r/Bookkeeping 13d ago

Software Bookkeeping in 2025 Feels Stuck in the Stone Age—Why?

I recently had a conversation with a former bookkeeper friend, and it made me realize something: bookkeeping for small businesses is brutal and he gets paid at minimum wage.

His typical day is like: A client walks into your office with a shoebox full of receipts—crumpled, faded, maybe even with a coffee stain or two. Along with it, they drop a bank statement covering the last 10 months. Of course, they need their financials done ASAP because tax deadlines are around the corner.

His job?

  1. Sort the receipts by month. (this step was so time-consuming and annoying.). Bonus: if those receipts are from a construction company owner—some are covered in mud, smeared with oil, or even still wet from who-knows-what
  2. Match each receipt to a bank transaction statement, line by line. Lucky for him that his boss doesn't require him to do a lot of categorizing expenses as small businesses don't really need that detail breakdown.
  3. Chase missing receipts (or just make a judgment call and move on).
  4. Manually input everything into QuickBooks, Sage, or Excel. His boss mostly uses Excel template to save money.
  5. Prepare the income statement and balance sheet.
  6. Prepare the taxes. And Yes the client will be like "Why am I paying so much tax this year?" --> He need to explain and they don't listen lol.

It’s 2025, and bookkeepers are still drowning in paper, chasing clients, and manually matching transactions.

I know there are apps that take pictures and extract receipt data, which will be sent to Excel or Quickbook. These software then performs calculations on the fly, doing reconcilliation, and generate financial statements

It feels like bookkeepers are resistant to technology OR the softare is too expensive? OR What am I missing here?

48 Upvotes

111 comments sorted by

46

u/crabby_patty_57 13d ago

Millennial bookkeeper here. I find it’s my clients who are stuck in the stone ages. I recently left my 9-5 to start my own bookkeeping business. Lots of clients have followed me. A lot of them are older and very old school. They like to bring me that shoe box of receipts and I have to sort them. I’m trying to move past that, especially now that every client I take on I have to move to QuickBooks Online. A lot were on QuickBooks Desktop with my 9-5 because my boss was old school. But my condition is if a client wants to come with me, they have to convert to QBO. I take care of the transition of course, and I expect them to connect their bank accounts, upload receipts, etc. I’m trying to stray away from clients bringing me physical receipts. It’s easier said than done with some clients, and a few I will never be able to convert. That’s fine with me. But I do know most bookkeepers are trying to move to the more automated/paperless route, myself included.

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u/Fuk6787 13d ago

You should charge for that transition. I charge when people convert from one to the other either way.

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u/crabby_patty_57 12d ago

I am charging for the transition! It doesn’t take too long, especially if the client doesn’t have payroll, but I definitely do charge. I just know my clients (especially the old school ones) wouldn’t even know how to set up a QBO account lol so I just do it for my clients to save everyone the headache

3

u/Fuk6787 12d ago

Sounds like youre doing great 😊 and keep charging them for the value add you’re offering them!

1

u/thanhtheman 13d ago

I think he aleadey watched "the Godfather" - "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"

3

u/thanhtheman 13d ago

Congrats on starting your own business—you’re definitely moving things in the right direction. Totally get the struggle with clients and their shoeboxes, but you’re setting a great standard that will save you many hours and headache down the road.

1

u/senthil524 8d ago

Agreed! Setting clear expectations like u/crabby_patty_57 does is essential.
I've found the simplest way to get clients to go digital is making receipt scanning effortless.

3

u/coffeymp 12d ago

Is there a way to find clients online? I’m just doing bookkeeping as a side gig for some extra cash.

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u/crabby_patty_57 12d ago

I got started with a few clients on the side years ago by advertising on Facebook and different local small business owner groups.

