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)
“Hi everyone, I’m looking for some career advice and hoping to hear from people who’ve been in a similar situation. I’m 34F and currently work as an accountant at a small company. Before this, I spent over 10 years as an Accounting Manager at another…”
“I have been slowly working on my accounting degree. I’m almost 30 and my only experience is in customer service or retail. I got a job as a clerk doing AP and AR at a car dealership which I’m grateful for because it took me 7 months to find a job even remotely relevant to what I’m studying. I don’t mind the job so far, but I’ve been consistently getting trained to do harder and harder tasks that weren’t really part of the job description. The car industry seems somewhat niche in the accounting w”
“So I am trying to make the move from Staff Accountant to Senior Accountant. I have 3 years experience as an accounting clerk after I graduated college and after that I have 7 years experience as a staff accountant. I have applied to a few jobs but I have only gotten one interview so far. I’m not sure what I should do to land more interviews to get a senior position submitted by /u/Sweaty_Coconut_3238 [link] [comments]”
“Can you all give me some of your quantifiable accomplishments that you would include on a resume? I have 20+ years of controller-level accounting experience and just can't seem to put anything into those terms. Need to kickstart my thinking process here. submitted by /u/OddElderberry4922 [link] [comments]”
“I’m in my first accounting job and looking to make a move. Through reading various job descriptions I’ve had times where I was turned off because the job description lists some specific tax forms or whatever that want people to have experience in. Specific example is a description listing having experience with ASC 740 and forms 8858 and 8865. At my time at PwC I’ve had experience with them a few times but not really that well versed. Just wondering how you guys go about this, is it kinda like a”
“Senior accountant here, I love my job, and I love the life it provides for me. Something to keep in mind, the people that are unhappy and complain are the ones that go online to rant, people who are happy typically dont do that. That's one reason youre likely to find more negativity online that positive experiences. In short people love to complain and rant. Hope that helps.”
“I’m not sure where to even start but I feel like I age ten done anything in the last ten years. Currently do Canada payroll (live in USA and hate payroll) and have been doing it for a little over a year now. I was doing shared services before for 3-4 years with the same company and did benefits and union work. I get paid 60k and am a single parent in a hcol area and can’t move out of state. Other parent won’t allow. I don’t think I can do temp work because I need to make sure I can support my to”
“The places that have the proper processes in place are in a good place and don't need to hire. The places without the proper processes aren't in a good place and need to hire.”
“So I work in a significant office within state government. My office probably has ~150 employees all told. The head-honcho is a CPA by trade. For the purposes of this story, we’ll call the CPA Sam. Sam does some accounting work, but Sam’s job is not accountant. Nor is the function of our office accounting. Everyone has varying roles. I do not know how to deal with Sam. In some areas of work, Sam is more than OK with delegation and autonomy. In others, Sam is a dictator. It always surprises me ho”
“I'm interested to hear if anyone else has experienced this. I started working in accounting in 2014 and, before registering with ACCA in late 2022, I had already completed FETAC Level 5 in Bookkeeping & Payroll, a Diploma in Accounting & Finance, become ATI qualified, and built around eight years of accounting experience. I'm now an ACCA finalist with 12 years' experience. Throughout that time, I've often found myself doing work that would normally be expected of”
“I recently started my own accounting firm. I have enough clients to keep me going, but I'm looking to grow. I thought I would get some advise from a few more experienced people than me. What are some of the worst traits in the industry? (E.g. Accounting firms are over worked) What do you do to make sure that you don't become guilty of it as well? submitted by /u/AndyUrq [link] [comments]”
“Yeah it can. Just don't come across as a sales pitch. Let them know you'd love to connect and leave it at that, you can talk busines more when you actually meet. Even then don't make the coffee date all about providing services. Take this time to get to know them and let them get to know you. Getting them to refer a client to you or offer other opportunities will only come if they know, like, and trust you. Treat networking events the same as emails. Its your chance to start that con”
“Oh gosh you sound so well versed in what we need. PTET has been hard to find someone specialized in. We are even open to restructuring some things, but just need someone competent. You’re spot on about needing a team. We actually had an issue knowing something was wrong with our taxes, but the CPA doing our taxes was on vacation. By the time she was back, they insisted everything was fine… but it wasn’t. We aren’t being well served but any rec we’ve gotten with great reviews isn’t well-versed in”
“That’s somewhat plausible in industry as a base. I’ve seen 15 - 25 YOE CPAs making $110-125K base. But oil and gas is deceiving because underneath that could be a 40% bonus (cash & equity) and a 12% 401K/pension. Pretty much all O&G jobs are MCOL/LCOLs too.”
