily going over 50. I find that I'm not working 8 hours straight everyday which is nice but I'm mentally tired some days, especially during close. The work is rewarding because although it is tedious work, seeing it all put together in the financial statements is exciting because I love strategy. I love business strategy a lot. Yes, I'm a nerd. I love Starcraft and Warhammer. I”
“It’s probably a combination of the things you list but also just the overall talent pool.”
“I’m an independent CPA with 25+ years of experience (public/private) who recently decided to venture out on my own. I’ve been in touch with a few large CPA firms attempting to get contract/support work but it has been largely inconsistent and a little frustrating. I know there is work out there and I may never get back to my former salary, but I would like to ask the community about resources for independent CPA’s to get contract work and/or methods for attracting clients. submitted by ”
“Would you have interest in a small niche tax/accounting firm? Basically has what ur looking for. The pay/wlb/growth opportunity. Depends what you're going for in life too I suppose.”
“So I am officially a bookkeeper at my work but I’m more of an AR/AP clerk because I’ve not done a bank reconciliation yet or closed the books. I’ve been here for a year and a half. It’s a small company of 5 employees. Im doing 45% accounting work and the rest of the time I’m doing warehouse work. Lately, for the past 3 weeks, it’s been incredibly slow. I don’t mind the warehouse except it kills time so I welcome it. But honestly I’d rather be in the office 100% of the time. Recently my boss told”
“I'm currently an entry-level tax associate at a midsize firm, and honestly, the burnout is real and the 'sink or swim' onboarding has made it clear this isn't sustainable for me. I'm planning my exit once I reach my one-year mark. Where can you pivot with an accounting degree that actually offers real training and decent work-life balance? Did you go corporate, internal audit, FP&A, or government? Would love any advice or honest takes on paths worth exploring. submi”
“I've been a senior consultant in public accounting for almost 8 years now. Life gets in the way of even so much as trying to level myself up here. I'm starting to think about my future more seriously and though I'm not even sure I really want to be an accounting because I found it so so sucking, any other career change seems daunting and like it'll end up not being the best move after I take into account finances. There's also a possibility I will be able to go do an MBA in E”
“I don't know anyone maxing more than 200k+ who isn't a partner or senior manager in public. Yes your are correct the ceiling is much higher but the trade offs are also better WLB. I also don't have my CPA so I would have capped my earnings if I stayed in public.”
“For those of you who are experienced tax managers and up, what are your utilization and realization targets? I recent had my annual performance review and was told my metrics are too low and I'm trying to figure out whether this is reasonable criticism or not. I was essentially told that a senior manager should have 80%+ utilization and have 90%+ realization. My knee jerk reaction was that these figures seemed outrageous, but maybe it's closer to the norm and I'm just uninformed. &#”
“Accounting can offer that, but it’s a brick by brick kind of job. There are so many reps you need before corporate accounting or public accounting “clicks”. Might be ten years in the industry before you leap to something that pays anything close to FA rates.”
“Title, I’m going to finish my CPA soon. It’s been really good knowing that something that I am doing really does pay dividends later. For those who have gotten their CPA done, what is something that you did after that accelerated your career heavily? Whether it's learning something like python or power query or even getting really good at quickbooks? submitted by /u/Fantastic_Log2011 [link] [comments]”
“It’s definitely been the smaller firm for me. Regarding wanting someone just for busy season, that’s understandable, but it would be great to communicate that clearly. Unfortunately they don’t.”
“The issue is partly who you are working for. Some just want a busy season body. Unless you are a star they just let you go. Who is hiring you? Big, mid or small firm. It may be worth looking at the firm you are going to for work.”
“lol my favorite part of being a type B accountant is people are always surprised to learn that I’m an accountant.”
“Looking to get some feedback on my resume. The idea is to target attributes that Tax/Accounting employers would look for. Obviously it’s just in my interpretation and due to the fact that I haven’t gotten many responses, it’s pretty poor. Sent out hundreds of applications and only received 3 interviews. submitted by /u/Intelligent_Sun_1759 [link] [comments]”
Interesting description! submitted by /u/dontwalkawaysir [link] [comments]
“I literally just showed up and did okay for 3 years and got instant credibility in return afterwards lol. It's not that bad of a deal. Would rather suffer for 3 than 8-5 as a senior for 15 years”
“Background - Currently work for city admin. Pay is very good ($150K). However, it requires weekly presentations to Boards & Council and direct questioning on every little choice you made. While I've gotten better over the years- (trial by fire) I've come to the point that I loathe coming to work on presentation/meeting days. I actually hate it and want to scream my head off in my car in the parking lot. Public speaking has never come naturally to me... I don't even like being the”
“Is anyone here in CAS? I am in my 50s and maybe I made too bold of a pivot - not sure if it's my age or this is just the nature of adapting to this kind of work. I was formerly in a senior leadership role in the finance dept for a mid sized not for profit organization working mostly in the office. I was offered a remote role at a boutique accounting firm as a senior accountant (I am not a CPA) overseeing about 11 clients. We have staff accountants who mostly handle the transaction level work”
“I graduated with a masters in accounting (tax) about 6 years ago and have worked in a small government office for about 5 years now. I would say I’m vastly underpaid ( around 60,000 per year currently) . CPA eligible but 0 sections of cpa passed. I’m working on far. Took cpa sections ( like aud and fat) but got in the 60s. I’ve applied to 100s if not over 1000 jobs at this point but still nothing. In both small towns and cities. I apply to government jobs as well as private sector jobs. Last yea”
“Get on linked in and contact graduates of your college that now work in an accounting firm.”
“Its kinda a gamble because you may deplete your savings and still struggle to find a job.”