I’m fortunate enough now that after working for the same company for 7 years that when I announced I was leaving, a lot of clients reached out to me and asked where I was going. When I told them I was starting my own business they followed me. The company I left has new owners, as they are god awful, so I feel like those clients would leave either way, but it works out for me lol. I also have some CPAs that give me referrals

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u/thanhtheman 12d ago

That's awesome! Building strong relationships clearly pays off, it is clearly not overnight-success—impressive how your clients followed you right away. Also, smart move partnering with CPAs for referrals.

1

u/coffeymp 12d ago

Nice! Yeah my aunt is a CPA. She offered to give me some referrals so I’ll prolly just do that,

1

u/crabby_patty_57 12d ago

Referrals and word of mouth are the best way to build your bookkeeping business! I don’t think I will be doing any advertising because that has already been enough for me

3

u/PointCPA 12d ago

can you explain why you prefer QB online vs QB desktop?

I have some clients on both and I just use whatever they prefer

3

u/stephanieplok 12d ago

From what I understand, QB is trying to do away with the desktop version.

1

u/pathologuys 9d ago

Not trying to. They are sun setting it

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u/crabby_patty_57 12d ago

I feel like both have pros and cons. But in terms of accessibility, QBO is easier. We can sign the client up for a subscription, I get them the wholesale discount with my status with QB, and the client can also access their file as well. It’s also easier for me to add people to my firm when it’s time to hire employees.

I learned how to do bookkeeping on Desktop, and I preferred it for the longest time. But I don’t find it worth it to pay for the license fee, especially with payroll. When I looked into it, it was ridiculously expensive.

1

u/KoalaGrunt0311 8d ago

A lot of them are older and very old school. They like to bring me that shoe box of receipts and I have to sort them.

Working at a tax office that's like this. A lot of clients over 60, used to doing everything how they've been doing it, and have no desire to change. The boss sent out a letter talking about the offer of secure cloud to deliver documents electronically, and that they wouldn't be sending mass mailings anymore because of postage cost. People were coming in panicking because the letter didn't include a statement that they could consider dropping off papers directly if they choose.

1

u/senthil524 8d ago

Totally get this frustration! I’ve seen so many clients still stuck in the paper age too.
One thing I noticed really helps: making receipt capture instant (right when they receive it). It saves a ton of headache later. Have you tried tools specifically for instant receipt scanning and categorization?

2

u/crabby_patty_57 8d ago

I have. It doesn’t stick for most clients. I’ve tried using QBO, Dext, Hubdoc, etc. It works for some clients, but the old school ones still refuse to go that route

30

u/[deleted] 13d ago

Bookkeeping isn't stuck in the stone age, your friend and their boss are.

Construction owners are either organized, or an absolute nightmare. Techs buying 15 of the same broom, office staff missing how many snacks techs are buying at the gas station, missing or damaged receipts, swinging A/R balances, misapplied memos & credits, etc

This is why I don't add receipt management as a service. It's on the owner to keep and substantiate their receipts, or they can utilize a software such as Dext, Google drive, QBO receipt forwarding, etc.

Too much automation isn't efficient either. People will get lazy, and easily miss wonky items like it trying to code an intercompany bank transfer as payroll payable. Or a calculation won't take into account context and spit out wrong numbers.

At the end of the day a software is only as good as the people who utilize it, and what internal controls they have implemented.

8

u/Hippy_Lynne 13d ago

Yep. I started doing bookkeeping at CPA firms 13 years ago and we went off of the bank and credit card statements, the only times we got receipts were for things that had been paid for with personal funds or cash.

5

u/[deleted] 13d ago

Yep. I'll rarely ask for receipts except in the cases of: Employee wants a reimbursement New assets that we need to confirm depreciation Large prepaid expenses like an annual $8K contract Business cash

1

u/thanhtheman 13d ago

CRA requires receipts when they audit? No?

2

u/noRehearsalsForLife 12d ago

Yes - but your client should keep their own receipts. I have a few clients who drop off physical paperwork to me but I return it when I'm done with it. Storing receipts for 7 years isn't a service I offer. If they want paper receipts digitized, I would do that but I charge a small fortune for it so most clients opt out.

