Streamlining Success: How Bookkeepers Can Automate and Simplify with Dubsado

When it comes to building a profitable and time-rich bookkeeping practice, the systems behind the scenes make all the difference. In a recent conversation on The Strategic Bookkeeper Podcast, Jeannie Savage sat down with Beth Kocol, a systems and automation strategist and certified Dubsado specialist, to explore how smart workflows can reduce admin overload, enhance client experience, and give bookkeepers back their time.

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Beth runs Studio 320, where she helps service providers — especially bookkeepers — design automation that feels human. Her mission is simple: help you “get your brain out of your backend.” The episode uncovered five game-changing Dubsado workflows that every bookkeeper can implement to simplify operations and scale sustainably.

1. Turning Tech Chaos into Calm

Beth knows firsthand the chaos that comes with juggling clients, family, and endless admin. A mum of two boys, she built her business around bringing clarity and calm to the service-based world. She’s passionate about helping women in business find peace in their processes — and her preferred tool for doing that is Dubsado, an affordable, all-in-one client relationship management (CRM) platform designed for service-based professionals.

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Jeannie admitted she hadn’t fully explored Dubsado before working with international bookkeepers inside The Strategic Bookkeeper Transformation Program. But after seeing how it simplified workflows for bookkeepers across the US, Canada, and beyond, she quickly became a fan.Cost-effective and accessible, Dubsado empowers bookkeepers at every stage — from startups to those who are booked-but-broken — to organise leads, onboard clients beautifully, and automate repetitive admin.

2. Lead Capture That Doesn’t Let Opportunities Slip

The first workflow Beth recommends is a lead-capture system that converts. Many bookkeepers rely on social media DMs or email threads to track new enquiries, but those conversations easily get lost.With Dubsado, every potential client fills out a simple lead-capture form that asks the right qualifying questions — name, email, budget, goals, and needs. From there, automated workflows kick in: a thank-you message, an invitation to book a discovery call, or even a pre-call questionnaire

Jeannie highlighted how this small automation can bridge the gap between marketing and management. For startups, the form itself can double as a landing page — ideal for those who aren’t ready for a full website but still want to present professionally.

“It’s the perfect way to make sure every lead is nurtured, not forgotten,” Jeannie said.

3. Custom Proposals and Contracts — Without Losing the Personal Touch

Automation doesn’t have to feel robotic. Beth shared how bookkeepers can use Dubsado to generate customised proposals, contracts, and invoices in minutes — while still keeping things personal.Instead of juggling Google Docs, DocuSign, and manual QuickBooks or Xero invoices, Dubsado links them all together. A bookkeeper can update a few key details — scope of work, fee, and client name — and Dubsado instantly creates the proposal, syncs it to the contract, and generates the invoice.

Jeannie emphasised how much this improves both client experience and cash flow. “The onboarding experience is everything,” she said. “When a client’s first impression is seamless, it builds trust — and you get paid faster.”

Dubsado even allows bookkeepers to embed short intro videos within proposals, making it easy to add warmth and personality to the process.

4. Simplified Client Onboarding

Every bookkeeper knows that onboarding can be a bottleneck — chasing paperwork, access permissions, and missing documents. Beth has seen it all and designed workflows that remove the friction.

In Dubsado, once a client accepts a proposal, they’re automatically moved into an onboarding workflow:

• A welcome email with next steps

• Automated reminders for missing information

• Secure links for file uploads or portal access

• Scheduled check-ins or kick-off calls

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For those offering variable pricing or temporary retainers, Dubsado keeps communication clear. Bookkeepers can set introductory packages (e.g., “$300/month for the first 90 days, pending scope review”) and update them once full access to records reveals the true workload.

Jeannie pointed out that this helps bookkeepers manage expectations and reduce awkward pricing surprises. “Clarity upfront is one of the most powerful forms of client service,” she noted.

5. Automating Follow-Ups and Nurture

Beth’s final workflow focuses on long-term client relationships. Once the onboarding is complete, Dubsado can send automated check-ins, satisfaction surveys, or renewal prompts — helping bookkeepers stay top of mind without lifting a finger.These touchpoints can also deliver education and value assets, like “How to read your financial reports” guides or quarterly advisory reminders.

Jeannie loved this feature for its potential to strengthen client loyalty and free up time for higher-value advisory work — a cornerstone of her Strategic Bookkeeper Blueprint.

Why Dubsado Works So Well for Bookkeepers

Both Jeannie and Beth agree: successful bookkeeping practices are built on consistency, communication, and client care. Dubsado delivers on all three.

It allows bookkeepers to:

• Present like professionals from day one

• Automate repetitive admin without losing personality

• Improve client communication and response times

• Track leads and jobs visually through every stage

• Integrate with tools like Zapier and existing accounting software

And at a fraction of the cost of enterprise CRMs, it’s an attainable investment for any practice.

Beth describes it as “your digital operations assistant” — the silent team member that never forgets a task, never sleeps, and never complains.

The Real Transformation

Throughout their chat, what stood out most was the synergy between Beth’s system-building philosophy and Jeannie’s mission to help bookkeepers build profitable, lifestyle-friendly practices.As Jeannie put it, “A well-built system doesn’t just save you time — it gives you peace of mind. When your processes are organised, you can focus on your clients, your family, and your life.

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Beth’s frameworks complement Jeannie’s Bookkeeping Practice Blueprint, showing how automation and human connection can coexist beautifully. Together, they represent the future of bookkeeping — smarter, simpler, and more strategic.

The takeaway from Jeannie’s conversation with Beth Kocol is clear: automation is not about removing the human touch — it’s about freeing humans to do their best work.

With Intuit QuickBooks, Zapier, and now Dubsado playing pivotal roles in modern bookkeeping ecosystems, there’s never been a better time for bookkeepers to level up their systems.

If you’re ready to move from busy and overwhelmed to streamlined and profitable, tools like Dubsado can help you get there — one smart workflow at a time.

With love and strategy,

Jeannie Savage

Listen in to Episode 129 here:

📍 Spotify

📍 Apple Podcast

📍 YouTube

👉 Want to go deeper? Join me inside The Strategic Bookkeeper Transformation Program, where we bring these 10 factors to life with coaching, community, and done-for-you assets to help you fast-track your results.

If you’re ready to create the same clarity, profit, and freedom in your own practice, The Blueprint Path Workshop is where to start.

It’s a 5-part live series kicking off on Monday, 3 November 2025, where I’ll guide you through the same framework that helped Michelle rebuild her practice — one that supports her life, not the other way around.

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