Real bookkeeping. Real clients. Real money — without a CPA license or a corporate desk.
Your launch readiness — 0 milestones done0%
Start the readiness checklist — most people are closer than they think.
Your next move
Start here
Do you have QuickBooks?
Before anything else, let's figure out your QuickBooks situation — training and subscription. That shapes everything: what clients you can take on, what you charge, and how fast you can start.
First stepGo to Readiness → answer the two QuickBooks questions
Your journey — Phase 1
✓
Got the ideaDone
2
QB + legal setup0 / 9
3
Rates setNot started
4
First ad outNot started
5
Tracker set upNot started
6
First clientThe goal!
Step 1 — Start here
Am I ready to take clients?
We check your QB situation, legal basics, and Texas requirements. No jargon — just clear yes or no answers.
Step 2 — Know your numbers
What should I charge?
Hourly rates, monthly retainers, cleanup projects. Let's build a rate card that reflects what your time is actually worth.
Step 3 — Stay organized
Where does my money go?
Track your own books while you manage others. Simple income log, expenses, and quarterly tax reserve.
Step 4 — Plan ahead
What does growth look like?
From 1 client to 8. From basic bookkeeping to payroll and tax prep referrals. Your honest month-by-month ramp.
The honest truth
"Small businesses are drowning in paperwork. You're the person who can throw them a rope."
Your neighborhood. Your clients. Your ledger.
Let's make sure you're set up to succeed
Your readiness checklist — QB, legal, and launch.
Bookkeeping has fewer legal barriers than most people think — but the QuickBooks piece matters a lot. Let's find out exactly where you stand, step by step.
0 of 21 milestones complete
Your readiness score
Just getting started — and that's the right place to begin0%
Work through each section below. Your progress saves automatically.
·
QB ready
·
Legal set
·
Rates set
·
First ad
·
Tracker on
📚Step 1 — QuickBooks statusAnswer both questions to continue▾
QuickBooks is the industry standard for small business bookkeeping. Your answers here shape your checklist, your rate card, and your client strategy — so answer honestly.
Starting from zero? Good news. Most successful solo bookkeepers started exactly here. The free Intuit ProAdvisor certification takes 8–12 hours and immediately justifies higher rates. QB Online Simple Start is $30/mo — or free through the ProAdvisor program. Your checklist will show you exactly what to do next.
Do you have QuickBooks training or certification?
✓ Trained→ Needs training
🎓Yes — I have trainingCertified ProAdvisor, course completed, or solid self-taught experience
📖Not yet — I need trainingI'm new to QB or want to get formally certified before taking clients
Do you have a QuickBooks subscription?
✓ Subscribed→ Needs subscription
✅Yes — I have a subscriptionActive QB Online or QB Desktop subscription in my name
💳Not yet — need to subscribeI'll need QB Online Simple Start ($30/mo) or ProAdvisor program access
QB status captured! Let's check your universal legal requirements next.
📋Step 2 — Universal requirements0 / 4 done▾
These apply to every micro-business in Texas. Quick one-time decisions — most take under 15 minutes to resolve.
Universal requirements done! Now the bookkeeping-specific items.
Before your first client, know what you're charging and why. Open the rate card in the Rates tab, set your numbers, then come back and check these off.
Rates confirmed! Now let's get your name out there.
📣Step 5 — First outreachComplete pricing first▾
You don't need a website or business cards. You need three conversations with small business owners in your neighborhood this week.
Outreach done! Set up your own tracker before that first client pays you.
💰Step 6 — Your own books set upComplete outreach first▾
A bookkeeper who doesn't track their own income is a cautionary tale. Set up your tracker before your first invoice goes out.
🎉 You're ready. Go land your first client — your neighborhood needs you.
Your rate card LIVE
Know what to charge. Know what you're worth.
Bookkeepers who underprice burn out fast. These numbers pull from your Revenue Model spreadsheet — download it below, set your wage target, and your rate card is done.