Not crazy if his competition for high paying jobs have CPAs
“Good way to put it. Firms care more about if you can pass the CPA and put up with busy season than how old you are. Your tech background could be useful for audit too, lot of data work there”
“Hi all - I am thinking about a career change and trying to assess the environment and weigh my options. A little about me: I hold a Master's in Accounting, a MBA, and am a CPA. I started working for the IRS shortly after getting my undergrad and have remained there for more than two decades. I have been thinking about leaving the IRS and starting something small of my own. Although I worked at a firm while I was getting my undergrad, after so many years in the government I feel disconnected”
“Is it a lot of work to maintain? Just curious, I can't imagine letting it expire after working so hard to get it”
“I seem to recall that 1x annual revenue is on the high end for valuation of an average small CPA firm. But owner cash flow is a better metric and I wouldn’t go higher than 3x on that, which would be closer to $1,200,000 valuation here. There can also be contingent terms like client retention “bonuses” that would affect the sales price. Based on the limited info here, this is overpriced imo.”
“I completed my ACCA and got placed in a company where I worked directly with UK clients on a daily basis. Since there was no third-party involved, we communicated with clients directly through calls and emails and managed the work in our own way. My company is headquartered in the UK, which gave us an advantage in getting clients directly. After gaining experience there, I started freelancing because I saw a lot of potential in this field, and it also matched my qualification and expertise. Than”
“I’m just curious if people in this subreddit are CPAs or not. Obviously people who are students are not CPAs so including that so you all don’t feel left out. Then there’s people who are CPA eligible and are working full time to get the license, and people who have no intention to get licensed. View Poll submitted by /u/icantthinkofacreativ [link] [comments]”
“I live in the Lincolnshire area and there’s literally no entry level roles. I have applied for 9 roles within an hour commute and had 1 response. I have no hands on accounting experience so I don’t expect one however it feels impossible to get my foot in the door. Additionally, there are 0 apprenticeships within a 40 mile radius. I applied for 1 and was denied so I’m studying AAT level at college beginning next week. Can someone give me advice on what to do or should I just apply for anything I”
“Any good ideas when it comes to side work? Currently an Industry accountant with no rules when it comes to moonlighting. submitted by /u/PastorEdgar1 [link] [comments]”
Thanks, i was kind of wondering and put an open ended question to see.
“I'm in Canada, and I know the process of becoming a professional accountant in the U.S. is a bit different, but here's my story. I made a career change into accounting when I was just turning 30. I already had a degree, but I had never taken any business courses, including accounting, in my life. To get the prerequisite courses I needed to enter a professional accounting program, I enrolled in an intensive two-year program at a polytechnic. I busted my ass in that program, but I thorough”
“Taxation, Management Accounting, Assurance & Audit, Forensic accounting just to name a few. What kind of job do you currently have?”
“Thank you! Yes, this had been part of my thought process, as well. Even though I would be taking a pay cut now, my long-term earning potential would increase. Given my current profession, it should be clear that I am not exclusively money motivated, but it is of course a consideration.”
“Yes. I waited 15 years to even try for the program because I’m not like other accountants and this is a second career. I’ve always felt like an imposter around coworkers. Especially the CA’s.”
“Being at the 4, going on 5 year mark, PA firms would be looking at you in terms of the manager role, not a senior role. You would be incredibly hard pressed to find a firm taking on non-CPAs for a manager spot. It's also a little funny (and convenient) that after being let go three different times for performance, your reflection puts you as not the problem. Could it not also be that these firms hire you and just quickly realize something isn't up to their standard? Also, what's chan”
“There's gotta be something in it for you other than just the salary. If you're always doing 10, 11, 12 hour days, what's the end game for you? Did you get valuable experience getting ready to go public? Switching ERPs? Taking over financial reporting from someone? If you aren't getting something that will help you get paid more down the road, it's just sweatshop work, so yeah, find something better.”
“I’m noticing this trend of getting rid of FPA and making accountants manage FPA duties on top of all the shit that goes on with accounting and then understaffing to the core. This is in industry and working these jobs gives me flashbacks of working big 4. At least there were some down periods in big 4 after the big audit/tax whatever deadlines you had, and you could take long vacations etc. submitted by /u/FreeOGPoohShiesty [link] [comments]”
“4+ years in tax/accounting, working toward my CPA (REG passed, TCP done, FAR/AUD left). Over the last two years I've had three roles end — one after a solid ~20-month run, two more recent ones shorter (a few months each) — each time cited as "performance," even though I was never given any performance feedback during busy season itself and was never put on a performance improvement plan — just a straight layoff. Pattern I've noticed: all three were roles I started right before”
“I took this accounting job as a new grad for a small business like 8m revenues and I don’t think it’s even accounting. It’s more like full cycle bookkeeping and they pile everything onto me. There’s no accounting department so I’m expected to complete all the tasks basically except for invoice processing. It’s not bad but the only thing is they make me do purchasing and count inventory. Im not even paid extra for that responsibility. The inventory is really disorganized and I pissed off the pers”
“I know a cap that only works take season and makes like 120k and then just does random shit the rest of the year. He works a little hard now but I think to set that up he worked very, very hard.”
“I am looking for some advice because I honestly feel pretty stuck on what direction to take with my career. I am in my mid-30s, and lately I have been feeling old and like I am running out of time to make the right move. I know mid-30s is not really that old, but maybe this is just my early midlife crisis lol. Either way, it has been on my mind a lot lately. Right now I work in a government income tax audit position, and I have about three years of experience doing income tax audits. I also have”
“Ive been having no work to do since last week and kind of worried about my position as a second year staff in public accounting. Ive been reaching out for work but have been just billing admin for 8hrs and just studied and do some trainings. Is this a sign? My schedule is pretty much empty for the next couple months. Should i be worried about this? submitted by /u/Ok-Space439 [link] [comments]”