“I switched into accounting for the stability, but the pay is too low to justify staying long-term. I want to pivot to a different career path where I can leverage my accounting background for a pay increase without needing a CPA or other major certifications. I know CPA’s with 20+ years of experience pulling no more than $110k. Don’t get me wrong $110k is great money but many other jobs can pay this/even more?. Anyone else in the same boat? submitted by /u/Fluffy-Cod9103 [link]”
“Hi all, I need your advice for my upcoming interview. I've been with a firm for three months. I really enjoy the challenging work and the great environment. However, my firm doesn't have a CPA on staff. My long-term goal is to get my own license and I have a requirement to work under a CPA for a few years. I was applying passively and selectively targeting jobs with CPA management. I recently received an interview offer from an organization where the director is a CPA. It's a great o”
“You really should work for a tax preparation firm for a few years before taking on clients solo. You'll want a place where you'll be able to work on 1120, 1120-s and 1065 returns. As it sounds like you want to focus on business. Preferably a place which is more full service. To get used to quarterly filings, k-1, 1099, sales tax and so forth. Depending on how full service you want your shop to be. The only way to get around that is if you have the money to buy an established practice wit”
“Honestly? Practice, practice, practice. Go to networking events and attend public speaking classes like Toastmasters. Learn presentation skills and how to "work a room" as they say. Learn skills on how to talk to people and be genuine. Learn to listen and all that fun stuff. Build those people skills and how to build relationships and it will help you with business connections beyond any piece of paper can.”
“What’s the best way to go about this? I would like to do it without being awkward or weird!”
“I just wanna do tax work during tax season and travel in the off season and do stuff thats fulfilling to me”
“Background: about 6-7 years total in accounting, currently a Senior Accountant, roughly 2 years in this specific role. This is my 3rd company in 4 years. Trying to break into Manager/Asst Controller, but it’s not opening up where I am. Options I’m weighing: Stay and hope a manager slot opens eventually . Already spoken with my boss and it doesn’t seem like there’s any opening or possible promotion anytime soon. Move to another senior role elsewhere for a pay bump, aiming for manager in a couple”
“I’m finding myself in an interesting situation and wanted to make a post looking for some advice. After quite a few years with the same company I started putting my resume out and immediately landed multiple interviews and two offers. Both fairly similar situations. Current income as a commission based sales position. 99k base salary with an additional up to 50k in commission. Company benefits equal an additional say 17k in value I was offered a position to relocate to New York City for a substa”
“Looking for some advice from anyone in the field who has wondered the same thing. Some backstory: I'm in Canada and have been working in accounting for approximately 16 years (mostly industry). I have been in and out of the program dating back to when it was 3 different bodies (CGA, CMA and CA). I was in the CGA program and withdrew just before PA1, then enrolled in the CPA program (fortunately the credits I had from the CGA skipped me directly to Core 1 and I've completed the program up”
“I work for a top 10 public firm in Tax and have been for 1.5 years since graduating with my MAc. In the last month we have had 3 Associates/Seniors leave for better jobs, and it has really got me thinking when I want to jump ship. Currently I REG and TCP passed and plan to have AUD and FAR before EOY. I want to get those passed before I leave, and might consider trying the CMA if my firm pays for it. Along with seeing people leave, I have gotten a bit fed up as I work a lot of extra amount, usua”
“US (easier said than done of course), or OP's example. Alternatively, many start or become partners of businesses, whether accounting firm or something unrelated. Common risk taker path to break income ceiling. I am not sure how much of that sample shows in wage reports. Then there's others like us who have not done that yet but are here because of family, happened to start their lives here before accounting (e.g. born in prairies), etc... Pre-2015, if you were ambitious, sometimes you c”
“I’m a CPA in my 30s and lately I’ve been questioning where I stand in this profession. I recently resigned from an SA role because I couldn’t keep up with the workload and the complexity. I tried, but at some point I had to admit to myself that I just wasn’t performing the way I should. Ever since then, I keep comparing myself to people from my batch, or even people younger than me, who are already managers or department heads. I can’t help but think maybe they’re just wired differently. They se”
“I don't do audits, but yes they will refer: Tax work (if they don't do tax) Complex tax work or novel tax issues (if they only do simple returns) IRS issues (if they aren't an EA or CPA and don't have full representation rights before the IRS) In return, I refer bookkeeping work. Having a good bookkeeper/CPA team is a great relationship because it benefits both parties a lot. The bookkeeper is happy because their client gets their return filed accurately and has an expert they ca”
“I started at like 45K 7 years ago. I have my CPA now and I make 82.5 I could do more but I choose to have free time”
“Ask the average turnover. I temped at a CPA firm about eight years ago that had such high turnover that when I asked who did the return the year before, who did the extension the year before, and who did the current year extension I found out that was three different people and they had all left the firm over the past year. Ask if your tax returns would be assigned to the same person each year. There is a learning curve to understand a client. If a new person has to review the previous file each”
“I’m looking for some career advice from people who have built a tax practice. A little about me: - I work full-time as an Accounting Manager for a local government agency. - I’ve passed REG section of the CPA exam and am working toward other 3. - My long-term goal is to start a small tax preparation/bookkeeping business as a side business while keeping my full-time job. - The problem is that although I have a strong accounting background, I don’t have hands-on experience preparing individual or”
“Is there any benefit to having both CPA & EA, particularly from a client or hiring manager perspective? submitted by /u/Spiritual-Beyond-660 [link] [comments]”
“Hey, this may be wordy and heavy but if you could take the time to read it and give me some feedback, I'd really appreciate it. 25 (M).In public accounting. It's been a little over a year since I graduated with my bachelor's in accounting. I was able to land an internship that turned into a tax associate position. Something I've struggled with is asking questions, communicating, and honestly just socializing. I tend to fear what people will think of me if I don't understand s”
“With a public accounting firm there’s already a built out recruitment/training machine so the pipeline of staff with necessary skills will always be there to reliably serve your clients. When you open up your own firm, you have to pour so much time, money and energy into recruiting/training PLUS retention. Losing talent at small firms is a sharp kick to the nuts/ovaries. Bigger firms aren’t nearly as worried about retention and actually need a certain number of people to leave every year.”
