The Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast

156 ⎸ [SPOTLIGHT] Onboarding Systems for Solo Firms with Corrie Scott

• Serena Shoup, CPA • Episode 156

Share episode

Send us a text

In this Spotlight episode I’m shining the spotlight on one of my BBA students, Corrie Scott - owner of Taylor Made Bookkeeping Solutions. Get ready to be inspired and empowered as we dive into the world of efficient onboarding systems and work-life balance in the realm of bookkeeping.

In this episode you’ll hear:

  • benefits & challenges of using Dubsado for onboarding clients
  • use of lead capture form for client assessment
  • challenges of running a solo firm without burning out
  • proposal process, including steps for reviewing, approving, sending, adding contracts, generating invoices, and sending confirmation and intake emails
  • collaboration with Linden Square Co for personalized client gifts

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Meet Corrie
Corrie started fresh out of college as a teacher. She taught for one year but they did not renew her contract so she subbed the next year. Subs don't make a lot of money, and no money during the summer, so this job became available doing accounting work at a local factory and 6 years later she was still doing accounting. She fell in love with the profession. 4 years into that career, she talked with one of her friends who stayed home with her kids but had her own bookkeeping business. She guided Corrie in the steps and certifications and after having her 1st daughter (2nd child), she opened Taylor Made Bookkeeping Solutions (Dec 2021). In September of 2023, she quit that full time job after having her 2nd daughter (3rd child) and now she runs a solo firm with 22 clients and stays home with 3 kids :)

Connect with Corrie
📱 IG: @taylormadebks

Thanks for listening. If this episode inspired you in some way, take a screenshot of you listening on your device and post it to your Instagram stories and tag me, @ambitiousbookkeeper

For more information about the Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast or interest in our programs or mentoring visit our resources below:

Thank you for your support of our show. If you haven’t left a review yet it’s super simple. Please go to ambitiousbookkeeper.com/podcast and leave your review.

Podcast Publishing Tools we use:

Join the next free training at ambitiousbookkeeper.com/training

Serena:

you have any words of wisdom for someone who is like wanting to start their business or they're in a situation like you were, where you're like, I'm a solo firm owner. Like, where do I go next? Like, what should I do?

Corrie Scott:

I think just, having a vision of what you want and just not letting things get in the way of that. So like, for me, it's, I wanted to be a stay at home mom. And be with my kids. And so that's the whole why behind my business is to be able to have that flexibility and be able to be with my kids if they're sick or if they need me, or if they just want to go swimming in the afternoon, like. That's okay. You know, I want to be able to be there because they're all young. I have three under six. And so you don't get that time back. And so I think just trying to be there with your kids and prioritizing the times that you do get for work. So work is work and you know, time blocking is very

Serena:

Mm hmm.

Corrie Scott:

and just staying mindful of all of that too.

Serena:

Welcome back to the Ambitious Bookkeeper podcast. I am Serena Shoop, your host. And today I am talking with Cori Scott, the owner of TaylorMade Bookkeeping Solutions. Welcome, Cori. How are you?

Corrie Scott:

I'm good. How are you?

Serena:

I'm doing well. So today I asked you to come on the podcast and talk about kind of your experience with your bookkeeping firm and using your Dubsado and all the things. So if you want to introduce yourself, Yourself your firm, kind of how long you've been doing this, where you're at in your firm, and then we'll go from there.

Corrie Scott:

Sure. My name is Corey Scott. The name Taylor comes from my middle name, Taylor. It's a family name as, as well. So that's where that comes from. But I have had my business, December will be three years.

Serena:

Congratulations.

Corrie Scott:

Thank you. I'm excited. Right now I am just a solo firm owner. I recently back in, actually, it's been about a year. Back in September, I went full time with my firm. And so I had a full time job previous and then have started doing this after the birth of my third child. Yeah, so she's about to turn one soon. So I'm excited, but I have 22 clients So that's where we're at. I serve I am from Tennessee, but I serve clients all over from California to North Carolina, Illinois to Texas. Just a random selection. They're everywhere, but it's awesome.

Serena:

Yeah. As do most of us, I think a lot of listeners. It's so awesome to be able to like help so many clients across the U. S. and not be bound by, you know, your locality. these days. Awesome opportunity that we have. Okay. So you're still a solo firm owner, which I wanted to highlight that because a lot of people listening, I'm sure are like, I don't know how to become more efficient as a solo firm owner and like be able to manage all of, you know, you're managing 20 some clients on your own, or do you have like a VA or any extra support? It's all you. So your extra support is Maybe getting extra support at home and using software

Corrie Scott:

Yes.