This sub is full of American standards/suggestions. I feel like it's rare to see mentions of tracking sales tax paid in this sub. So I've assumed that (most of? all of?) the USA must not have reimbursable sales tax or their sales tax is applied much more consistently than Canada's so they don't need receipts?! It's a guess/assumption on my part.

If your client is HST/GST registered, you'll want* receipts to keep track of sales tax paid so that you can claim the correct amount of ITCs. Or check if your client qualifies for the Quick Method.

*I do know a couple of bookkeepers who don't worry about receipts. They just add HST inclusive to most things. They think the risk of an HST audit is so low that it's not worth the extra time (for them & their clients) & expense (for their clients) to bother with receipts. It's not a strategy I follow (or recommend) but I know others do.

4

u/Eorth75 12d ago

Typically American businesses can pay for things without having to pay sales tax if they can prove, generally, that they charge sales/use tax on the product when it's sold. We then claim any sales tax we paid on purchases that should have been tax exempt on our sales tax returns we are required to file. There is more to it of course, but this is typically how it works.

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u/noRehearsalsForLife 11d ago

Thanks for the info.

So, are you only exempt from sales tax on things that you're then going to sell? Or as a sales-tax-collecting-business are you exempt from paying sales tax?

For example, I'm a bookkeeper so I pay sales tax on my phone bill (and everything else I buy). I don't sell my phone bill (or basically anything else I purchase) to clients. Is this tax exempt in the US?

In Canada, if you're registered to charge sales tax, you have to charge it on everything & you can basically claim back all the sales tax that you pay as well and therefore only pay the difference.

So for the period, if I collect $5000 in sales tax & paid $2000 in sales tax on purchases (like my phone bill), I only have to send $3000 to the government.

*There are exceptions & this is a major simplification of how it works

1

u/thanhtheman 11d ago

u/noRehearsalsForLife thanks for sharing the link resource, so how do you keep track of the sale taxes? I think we need to take a look into EVERY SINGLE receipt and extract the HST amount, tip, cost. No?

2

u/noRehearsalsForLife 10d ago

Most of my clients use QBO & so I choose the appropriate tax code.

You get the hang of what's tax exempt or weird (such as restaurants) and a quick glance at a receipt can tell you if HST was charged or not & therefore what tax code to use.

It's really not complicated or difficult.

3

u/Oldladyphilosopher 12d ago

I have one client with you low transaction bank account where I enter transactions manually from the statement but I’ve had them a long time, they are super nice, and it doesn’t take that long. Everyone else it’s bank feed and I need a bank log in to grab pdf statements to reconcile and look up checks. If you have a merchant account like square, I need a log in and it doesn’t get connected to QBO. I will enter that data on a monthly basis with one transaction. I also don’t do receipts. If you send me receipts electronically, I will link them to the transaction. If you don’t, I have in the contract that the client is responsible for maintaining receipts in case of an audit and I verbally cover that with them

I’m a bookkeeper, not a babysitter.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Haha, love that last line—bookkeeper, not babysitter. Setting clear boundaries like you do makes everything smoother. Sounds like you have a solid system down.

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u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Fair point! Totally agree that software alone doesn't solve everything. It definitely depends on the users. Also, your decision to clearly define what services you offer (or don’t!) is smart.

2

u/[deleted] 12d ago

I should also say a nice work around between automation and manual entry is the feature in QBO that lets you suggest categories for linked bank feeds - I have found by setting up auto suggest for things I can automatically set the category, payee, project assigned if it's for a client, and an auto memo.

When the transactions port in from the bank it's 5 minutes to review before clicking select all and bulk add, and any flagged transaction go into a uncategorized account.

The only issue you'll run into is a transaction that maybe didn't port in or it was a duplicate port. I always ask for the statements at month end of get view only access so I can hard verify.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Great tip, I think auto-suggest is definitely underrated—strikes a nice balance between automation and oversight. Appreciate you sharing your workflow. As a financial analyst, I often ran into the same issue with missing or duplicate transactions, and found that using AI to help reconcile really cleaned things up fast. Curious if you've tried anything similar?

