I Balance The Books, LLC

If you haven’t heard, Bench Accounting abruptly shut down last week leaving 12,000-plus U.S. based clients without a bookkeeper 4 days before the end of the year and a few months before the beginning of a new tax season. This news caught the small business world by surprise—and not in a good way. As someone who works closely with small business owners, I find the way this situation was handled deeply disappointing. For many business owners, bookkeeping is not just a task—it’s a lifeline. It’s the support they need to be able to focus on the core aspects of their business. It ensures cash flow clarity, compliance with tax regulations, and the ability to make informed decisions. To offer “support” by directing clients to a DIY accounting tool and suggesting they file a 6-month IRS extension to “…to find the right bookkeeping and tax partner…”, feels like a dismissal of the real challenges these businesses now face. Small business owners don’t hire bookkeeping services because they want to learn how to do it themselves. They hire experts because they don’t want to do the bookkeeping. So many people left scrambling without meaningful support or guidance. Not to mention the 600 or so Bench employees who find themselves looking for work right before the new year. This situation highlights an important lesson: when you choose a service provider, it’s not just about what they can do for you when things are going well—it’s about how they treat you when things go wrong. I hope the businesses affected find a solution that offers the level of care and professionalism every business owner deserves. And to service providers: let this be a reminder of how critical it is to honor your commitments to the people who trust you with their business. Were you caught off guard by the shutdown? What do you think about how Bench handled this situation? Drop a comment below or send me a message. #Bench #Benchaccounting #benchshutdown #bookkeeping

Do you sell gift cards or gift certificates to customers? 🌟Did you know that even though the customer may have given you $100 to add to the gift card, your business hasn’t earned the revenue yet? 🌟It’s now a liability to your business because you still haven’t provided the good or service to the recipient of the gift card. 🌟Sound confusing? Watch this short video for a quick primer on how to correctly account for gift card transactions. Got more bookkeeping questions? Book a Bookkeeping Office Hours session where you can ask questions like these and more! ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gADxAHMF #giftcards #bookkeeping #bookkeepingtips #virtualbookkeeper #entrepreneurlife #smallbusiness

Super excited to offer an opportunity for hard working independents to learn more about how an S-Corp can benefit your business. Special thanks to Gabrielle Tenaglia and the Lettuce Financial team for sharing their expertise with u! Join us on March 8 at 2 pm Eastern and please share with other indies! https://lnkd.in/eSDgHgq9

Hector Garcia is doing a series on his YouTube channel called Influential Conversations for Accountants. In part 1, he focuses on billing related communication issues and one of the questions is “How do you get the clients to pay you 100% upfront”? One suggestion from Hector(and something he says he has implemented at his firm) is to offer clients an unconditional money-back guarantee. If a client is unsatisfied with the work done, he’ll give them a refund. While money-back guarantees are commonplace in product and service industries, are they frequently offered in professional services like legal, accounting, marketing, or consulting? If not, should such businesses adopt refund policies? I’ll admit, the thought of including a money-back guarantee in the event a client is unsatisfied with some aspect of my bookkeeping services, is a scary idea. Partly, because it leaves the door open to clients who may try to use subjective measures to rate your performance to take advantage of the policy. My thoughts: 1. Always establish clear deliverables agreed upon by both parties before starting work. It’s imperative. The desired outcomes should be in writing and reviewed again during the client on-boarding process. 2. Echoing Hector, trust-building is fundamental to taking this approach. Cultivating a strong client relationship is key to comfortably offering such a guarantee. 3. The inherent risk is undeniable, as it's impossible to foresee whether clients will exploit the money-back option. 4. This policy may be more better suited for businesses with a healthy cash flow, minimizing the impact on profits if occasional refunds are necessary. 5. As the saying goes, “under-promise and over-deliver”. Never make promises to a client beyond your capabilities even when it’s tempting to do so. Focus on consistently exceeding expectations and providing exceptional value, to mitigate the likelihood of client dissatisfaction and to diminish the perceived risk of invoking the money-back guarantee. If your business doesn’t already offer some sort of service guarantee, is it something you see doing in the future? Influential Conversations for Accountants- Part 1 of 8 https://lnkd.in/dGwuh5z7 Hector Garcia, CPA https://lnkd.in/dtcmJhMV #moneybackguarantee #finances #bookkeepingtips #acccounting #cashflow #clientcommunication #clients #hectorgarciacpa

Should bookkeepers prepare 1099s for clients? If you're a bookkeeper, I'm sure you spent the last few weeks deep in 1099 territory. Chasing down missing W-9s, fielding last minute requests from clients, answering a variety of questions and checking(and re-checking) the IRS rules to make sure you're doing everything right. Preparing 1099s for clients can either be a walk in the park or a nightmare. Should bookkeepers be responsible for preparing this important tax form or should it lie solely at the feet of the client? Does the form require the expertise of a tax professional or CPA? My answer is a resounding...it depends. Check out my latest blog post to find out why I'm (somewhat) on the fence about this burning topic! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g75bdJGy #1099s #taxes #taxforms #bookkeepers #bookkeeping #cpa

I always learn something practical listening to Melina for myself and for my business!

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