Serena:

to automate.

Corrie Scott:

and help from my mom.

Serena:

Yeah. Okay. So let's talk about that because I've been getting a lot of questions lately also about people being like, I listen to all these other podcasts and they talk about these like huge firms and that's just, Not a not where I want to be and be not where I am. So can you please talk about what it's like to be a small firm owner and especially a solo firm owner or micro firm or whatever you want to call yourself? So what has been one of the biggest like hurdles to that and how you've been able to overcome?

Corrie Scott:

honestly, just automating as much as I could. At first, it was all of my proposals were like drafted in Canva, essentially. Just using the same draft and changing it per client, you know. And that got really tedious, really quick. And so I was like, I can't keep doing this every time and updating the engagement letter. Like I had the general thing, but then I would copy and paste it into a canvas template to make it look a little bit nicer and more on brand and everything. And changing all of that per client. I mean, when you get. Past 10 clients and you are onboarding and doing all of the things. I mean, it's, it's too much and too tedious to keep doing that.

Serena:

Yeah. Especially when you consider you're at 10 clients, but that was how many proposals? More than 10.

Corrie Scott:

yeah, oh yeah, there was no, I did have a great conversion, right. But still there was a lot more than 10 proposals that went out during that time. And so, I mean, if you're doing like Let's see, I opened in December, so January of 2021. I think I had five consults a week because I got this massive referral from one of my friends and she was like, my bookkeeper acquaintance is closing her shop down. And we worked out this deal for referrals. she couldn't take on anymore. And so she started sending them to me. She's the whole reason I got into this business in the first place. And so she started sending me those referrals and it was just a lot at one time. And so, managing all of those proposals. And just, I mean, I'm brand new, so I'm just like figuring all of this out.

Serena:

Yeah.

Corrie Scott:

It was a little chaotic.

Serena:

Wow. Okay. so you were at 10 clients when you were like, I need a different system.

Corrie Scott:

Yeah. Yeah. And I had tried like when I first started, you know, you're overwhelmed with all of this tech and all of this software and you're like, you should try this and you should try this. And so I've tried like a couple of different Website softwares. And I was just like, this is too much for me right now. Like, I don't have time to like do this. I don't have time to set it up. And so I just put it on the back burner. And then it got to a point where I was like, yeah, I, I gotta automate some things or I'm not going to be able to maintain any more growth really. Past, I think my, I figured out my cap was 12 clients where I was at.

Serena:

Yeah, yeah. And for some people, it's going to be smaller, depending on how many hours you have available to work. Because my cap at, like, was at, like, five when I got to that point. I was like, okay.

Corrie Scott:

point too, I was working full time. I just found out I was pregnant with my third daughter. And so it was a lot and I was like, I can't, I can't do any more unless I automate some things and get some systems figured out so I can effectively do this and not get burnt out.

Serena:

Okay. so at that point, you were like, okay, I've I'm going to have to select a system. What was your process? Did you already, like, you already knew you were going to use Dubsado and you just had to go all in or what was that?

Corrie Scott:

I had used Dubsado before and I really liked the idea of it. I had checked out a couple others and just never went with it. The setup, the whole setup process was just like overwhelming at the point because I was like, I'm managing these clients, I'm doing all of this, momming, all the things. And so I just put it on the back burner. But then when I realized I needed it. I went back to the one that I liked more and that was Dubsado. So, and I just started trying to set up at least, I had a mockup proposal and I think I had the contract and I think that was it as my first like basic setup.

Serena:

And then you got to a point, because we're here talking, where you decided to enroll in Dubsado Decoded. What drove you to that decision?

Corrie Scott:

I think I was actually following you and I think I saw either in an email or like a social media post or something about. This Dubsado decoded. And I was like, this is exactly what I needed at the time. And so I think it was like a launch special or something. And so I was like, perfect timing, jumped right in. And honestly has been like the best lifesaver that I can think of. helped automate everything has been.

Serena:

did you do the full course or just like the basic package where you're like, I just need one workflow? Which did you opt for?