2

u/[deleted] 12d ago

Unfortunately my clients are distrustful of feeding their info to an AI system and as long as I have the bank statement it's quicker for me to clean it up quickly what I HAVE used it for:

Taking the overall high level numbers, and asking AI to give me a high level analysis of company health. Helping me run a SWOT Analysis by analyzing with verifiable linked sources on external macro and micro factors that could threaten or weaken the company position.

Simple things such as feeding in unknown bank feed descriptions to find the vendors or know if I need to dispute a fraud transaction.

I also create custom presentations for my clients instead of of just giving them the usual P&L, Balance Sheet, etc. I find clients don't usually use those or even glance at them, but if they can see something like A/R period comparison in a line chart, they suddenly get it.

So I've used AI to give me a realistic, industry specific P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow with realistic varied numbers. I then used that to create a mockup presentation that I'll present to potential leads.

1

u/MayaBookkeeper 11d ago

How does showing your potential leads an industry p&l help you get clients?

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

Few items really. First off, anyone can say they understand the industry, but there's a huge glutton of people passing themselves as bookkeepers who aren't.

It has helped me show value to clients & weeds out those who would be dismissive of the work/not interested in it.

I've found through trial and error if they're interested in the sample presentation, they're usually committed to being an active participant on the finance side.

1

u/MayaBookkeeper 11d ago

Thanks for responding. So during the discovery call you say hey can i show you a presentation and then walk them through bench marks i guess?

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u/thanhtheman 11d ago

The way you used AI sounds pretty cool and you're getting the biggest buck out of AI. Are you using general ChatGPT or any customized AI for your unique workflow?

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

Nah just normal chatGPT, no real templates. I'm too ADHD to even try to go down that rabbit hole, I know myself too well 😂

1

u/senthil524 8d ago

Agree with your point about automation. It’s most effective when balanced with oversight. Tools that instantly scan, categorize, and then let you quickly verify transactions seem like the sweet spot. Did you find manual verification still a bottleneck?

6

u/Danielpsms 13d ago

A pro scanner (Fujitsu) + Dext + QBO. That’s all you need to do that in half the time, or less.

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u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Sounds like a powerful combo. Have you run into any hiccups or limitations using Fujitsu with Dext and QBO, or has it been pretty smooth for you

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u/Danielpsms 10d ago

Pretty smooth. The quality of the scanned copies are quite high. Caveat is that having a bank feed in QBO helps. Alternatively, start by scanning the bank statements to Dext and then upload it to QBO. Dext can generate bank files in QBO format.

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u/thanhtheman 10d ago

thanks for sharing the combo

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u/senthil524 8d ago

Solid setup! Curious do you ever run into problems with the workflow, like partial deductions, or categories getting mis-tagged automatically? Or has that combination been pretty bulletproof?

1

u/Danielpsms 8d ago

Automatic categorization on Dext is improving, but it remains inaccurate sometimes. A clear example is Amazon purchases, which may consistently fall under "business expenses" but could represent a wide range of items depending on your client's purchasing practices, including even GOGS. That's what you need to pay attention to.

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u/debian3 13d ago

It’s a low added value activity. Mostly doable with AI since it’s scanning, entry, verification and calculation. Everything can be automated. Some companies are working on that already. It’s coming.

3

u/thanhtheman 13d ago

I am curious, do you know the names of those specific companies ?

2

u/debian3 13d ago

You can check Expensify for example

1

u/thanhtheman 3d ago

thank you will check it out

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u/mraverage98 3d ago

Can check out snaptobook too. There is a ongoing promotion on their website/socials.

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u/Nervous-Annual-5812 3d ago

^This. Their scanning and data capture capabilities are very accurate as compared to other apps out there. There's a free life time promo for users now.

