What Services to Offer As A New Bookkeeper
What I have seen through my years as a Bookkeeping Mentor: someone decides to start a bookkeeping business and immediately panics about what to offer. Payroll? Job costing? CFO services? Inventory management? And suddenly, they feel like they need to do all of it to be a "real" bookkeeper.
Then they start losing confidence. They undercharge because they're unsure. They end up with a chaotic client list that doesn't fit the lifestyle they were looking for.
Start Simple: Here's what you actually need to offer to get your first clients:
1. Bank feed categorization and/or transaction review. Don't feel like you have to be the one adding transactions. Some clients want to add their own and just need monthly oversight. Those are great starter clients.
2. Monthly balance sheet reconciliations. You should reconcile every balance sheet item for every client every month. This is non-negotiable.
3. Basic P&L and Balance Sheet reports. Play around with other reports in QBO. Add reports to the client package that benefit them. Don't ask "what reports do you want?" because they probably don't know. Instead, say "I've included an Income by Customer report so you can track which clients are most profitable." Your client will be wowed.
4. Month-end close support. QBO has the Books review feature - Use it each month.
5. Monthly virtual meetings with the client (first 6 months). Discuss reports. Answer questions. Prove you're a human being who cares. Clients are less likely to leave when they're talking to a real person.
That's it. That's a full starter package. If you can do those five things consistently and accurately, you have a real business.
Who You Take Matters More Than What You Offer
Not all clients are created equal. The wrong client at the wrong stage of your business will eat your time, your confidence, and your evenings.
Service-based businesses are the sweet spot: consultants, coaches, photographers, marketing agencies, independent contractors. Here's why:
- They don't have inventory
- Their transactions are manageable (money in, money out)
- They often use Stripe, PayPal, Venmo or other merchant accounts (easy to work with)
- They need your help, but don't need payroll processed on Friday at 4:59 PM
- They genuinely appreciate someone who listens to them and supports them.
My cohost Ashley built her entire practice on service-based businesses. "I cannot tell you how much that has protected my sanity," she said. "I don't have clients calling in a panic over missing payroll or missing sales tax deadlines."
Who to Avoid (For Now)
Restaurants and food & beverage, fast-moving, tips, gift cards, sales tax, liquor tax, POS systems, multiple cash drawers. It's a lot. And if you've never done it, the learning curve is steep and painful.
Retail with inventory. QBO's inventory management has real limitations. Only take retail if they have a full POS system that handles inventory. Let the POS do the heavy lifting.
Construction and contractors with job costing. Job costing and WIP have their own skill set. Come back to this once you're solid.
Clients who run weekly or bi-weekly payroll in-house and want you to do it. If you want to offer payroll, get trained on it first. Know QBO Payroll, Gusto, or whatever platform you choose. Set clear boundaries regarding deadline changes. Price it to account for the time and liability it carries.
If you're not ready? That's completely valid. Refer it out or train the client to do it themselves. There's no shame in knowing your current lane.
The Bottom Line? Start simple. Do five things really well. Choose the right clients. Grow from there.
The bookkeepers who thrive aren't trying to be everything to everyone. They're experts at a focused set of services, serving clients who actually appreciate what they do.
That's how you build a sustainable, profitable business.
Check out my podcast on what to avoid:
