When I decided to start my own bookkeeping business, I needed a name. There’s a lot in a name. In its most basic sense, this is the simplest way that a business can identify itself. Numbers are something that can make some people uneasy. Since numbers do not intimidate me, I wanted to help businesspeople see the clarity in their numbers. I also wanted there to be clarity in what I do and how I do it.
In Evolved Enterprise Yanik Silver talks a little about ways that businesses can differentiate themselves from others. That got me to thinking about ways that Clarity Finances can stand out in the world of bookkeeping businesses.
One way that I think a business can stand out is honesty. Part of honesty in the world of business is transparency and I wanted to take the opportunity to give an inside look into the world of Clarity Finances.
What many people might not take as too much of a surprise nowadays is the use of automation in bookkeeping. Electronic payment processing, bank downloads and software that scans and inputs invoices have all sped up the data entry process. With so much of business happening online, it makes sense that bookkeeping could also be done off-site or virtually. As a virtual bookkeeper a lot of what I do is help business owners make sense of the automation and the information it generates. Sometimes automation simply enables wrong information to be gathered more quickly. I try to help my clients avoid that frustration.
When your numbers are in the hands of Clarity Finances, accuracy is of the utmost importance. Bookkeeping is not just keeping track of receipts. After the data is entered, whether via automation or the old school manual method, the information must be reconciled against monthly bank and credit card statements. Financial reports including the Profit & Loss and Balance Sheet need to be reviewed.
I like to do a monthly check in call with each client that I have. During roughly thirty minutes we review the numbers from the business. I ask the business owner if the numbers look like what was expected and if all the information is included in a format that makes sense. I want my clients to have a clear understanding of their numbers—to be confident in the information in the financial statements.
All of these things that are a part of my process boils down to clarity; honesty, avoiding frustration, making sense of numbers and treating each client uniquely. So a business can stand out with a good name but what really matters in my opinion is if the business lives up to that name.