$1,989
Weekly revenue
$23/hr
Effective rate
+$19
Gap to goal
Your wage
$30/hr
Markup
1.7×
Weekly goal
$800/wk
Overhead
$599/mo
Your services — rate check
Monthly bookkeeping — solo biz up to 50 transactions/mo
$200–350
Standard
Monthly bookkeeping — small biz 50–150 transactions/mo
$350–600
Standard
Books cleanup / catch-up per month of backlog
$150–300
Viable
Hourly rate one-off tasks, consults
$35–65/hr
Viable
QB setup + training new client onboarding
$200–400
High value
Payroll processing per pay run, Phase 2
$50–150
Phase 2
Don't underprice to get clients. A client who pays $150/mo trains you to be a $150/mo bookkeeper. Start at market rate — the right clients will see the value.
Hourly rate guide
$35/hr
New / building portfolio
$50/hr
Standard (your target)
$65+/hr
QB certified + experience
QB ProAdvisor tip: Getting certified through Intuit's free ProAdvisor program typically lets you raise rates by $10–15/hr and attracts higher-quality clients who already understand the value of professional bookkeeping.
Open your revenue model
How it works
1
Download the template — use the link below
2
Fill in the gold cells — your wage, products, and weekly goal
3
Drop it below — watch every number on the dashboard update live
📊
Drop your Revenue Model here
or click to browse · LedgerPath_Revenue_Model_v2.xlsx
Rates confirmed? Head back to Readiness and check them off to unlock your outreach step.
Monthly snapshot — this month
A bookkeeper who tracks their own books. Imagine that.
Log your first client payment and this comes alive. The Money Tracker auto-categorizes everything for tax time — so you're not scrambling every April like the clients you help.
$0
Income
$0
Expenses
$0
Profit
Libby Checking...
AI-assisted statement processing — drop a PDF, get transactions
Libby is running on Railway at web-production-407fa.up.railway.app. If this shows offline, it may be waking up — try dropping a file anyway and it will auto-start within 10 seconds.
Drop a bank or credit card statement (PDF)
Libby detects the vendor, extracts transactions, and returns a ready-to-import CSV
Drop your Money Tracker here and your monthly stats update instantly.
💰
Drop your Money Tracker here
or click to browse · LedgerPath_Money_Tracker.xlsx
Quarterly tax dates
Q1 (Jan–Mar)Apr 15
Q2 (Apr–Jun)Jun 15
Q3 (Jul–Sep)Sep 15
Q4 (Oct–Dec)Jan 15
You know this better than anyone — set the reminder anyway. April 15 sneaks up on even the organized ones.
The self-bookkeeper rule
"Separate business account. 15% to tax reserve. From the very first payment."
You're going to tell your clients this. You have to live it too. Open a dedicated business checking account and a separate savings labeled "Tax Reserve" before your first invoice goes out.
YTD Income
—
YTD Profit
—
Tax reserve
—
Tracker set up? Head back to Readiness and check it off — you're one step from your first client.
Ramp-up plan — your first 4 months
Month 1 is about landing clients, not profit. That comes in Month 3.
Bookkeeping has very low startup costs but a slower ramp than product businesses — clients need to trust you before they hand over their books. Plan for it.
Month 1
-$80
1–2 clients
Month 2
$320
3–4 clients
Month 3
$820
5–6 clients
Month 4+
$1,400
7–8 clients
At $200–350/client/month, you only need 5–6 steady clients to hit $1,000–2,000/month part-time. That is very achievable in a neighborhood with small restaurants, salons, contractors, and retailers.
Your clients LIVE
Your clients are your business. A small business owner who trusts you with their books is not switching bookkeepers for $20/month. Retention is everything.
MR
Maria's Salon
Montrose · Monthly books
Month 2
JT
James T. Contracting
Heights · Cleanup + monthly
New
+
Add your first client
Your staircase — next phases
QB ProAdvisor cert
Free through Intuit. Raises your rates by $10–15/hr and unlocks discounted client subscriptions.
Add payroll
$50–150 per pay run on top of monthly fees. Adds $200–600/mo per client with employees.
Tax prep referrals
Partner with a local CPA. You refer, they pay you 10–15% of the tax prep fee. Passive income.