Corrie Scott:

I think I did all of the basic like bookkeeping workflows setups. and I did the, I added on the cleanup one, but I don't think I did like the diagnostic or the, the extra ones. I think I just did all of the main bookkeeping ones and then the cleanup one, because that was just, that was all that I needed at the time. But It's been wonderful.

Serena:

So what features are you using in Dubsado?

Corrie Scott:

Okay. So I use obviously the proposals, the contracts, I have updated to the workflows and I actually got a client. Tagging Dubsado in a story. And she, she helped me move my scheduler to Dubsado as well. And so I use the scheduler with the forms built in on my website. I use the workflows for just about everything. Obviously contracts. Additional services, amendments and then the automations for all of that to just be sent with the emails and everything. Recurring invoices. I do all my invoicing through there. So it's pretty much a one stop shop.

Serena:

Yeah. Do you have it integrated with QuickBooks Online?

Corrie Scott:

I do. integrates there they've done the updates obviously with Stripe, and so I was using Stripe previously, so that was pretty seamless for everybody and so, yeah, they just went on with Stripe, and so everything just kind of connects, and it's been wonderful, because before entering all of my training. Transcribed Invoices in QuickBooks to do my own bookkeeping. I would have to manually just either do a sales receipt or, you know, add the invoice myself and mark the payment. And so this also takes that out of the equation as well.

Serena:

when you set up your Dubsado. Did you do it in like phases where you were like, okay, I'm just gonna tackle this one part of my process and how did you decide which one you were going to start with?

Corrie Scott:

I started with monthly because that's where my clients, most of my clients are coming in with either monthly or cleanup. And so I just started with the monthly because that was just the easiest workflow stream and then I added in just a cleanup and then I added in what happens when you need both. So so onboarding all the way through.

Serena:

All right. And so for our listener, because I know sometimes people are like, well, Yeah. You're talking about workflows in Dubsado. Does that mean you can manage all of your client work tasks? That is not the workflow that we're talking about. We're talking about the, basically the onboarding workflow. So we're only using Dubsado for the onboarding portion of the project, which means like for a monthly bookkeeping client, there's a specific workflow. from someone who's just, you know, a cleanup client, like different things that you're going to be doing during that onboarding process. Because a cleanup is a one time project. You're not going to roll them into monthly accounting. It's a different engagement letter. So that's why there's these separate workflows that we have set up in the program. So you decided to start with the monthly bookkeeping portion. And in that workflow, then it starts opening up all these other things like, are you using the intake form for like collecting documents? Okay. So you have the ability to I mean, we can just kind of like talk about what that workflow looks like. Do you want to pull yours up? We don't have to screen share, but just to kind of like guide so people have an idea of like what exactly that workflow entails. I think it would be really helpful.

Corrie Scott:

yeah. Let me get logged in here. I should have been logged in before,

Serena:

That's all right. So while she's doing that, like we, I mean, I use it similarly, like the, the program. Dubsado decoded pretty much mimics the workflow setup that I have for my firm as well where there's a lead capture form and that's our, what we call our interest form. client facing, I call it an interest form or prospect facing. It's like, if you want to become a client, you fill out this interest form and then it puts you in a funnel, basically a section of Dubsado that's like, okay, this person's interested. I get an email that's like, this person filled out this intake form, you need to go and evaluate whether or not you want to have them on a discovery call. At least that's how I have my process set up. People cannot book a discovery call with me directly. Time is very valuable. And I want to be able to first make sure that they're willing to fill out Questionnaire filters out a lot of people that are gonna just be tire kickers and waste my time. So that's where the process starts, at least for me. Is that how you have your setup as well?

Corrie Scott:

so if a client is interested in bookkeeping services, they'll go to my website. They'll click You know, a link that'll take them to where they can make an appointment. I have this form embedded in the scheduler now, so they just, they pick a time that works for them. And then it goes through, you know, all of the prereq questions. And so then I review that before their call. We get on the call, we talk, whatever. And then I do the proposal and it will like, Go through each of these steps. So it will like, remind me, Hey, review this before X, or do you want to approve this proposal before it gets sent? And so once I'm done and I'm satisfied with how the proposal looks, I'll hit approve and it'll go ahead and send it. And then everything is scheduled. So I'll add the contract and it will go out as well once they go through the proposal and then it will generate the invoice after they finish that. And then it just, it goes to the next step of, it'll send like a confirmation email and then it will send an intake email. And so this will send the form that has like all of the sensitive stuff. So it has them give me access to their accounts and they check the box. Once they've done that I'll give them a Google drive folder link and they'll upload all their documents to that link any kind of statements or. Startup documentation, their logo, things that I might need it's all there and they check which ones they've uploaded so I can see. And then I have a fun little section at the bottom that just kind of tries to get to know them, which I really enjoy because You find out you have things in common with them and it kind of gives you a better connection with your clients. Cause you're able to tailor things to them a little bit better.

