Why why why do clients seem to think that Bookkeeping is just a case of typing out a list of sales and purchase invoices, totalling them and thats it!
I'm going to have to start stressing to potential clients (in a nice way!) that there is so much more to Bookkeeping than just data entry and it takes alot of time and effort. What was only a 'small pile' of invoices, it has taken me 6 hours just to enter them onto the spreadsheet and there is still quite a few left to do, this is even before I have done any bank reconciliation or VAT summaries and formulas.
I have received an email from the client I moaned about last week (the one that was very rude and overfriendly). Hes asking me yet again when he will have everything back when I told him to give me 2-3 weeks in the first place as I have other clients too and I can't just dedicate all my time on his work.
After going through his paperwork he has provided me with no sales invoices or figures, no cheque stubs, very few bank statements and expects me to give him the figures for his VAT return when all he has given me is purchase invoices. He said he will have them ready for me next week and today decides to ask when it will be finished??
I'm not sure if its the fact that I have taken an instant dislike to him that has made everything he says annoy me, hes extremely arrogant, over confident and on the initial appointment showed me his 'bookkeeping' which was just a list of invoices. So he seems to think this is what I am doing too!
So sorry if this seems unfair or offensive, I don't want to tar every client with the same brush. I just can't wait to get this finished and hand it all back to him and I hope I don't get any other clients that think Bookkeeping is something they can do very easily themselves.
Yesterday I decided to see how long every aspect of a job took to give me an idea when it came to pricing things. There were 104 purchase/expense invoices/receipts spread over two (?) months. Of these : 38 were large (A4 size/letter size) 18 were medium (approx A5) 38 were small - they type you get with petrol or supermarket 10 were from Aldi - I'm specific about that as most of their receipts are small (and won't be punched by a hole punch). I took me one hour just to sort them out, punch them and file them waiting to be processed. I say two months, 1 receipt was for way back in February (the previous year), 1 was June and 3 were the first couple of days in September. The remainder were for July and August - the months I am processing just now. The point I am trying to make is that's one hour spent sorting out the receipts before I even start. They actually are reasonably sorted - but there is a lot of them with the annoying things at the edge of the paper with holes in that fit onto sprockets in a printer. Some of them are half torn off so they all have to be removed. I'll be curious to know how long it takes me to process these 104 receipts - probably less than the hour it took me to sort them. And then there's the time you have to spend phoning them back to find out where the missing invoices are - the payments are in the bank statement but there is no invoice to match it.
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Never buy black socks from a normal shop. They shaft you every time.
Noola, welcome to the wonderful world of bookkeeping! Clients are annoying and will harrass the life out of you for everything even when they haven't given you the stuff you need to do it. Luckily to balance it out you will (with time) find the wonderful clients, the ones that have everything all neat and tidy, write handy notes on things, are never rude to you and do exactly what you tell them. Savour those clients, they get you through the rest!
I went out to meet a potential new client yesterday, we'd agreed on Wed afternoon that I would come out at 3.30 on Thurs afternoon, when I get there he's gone to Bookers! I wasted an hour of my time and haven't heard from him yet today.
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Jenny
Responses are my opinion based on the information provided. All information should be thoroughly checked before being relied on.
I had some similar problems, it was about the time that I was ready to dump hourly rates and go all in for fixed fees. My solution was that I would only take on certain clients.
They had to agree to do a few bits and pieces to get the very best price. These are simple things, like when they pay an invoice they need to write on it 'PAID', the date, and the means of payment (if it's cheque, the cheque number too) and the same for invoices they send. I have to say, that I haven't had anyone to date refuse.
I provide a checklist of all the information I require which many clients say helps to focus their mind on what to send and what not to send, although if in doubt I tell them to include it.
I am also very clear in my letter of engagement about timescales, this eliminates the constant phone calls and emails to find out if work is finished or for timescales. This is also helpful for when a client delivers work late.
I think it's really easy, especially at the beginning when work is hard to come by, to fall into the frame of mind of "he who pay's the fiddler calls the tune", but for me my tunes are quite specific and those clients who don't want to listen to my tunes, are probably the same ones who would cause a major headache.
So, my advice is be clear what you want from the client, and what they will get from you. Be very clear on timescales, and the penalties for being late (for both you and the client). Finally, be clear from the outset on what paperwork the client should provide, and what information they need you to furnish them with.
You are getting them aren't you, a 'massage' palour (an interesting and funny thread, hope it's all going ok) and now a demanding client.
Not much use to you but your's and other comments have given me a bit of reassurance, I'm not slow, it just does take that long to sort stuff out! Cheers.
I think there should be an anger management class for Bookkeepers with terrible clients. If he wasn't so arrogant I could take it with a pinch of salt, he also asked me why I had removed him from my facebook page so when I told him and he said he was just being friendly. I would feel utterly embarrassed and ashamed if it was me! Such a hard faced arrogant man!
Glad this thread has given some reassurance Maria, I was actually doubting myself over how long it was taking me, the small pile was from a different client who said its ok there isn't much there so it shouldn't take you long! In my head I was thinking I think I'll be the judge of that thank you.
Kris that has absolutely nailed it thank you, I can work from that.
Don't be afraid to dump a client if necessary!!!! I have only dumped one and told him that due to work load I couldn't work for him anymore, the truth of the matter, his paperwork was the worst ever, never paid ontime or even 2 or 3 weeks late, it was horrendesly late, never turned up when he said, never paid his VAT on time even though I always got it back to him on time, loads and loads of other reasons and a very dodgy accountant, so plucked up the courage to get rid of him and felt instantly better once it was done, felt even better when he actually paid!!!!
Kay - what happend with the massage parlour are you taking them on as a client?
Make sure and charge him for your time - if he complains explain why you have charged him this amount, your time is not free and if he was to pay an accountant for the same job, he would be charged a lot more. If he keeps acting the same way, then maybe it is time to dump him as a client.
I have one client who is a disaster, returns continually late, but at the end of the day, he really can't be bothered with any paperwork, just hands me the stuff in a bin liner and writes me a cheque when the job is done. He is prepared to pay though, which makes things easier. It's the ones that gripe about the bills then try and get money off that are the ones that aren't worth having.