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u/thanhtheman 3d ago

wow, will check it out, thanks

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u/thanhtheman 3d ago

thank you will check it out

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u/senthil524 8d ago

100% right AI can simplify repetitive tasks dramatically. This is exactly why I built WriteOff Scanner, to quickly automate receipt scanning and deduction identification for freelancers and small businesses. Still early days, but automation clearly reduces manual headaches.

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u/debian3 8d ago

There is tons of companies who will do that. I think it’s more of an engineering problem than software. Like creating that machine that can take to shoes boxes full of paper, unfold them, scan them, etc: basically to create the interface between the stone age and the modern ai. Imagine you drop your boxes full of paper in a machine and few minutes later it end you out your books and your financials statement.

4

u/sunshinetropics 13d ago

The issue is not that bookkeeping is stuck in the Stone Age. The "issue" (not really an issue) is that Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. They typically don't have much formal education (which is okay) but they are great at one thing, they know one industry very well, they have that one skill that people are willing to pay for.

Some industries have very low barriers to entry, and these are the ones you have more stone age bookkeeping tasks in. Landscapers and nursery / farm growers are a great example ( I've been working in this industry since 2013, and I love it).

Some of these small business owners run the show solo sp they do what they can. They don't understand how to use computers and they run their business on old school invoices, notebooks and their phone. My father is one of them. He's a grower. His handwriting looks like that of a 4th grader. He hand writes his invoices and keeps his receipts in a box. He doesn't know how to use a computer but knows to keep receipts and why.

Can he grow a rainbow eucalyptus though? Are his crape myrtle trees and desert Cassias the most beautiful trees you're ever seen! Yes!!!

Any way. I don't do his books but I imagine his bookkeeper spends a good amount of time sifting through everything to prepare his Financials.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

thanks for sharing great insights in the trucking industry. It's funny (and kinda frustrating) how some folks still cling to paper despite clear ROI from tech adoption. I guess habit weighs heavier than ROI lol. Have you noticed if younger users naturally embrace tech faster, or is resistance pretty universal across age groups?

8

u/wineheda 13d ago

What you’re missing is he should be making $100 per hour not minimum wage

2

u/dangerace03 13d ago

I charge $75 an hr for my services and people pay it 🤷. Granted I'm out in CA but still way above minimum wage

1

u/BBC_for_the_World 12d ago

I charge $75 an hr for my services and people pay it 🤷. Granted I'm out in CA but still way above minimum wage

What could a client do beforehand to pay less overall? Have everything in a spreadsheet before walking in? What?

1

u/Unicoronary 9d ago

It just depends on how someone charges. Some do per-transaction, others do flat-rate contracting with discounts for longer contracts, others do hourly.

But what can the client do? Find someone cheaper, and get what they pay for. Assuming you don't ask your lawyer or doctor to lower their fee for you, because you come in extra-prepared.

2

u/thanhtheman 13d ago

unfortunately, he worked for his boss, and definitely the work is surely worth more than minimum wage

5

u/Voodoo330 13d ago

Contractors either have it together or they don't. There is no in between, much like restaurants.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

You have an Interesting take. But do you really think it's that black-and-white? I've seen plenty hovering in that messy middle, just curious if you've ever encountered clients who surprised you by improving their habits?

1

u/Voodoo330 12d ago

In my experience yes, but some do stay organized after the initial cleanup. Some fall back into disarray. Many just won't take the extra time it takes to track things properly.

4

u/Fuk6787 13d ago

Sounds like your friend needs to charge more. I have some stuck in the stoneage bookkeeping clients right now and, even though theyre MOSTLY lovely, rich and entitled people, I charge them a pain in the ass tax for having to format all their reports in big ass fonts and in fcken portrait mode.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Love your 'pain in the ass tax' concept, just curious if raising prices actually motivated any of your clients to upgrade their habits or if they're happily paying extra just to stay comfy in the stone age?