Serena:

Yeah, we, we do the same thing and that was born out of, so side note, I'm like, this all sounds very familiar. And that's because we built this program based off of my workflows and like what I do with my clients too. And we use that section actually to source a gift box. And we use a company called Linden Square Co. and they curate customized boxes for each of our clients based on those answers. And so we send us, we send a book if they checked physical book that they like to read. And then like whatever colors they liked or coffee or tea, we include that in the box. And so like our clients are like, Oh my gosh, this is so cool. As soon as they're on, as soon as they finished onboarding, they get that box.

Corrie Scott:

Which I can vouch the boxes are super cool because I joined her BBA course as well. And they're super

Serena:

I love them. I just, I think it's,

Corrie Scott:

mysterious box. And I was like, I didn't order anything. What is this? And it was so cool. It was so

Serena:

yeah, they're amazing. And I'm just going to like plug them for a second. not a shopper. I'm really not good at those kinds of things. And I know that about myself. And so that's why I work with them. I do the subscription clothing boxes for the same reason, because I'm like, I don't know what to wear. Like, I'm gonna, this is someone else's job. It's the same thing with these gift boxes. I just tell her like, this is what, you know, I kind of, ideas of what I would want in there. But like, they come up with options for you and then they present it to you and say, you could do this, that, or this. And like, I'm, I love just choosing options and then they make it customized, like the color of our brand. And I had Welcome cards made from Canva and I just had them directly shipped to Linden Square. So they keep them on stock for me and do a handwritten note. So that one, if you got a box, those handwritten notes aren't actually my handwriting, but it's my message. I'm like giving away all the secrets, but that's how we do this. Like, I feel like it's important for people to understand like how the, how those things work behind the scenes so that they can provide this kind of service to their clients too, and know that it's, it's out there. And yes, the boxes are not cheap. you can give her a budget. the budget we've established for our monthly bookkeeping clients is a hundred dollars, which some people are like, that's a lot for a gift. But when you look at the lifetime value of a client, I'm like, I'm going to make so much money off of this client over the next five years. Like a hundred dollars is like barely a drop in the hat. So consider that as well. Anyways. Moving on. I think we're, we were talking about the intake form and like the personalized questions about the client. So whether you use it for a gift or just for your own internal knowledge, it's super helpful to have that.

Corrie Scott:

And so I use that, you know, I don't, I try to send a thank you note after my clients I would like to eventually update and upgrade to something like that, because I think that's a really nice touch. But after they get done with that intake form, I use that and we, you know, I use all their information. We get started with their bookkeeping and everything, but then I also have it automated to send three months later, like. A feedback form or a testimonial form and it's, this has been like, this has come in clutch so many times because I don't have to remember and I don't have to physically like think, oh, I need to ask them for a testimony. It's so like, I feel not bad asking for one, but at the same time, it's like, Awkward. I feel like this takes the awkward out because it sends it and I don't have to double think about it. You know, like I don't have to think about it again. It just sends it. And then when they fill it out and I'm like, Oh yeah, that sent like great. And so then I can review it and like go through, okay, if there was any negative feedback, great. Like let's fix that. Or if they had a great review, Please let me put it on my website. Like I hope that they said it was okay. And most of them have. And so I've put those on my website, but it's wonderful because it just automates it. And so I don't forget months down the road. Oh, I probably need to see how their journey is going. This does it for me.

Serena:

Yeah, that I would say that has been a game changer for us too. And for anyone listening, even if you don't use Dubsado, build something into your process to gather client feedback and testimonials that automates it like that somehow, or someone on your team, your VA, somebody reaches out to a client, put it in your, onboarding checklist so that you are getting feedback. And I would say if a client is going to fill that out, it's going to be a glowing review. And now you have an amazing testimonial that you can share on social media. You can share it in a newsletter, you can share it on your website and you should share it. And like having that automated, For us, the same thing. I'm like, Oh, I forgot. Like we onboarded that client. It's already been three months and look at this amazing review. And now we have all these testimonials on our website because of that process.

