Unlocking the Hidden Profitability in Your Business

Many freelance bookkeepers find that in order to increase their profitability they either have to raise rates with their existing clients or seek out new business. They then feel pressure because they have no idea how they are going to fit those new clients into an already jam packed schedule.

Already feeling overwhelmed and stressed, one client request when you are already up against the wall on a deadline for another client can make you feel completely out of control, more stressed and prone to mistakes. You find yourself working all of the time, sometimes feeling as if nothing is getting done and the fees you are being paid, well they just don’t measure up to the amount of effort being exerted.

When you feel as though your business has taken over, it’s hard to take a step back and look at it from a different vantage point. There is hidden profitability right now in your business, and with the clients you already have.

The key is to unlock that hidden profitability so that it serves you and your client without sacrificing quality is creating and implementing systems. Systems add structure to how you deliver your services and are the keys to consistent quality results for you and your client.

There are two reasons why you would want to create systems:

1) to stop the trap of recreating the wheel each and every time a task needs to be completed, and; 2) to ensure work is being done consistently and as you want, even if you are not the one doing the work.

A system lays out a plan so that every time you do that particular task, you don’t have to think, you simply follow the plan. Systems are important whether you are a solo-provider or have staff that provides the service along with you.

Here are nine systems you will want to create for your business that will unlock and keep more of your hidden profitability in your pocket.

• Service Offerings – define what items or tasks are included in your core service offerings. This eliminates the creation of custom packages.
• Client Schedule – identify a set schedule for performing all client work. Similar to the way in which a payroll company processes your payroll.
• Processing of Financial Transactions – define how each type of bookkeeping transaction is to be input, including the fields to be filled in to how the general ledger memo reads. This system is a key ingredient to unlocking profitability.
• Requesting Client Information – define what standard information is needed from your client on a regular basis. Provide them with that information to eliminate and reduce questions.
• Client Package – identify the contents of what is included in a standard client package that is returned to the client for weekly or month processing.
• Time Standards for Providing Services – define the average amount of time it takes to complete each group of bookkeeping tasks. Use this as the measurement against which work is performed. This system is a key ingredient to unlocking profitability.
• Status Reports – create a method or report that will allow you to easily know the status of each client account at a moment’s notice. These reports come in handy, especially when a client calls with a question.
• Responding to Messages (Phone & Email) – define and communicate to your client the best way to reach you and/or your staff and the timeframe within which they can expect a response.
• Communicating Client Co-Accountabilities – in every relationship there are actions that each party is responsible for. It is important for you to define and communicate what those expectations are to your client.

As freelance bookkeepers we are consumed with the details involved in keeping our client’s books and records accurate and up-to-date. Accounting, bookkeeping, and recordkeeping, is just one of those services that seem to never end – just like laundry. There is always more to do, which makes it so important to identify and define the processes (aka systems) that allow you to create a freelance practice that will support you body, mind and spirit.

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