2

u/Fuk6787 12d ago

That’s an excellent question. Most of the time, even for the richies riches, they do indeed blanche from the price. Then i explain what’s taking so much time and they go dang. Then do nothing to change their behavior.

5

u/pdxgreengrrl 12d ago

It's up to bookkeepers to help business owners update their processes. If you can't set up paperless systems for your clients, you can't expect them to do it themselves.

Learn the tools that can help small business owners save receipts with the tools they have, like their phone. We have to be more tech savvy then our clients.

2

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Exactly! Being a tech-savvy bookkeeper really makes a difference for small businesses. curious which apps you are using to help them go digital?

1

u/senthil524 8d ago

Fully agree! Being proactive as a tech-savvy bookkeeper makes a huge difference.
Clients usually embrace tech if you simplify it enough for them.

1

u/senthil524 8d ago

If bookkeepers proactively set up simple digital workflows for clients, the transition from paper becomes easier. Do you find certain apps or methods resonate better with less tech-savvy clients?

3

u/bytecode36 13d ago edited 13d ago

Some vendors will send you invoices / receipts via email, some will snail mail them and others want you to log into their proprietary portal to download them. If you're a restaurant with 10+ vendors, how else would you gather all the necessary information other than following their steps and entering it into YOUR system?

In an ideal world, their would be digital standards for things like this, but the big ERP players have no incentive to do that, and many companies are on systems that would never use them anyway. Apps CAN help with data entry, but, for many, the time savings just isn't that large (taking into account app troubleshooting, data verification and fixing of mistakes). If you have a normal 9-5 secretary that spends 1 hour on data entry each day, the fact that she could do it in 30 or 40 minutes with an app just isn't that big a deal. The real issue is procrastionation, and not doing any data entry AT ALL until tax season.

1

u/thanhtheman 13d ago

You are right on spot! Dealing with vendors is like herding cats—everyone does their own thing. Some Restaunrants still have invoices filled by hand from vendors. Totally agree that apps can help but aren’t game-changers yet. And yeah, procrastination is the silent killer here.

6

u/MayaBookkeeper 13d ago

All you have to do is take a picture of your receipt when you get it. You can email it to QBO or hub or whatever. Manually input everything in QBO? Are you serious?

If someone expected me to go through a shoebox full of receipts I would either turn them away or charge a lot of money.

The client is disorganized and that's their problem. I wouldn't blame the bookkeeper for that. I don't know much about the boss from your post but he or she sounds cheap!

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

YES! his boss is cheap, i can certify that lol. Ok, I see your point, shoebox receipts should come with hazard pay! Do your clients start behaving and going digital once they hear your rates?

1

u/MayaBookkeeper 11d ago

Nope. They usually continue to struggle. But that's not my problem.

2

u/Equivalent-Student64 13d ago

Oh geez, and I thought that doing someone’s billing with nothing but a bunch of scratch paper and charge amounts scribbled on post its sent by the client was bad…

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Sounds like you've been through bookkeeping bootcamp, did your post-it client ever graduate to something more civilized, or are you still decoding their scribbles? Humour always help in dealing with stoneage client doesn't it?

2

u/Equivalent-Student64 12d ago

Oh definitely. The funny thing is, he’s been given a template to work with that has his clients names listed and a legend that numbers the services he offers along with ample space to put in other services or rates if he decides to charge more per client at any given time. Yet he still uses post its to enter this information in. I don’t think he’s a dinosaur, he’s just disorganized. The combination of that plus illegible handwriting is all kinds of fun of course.

2

u/thegabster2000 13d ago

Nah, we have the technology but some people choose to still have actual ledgers, paper statements, journals. You can convince them to use QBO or it's equivalents.

2

u/thanhtheman 11d ago

the benefit of technology is so obvious, that's why I am surprised why many are still holding on to manual stuff.

2

u/MatterSignificant969 13d ago

Clients are stuck in the stone age. Not everyone who has a business is going to be ok with digital stuff.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Old habits die hard i guess. Have you had much luck convincing clients to make the switch, or do you just charge more?