“Dude, i've been looking for that ever since I was a baby accountant! Niiiiiice.”
“As soon as you get your degree ask for a raise or leave the company and get paid. I had the same issue with the firm I was at. Doing all the same work as my tax associate counterparts but paid 1/2 as much because I didn’t have a degree. I left and make as much as them now. Just tough it out if you can while getting your degree (if it pays enough) and get all the experience you can. It will pay off in the end. I work as a staff accountant in real estate now too (graduated this year) and am so hap”
“As others have said it's mostly the people you work with that make you love or hate the job. Accounting itself isn't something people generally love, it's more just a simple stable career since every company needs it. You can get some more satisfaction if you really enjoy improving processes/finding better ways to do things, but again your ability to do that depends on your role and the agency that your specific company affords you.”
“I am a CPA and I’ve been unemployed for over a half year. Market is brutal now.”
“We did this up until last year. I found a lady who worked 4-10s for a private company and had her cpa. I would send her work Thursdays and she’d return it all done by Sunday night. Worked like a dream. She retired from her day job and started her own small firm now though.”
“Any success stores? How did you start? How did you learn? What CPE made you better? Can you do it as a side business with a remote main job? Main expenses? How long it took you to breakeven? How long it took you to hire someone? Did you have a physical location or was your firm all virtual? submitted by /u/Elite_1988 [link] [comments]”
“look into fractional cfo work. you can partner w/ firms who specialize in your industry. for instance, i know of one out of NYC that works w/ CPG clients who need fin reporting/backoffice support. use google and ai to find a list of relevant firms you could contact. downside is that the placement firm takes about a 30% cut for essentially making the introduction. you are primary contact for any and all responsibilities covered under the engagement agreement. majority of the agreements i've h”
“You need to understand what the real problem is: are you under paid or do you spend too much? You cannot and should not have a second job. Being a CPA is already two jobs.”
“I have one. I retired from IRS (Enrolled Agent now) and my buddy’s wife is a CPA. She hired me and I work from home. It was very close to full time until a couple weeks after 4/15 but am currently working 15-20 hours per week. It’s great!! I would reach out to some CPAs in your area.”
“Lots of CPA firms use contractors during busy season. Check with mid-size firms in your area.”
“CPA working full-time in public accounting. I’m looking for a side hustle and was wondering if firms actually hire experienced tax people for flexible, part-time tax prep work (nights/weekends, 5–15 hours a week). I know I’m probably overqualified for a prep-only role, but I’m really just looking for extra income. Not interested in building my own client base. Do these jobs actually exist? If you’ve done it, where did you find it? submitted by /u/Jimmer2732 [link] [comments]”
“CPA working full-time in public accounting. I’m looking for a side hustle and was wondering if firms actually hire experienced tax people for flexible, part-time tax prep work (nights/weekends, 5–15 hours a week). I know I’m probably overqualified for a prep-only role, but I’m really just looking for extra income. Not interested in building my own client base. Do these jobs actually exist? If you’ve done it, where did you find it? submitted by /u/Jimmer2732 [link] [comments]”
“Hello everyone just wanted to check in again about how the Accounting industry is going. Any updates about the impact of AI, job market dynamics, firms, etc. Anything helps submitted by /u/No_Rain_6604 [link] [comments]”
“I started in public for the experience and I expected to leave after a few years. Well now 7 years have passed and I somehow slithered into a remote audit manager role, even though audit kind of sucks ass. My biggest gripe is that I want to actually make decisions and be part of a team that impacts company direction, rather than be the guy that shows up, pisses the client off, and says, "see you next year when I come to clean up your mess again." I don't want 7 more years to slip b”
“I see the complaint all the time on here that experienced CPAs can’t get a second interview, etc. Something people don’t talk about enough is that many of us in accounting are naturally introverted and have a high IQ but low EQ. People spend more time with coworkers than their family, and people naturally want to be around people they like and feel comfortable around. I think many accountants would do well to work on this, because their struggles are not computing with their credentials. Food fo”