Have you ever wondered why one bookkeeper can charge twice as much as another and still have clients lining up to work with them? Or perhaps you've experienced something even more frustrating. You've spent time with a prospective client, carefully understood their requirements and prepared a thoughtful proposal, only to be told that your fees are too expensive. Yet somehow, that same business owner goes on to engage someone else who charges even more. It doesn't seem to make

One of the interesting things about being a bookkeeper is that we spend so much of our working lives looking at other people’s businesses. We notice things. We see when labour costs are creeping up, when cash flow is getting tight, when pricing hasn’t kept pace with delivery, or when a business owner is making decisions that the numbers are not really supporting. Often, we can see those things quite clearly because we are standing slightly outside the business and looking in.

A few years ago, I was speaking at Xerocon in Brisbane about advisory and automation. At one point, I asked the bookkeepers in the room to put their hands up if they were actively selling and delivering advisory services. Hardly anyone did. I remember looking across the room and thinking how interesting that was. Here was a room full of capable, experienced bookkeepers who were already incredibly close to their clients’ businesses. They understood the numbers, they saw when c

One of the most frustrating things about running a bookkeeping practice is that being good at what you do does not automatically mean clients will find you, understand your value, or choose you. I have met so many bookkeepers over the years who are genuinely excellent at the work. They are experienced, accurate, committed to their clients and often doing far more than the client even realises. They are the person quietly making sure payroll goes out, the BAS is right, the acc

Not long ago, I was running a workshop when a bookkeeper put her hand up and asked me a question I suspect a lot of people in our industry are quietly asking. “What do you think is going to happen to bookkeepers because of AI?” It was a fair question. There is a lot of fear around at the moment, not just in bookkeeping but everywhere. AI is moving quickly, technology is changing quickly, the world itself feels a little less predictable than it once did, and every second headl

There’s a funny thing that happens when you start a bookkeeping practice. In the beginning, you just want clients. One client feels exciting, then another comes along, someone refers you to someone else, and before you know it your name is circulating and your diary is filling up. Suddenly, you have a real business on your hands. And for a while, being busy feels wonderful. It feels like proof you made the right decision, proof that people want what you do, proof that the bus

The world has changed. Has your pricing? There comes a point where working harder is no longer the answer. Most bookkeepers do not start a practice because they want to become overworked and underpaid. They start because they want flexibility, meaningful work and the freedom to build a life on their own terms. Perhaps it is more time with family. Perhaps it is the opportunity to leave a corporate job. Perhaps it is simply the desire to build something of their own. Yet somewh

Most bookkeeping practices do not become overwhelming overnight. It happens gradually. You take on another client because the work is there. You say yes to an extra request because it feels easier than having a difficult conversation. You bring in help, add another system and keep moving, believing that the next stage of growth will create the breathing room you have been working towards. That was certainly how my own practice developed. When I started in 2009, I believed suc