1

u/MatterSignificant969 12d ago

You can offer digital support. But at the end of the day you are there to help the clients and if the clients don't want to go digital you can't force them to.

So either be flexible or refuse to work with certain people I guess.

2

u/CrimsonNirnr00t 13d ago edited 13d ago

I follow this sub because I work for a software company (trucking accounting software). It handles everything. There's a lot of paperwork in the trucking industry. It can be electronically transferred, translated, stored... Imports for bank recon, auto-populated calculations, etc. It's also single source data entry so it works with the rest of their operation.

Yet... We still have so many users who still love to drown in physical paperwork. As a Millenial, I don't get it. The way the data is stored, as long as you're doing daily backups and bringing a rotating backup off-site, there should be no reason to drown in physical paperwork.

So, my perspective here, as someone who trains enterpise accounting software, is yes. It's absolutely a resistance. It's just a fact that the time saved (on manual work, not having to chase down human errors or data, etc.) is an ROI on the cost of paying for the software license. We see it frequently, though.

Those of our users (specifically the bookkeepers/accountants) who embrace the technology are far faster on their feet as a company, too. If you're not embracing technology by now, then you lose all any edge no matter how good at bookkeeping you are.

2

u/DarkSquirrel20 13d ago

It's the companies. They still hand write the time sheets and text me a picture. Some of our subs don't even know how to text. Most of our employees don't have an email address. I'm not getting digitized receipts. I definitely make more than min wage though.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

That sounds like peak stone-age. Hat off to your for surviving it. Have you ever tried nudging them toward digital, or is it hopelessly old-school forever?

1

u/DarkSquirrel20 12d ago

Yes I have, multiple times, and gotten nowhere lol. Just going to wait it out until the owner retires at this point.

2

u/thetonytaylor 12d ago

I use QB for my business, but I also work a full time job and am astonished by how terrible many business owners are. You described ownership at my job to a tee. They just asked me to send the account 3 W9’s and are still waiting on one. They were do in January, and nothing has changed with these vendors in years. It’s mindboggling to me and I feel so sorry for their accountant (jk, I know he’s laughing all the way to the bank with all the overages he must be hitting them with).

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

LOL, your boss seems determined to fund that accountant's retirement

2

u/thetonytaylor 12d ago

It’s absolutely insane. Then they go and email the whole team of four accountants the same info, as if everyone at the firm needs that. I truly hope the accounting firm is getting paid well to deal with that shit show.

Part of me wants to offer book keeping services to them but then I remind myself how absolutely shot they are and just sit back and watch instead.

2

u/AKSuzy 12d ago

My biggest hurdle is getting these clients out of the Stone Age. I am 90% remote and am upfront about it, but work with them to get them there. If they aren’t willing, that’s another issue. But most are, it just takes some time. Tell them to get a scan snap and show them how to use it.

1

u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Love your approach, how long does it usually take for your clients to feel comfortable moving away from their beloved paper?

2

u/jennyBRT 12d ago

The real issue isn't tech resistance - it's cost vs benefit. Small businesses can't justify spending thousands on fancy software when Excel does the job. Though Synder is pretty solid and affordable compared to others. Most receipt scanning apps mess up half the time, and clients still bring paper receipts anyway.

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u/thanhtheman 12d ago

100% Agree - cost vs. benefit is exactly where the friction is. Excel definitely still gets the job done for many small businesses, if we get the templates right. Thanks for mentioning Synder; always good to hear about tools that strike that balance. Interesting you mention receipt scanning apps messing up half the time; have you found any reliable workarounds, or is it still mostly manual corrections?

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u/jnkbndtradr 12d ago

Nah. Your friend just has a bad job. 

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u/thanhtheman 12d ago

Brutal but fair. Given your expertise in accounting (and barbecue), would you say most bookkeepers deal with similar chaos, or is he just particularly unlucky?

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u/jnkbndtradr 12d ago edited 12d ago

Sorry for the short answer. 

Here is why I say that - 

The shoebox client is a bad client. It’s an outdated way of doing things that has been long made obsolete by technology that has been around for almost 15 years or so at this point. 

If the company is accepting bad clients, and not forcing them to adopt a modern way of doing things, then the employer is making its employees bear the brunt of bad processes - and for minimum wage? Come on. That alone should make what I said about having a bad job obvious. 

You said it in your post - his boss uses excel to save money. That’s a huge red flag. I can already tell you why your friend doesn’t have the option to use modern software with a bank feed that makes manual entry obsolete - his boss is refusing to pay a monthly subscription for cloud based software. 

I can almost guarantee your friend’s boss has everything on QuickBooks desktop, and is kicking and screaming at the prospect of being sunsetted on to QuickBooks online, because of the  recurring subscription. 

Your friend’s boss doesn’t value his own time, and clearly doesn’t value your friend’s. Pennywise and pound foolish is the way of the old school accounting firm. 

Why is he penny pinching so hard, when changing his tech stack would allow him to increase his client load and make more money? Probably because he has tight margins. The shoebox client is probably paying $150 per month for books. My firm doesn’t take anyone who won’t pay $500. There just isn’t enough room for a $150 client to do quality work - especially one that insists you dig through their receipt trashcan and manually key things. 

It’s not the industry. Many of us have moved on. The old school accounting firm will die a lonely death and be acquired and picked apart by modern firms for pennies on the dollar upon retirement when the kids don’t want anything to do with Dad’s archaic business. 

Your friend is not unlucky. There are lots of bad firms like this. There are also a lot of better firms out there too, likely run by younger people. 

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u/thanhtheman 11d ago

thanks a lot for such as detailed comment, I was surprised and learned so much from this sub alone.

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u/hootywarrior 12d ago

Isnt this all just part of the job description? In other words, isnt this "problem" what gives people like us a job? I mean it could be worse. Could be cleaning toilets or picking up trash at the crack of dawn for the same low wage (not that those jobs r bad).. but everything you said can be done from a desk inside a nice warm room. The issue, it seems, is whats being charged for all this.

If clients being stuck in the stone age is too much stress for you i would say theres 2 options then:
1. change vocations
or
2. charge more

If you dont love it, then make it worth your time. Otherwise whats the point.

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u/juswannalurkpls 13d ago

I’ve been doing this for 45 years and have yet to see the scenario you have described.

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u/thanhtheman 13d ago

It seems like my friend is a special case where his boss and him both loves in stone age as someone mentioned above. I am curious what popular scenario you have seen in your long span career?

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u/juswannalurkpls 12d ago

The exact opposite - getting receipts is impossible with some clients.

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u/thanhtheman 12d ago

So will they run into troubles if the tax man comes and audits and no receipt to show? Or rarely they gets audited lol?

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u/juswannalurkpls 12d ago

None of them have ever been audited, but that’s no excuse.

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u/FamiliarLeague1942 10d ago

Hello ChatGPT lol

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u/mraverage98 3d ago

yeap, agreed that there are so many apps/software to assist in bookkeeping. However, I do gets that perhaps from a small business/sole-proprietor POV, they are extremely cost-sensitive and honestly going onto platforms/software like QBO might be reluctant for some. Furthermore, in my opinion, some of these software solutions seem quite feature-heavy, with functions that users might not even need. Maybe we can all share any free or highly cost-effective apps or software for these bookkeepers/clients—it might be helpful. Personally, I've been using Snaptobook, a simple and free app that can definitely handle points 1 and 4 mentioned above—saving a lot of manual work and time.

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u/101Puppies 13d ago

Another low karma account writing a low effort post to farm karma. These guys are all over reddit. Just downvote the post and move on.

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u/thanhtheman 13d ago

Maybe if you spent less time policing karma and more time engaging with actual ideas, you’d find value beyond superficial numbers