Corrie Scott:

Yes. Cause if it wasn't for that, I would like my first 10 clients, 12 clients, like before having this, like I would just be sending emails like, Hey, if you have a second, do you mind to fill out this questionnaire? It's like, as some of them did and it was great. And I did provide like an incentive for doing that. I think I sent like, gift cards, like, Hey, if you don't mind to take a second, Fill this out and I'll, send you a gift card once I received the feedback. And so, I mean, it was something and it did provide like a little bit of an incentive for them to fill it out, but it was still very tedious because I had to draft the email every single time and I had to blind copy everybody and,

Serena:

Yeah.

Corrie Scott:

know, it was a process. And so I had to create the form. And so if you do all of this on the front end. And then you just schedule the workflow. You, that's it. So it's a, it's a little bit of work on the front end, but you're not having to re rinse and repeat every time. It's just, it just

Serena:

Just goes in the background. Yeah. Most of the time when those, cause you get an email alert, the way our Dubsado is set up and yours will be too if you go through this program, is It sends you an email that says like, so and so filled out this form. So same with the intake forms. And so you're like, Oh, you don't even realize like, Oh, they've been with us for three months. Like they filled out this form and then you get to see like this amazing glowing review in your inbox. And yeah, it just completely runs in the background. You don't have to approve that workflow or anything if you set it up that way. And yeah, so key. And you can also set that up on one time projects as you should. You should still be getting reviews from one time project people.

Corrie Scott:

I have the same workflow set up no matter if they're a cleanup monthly, whatever it's still, after that intake form happens, it's three months and then the feedback form gets sent.

Serena:

Okay. So let's talk like logistics of how you managed among 22 clients to also implement a system like this in your free time. Because that's going to be someone's question. Like, how the heck am I going to have time to go through this program and set up my Dubsado? So how did you manage it?

Corrie Scott:

well, I think too, it's all. Depending on your personality and your schedule, because I'm also the personality that like, once I'm determined to do something, I'm going to finish it. And so like I started it and I was like, I've got to implement this. So it was like on my to do list, like every day to do parts of it. Like I would set like a section, like I need to get the proposal. And so I would finish that and then the next day I would work on X. And so I would kind of chunk things. And time slots that I had available. I also work well late at night, so there's that. So when you're a mom and you've only got limited hours, you kind of make do with what you got. So but not everybody's schedules like that. So you can, you might be able to fit it in, in the mornings, or like I would listen to the videos when I was busy doing something, just so I could have it. And then whenever I could actually do the steps, I would go back and have it playing while I'm like working on Dubsado. And so that helped too, cause I was already familiar with the video. And then I would go back through and, and then if I was in a time crunch, like I think there was one time I was onboarding while I was going through the course. And so I like skipped a couple of videos to get to where I needed to go so I could finish that workflow. That way it wasn't like a funky flow for that client. I could just start it and keep going. So, and it does actually help if you are setting it up while you're onboarding a client, because I mean, you can get everything set up for them. And then. Know exactly, Oh, I don't like the way that this is flowing. I need to fix this or I needed this information, so I need to add this next time, you know? So I don't have to email them again. So you kind of get the feel of how to personalize it as you keep going. But I

Serena:

Yeah. Oh, that's so helpful to hear like how different people implement programs and how you do manage to like, if you really want it, you make time for it and scheduling time for it is really important. And in any type of project like this, that's like a back end thing is like, it's important. So you have to schedule time for it and make the time. but it's for a finite. time period. So it's like you just sprint through it, get it done with, and then the rewards are,

Corrie Scott:

think it was like sprint through it. Just get it done because the sooner it's done, the sooner I can use it. And So that was kind of my thing was like, do as much as you can and as, you know, as little timeframe. So that way it's done. And then, I mean, it's a big setup. That's why I didn't start off with Dubsado originally, because I had no idea where to start. I mean, it's just how to format the proposals and the contracts and stuff, like all of that formatting. With Dubsado Decoded was done. I just had to plug and play all of my information and my photos and my, you know, the way I talked and things, but it was already like formatted and set up. And so it took a lot of that guesswork out. So like the amount of time it would have taken to set it up myself versus going through something like Dubsado Decoded was like, it cut it down like drastically.

Serena:

Yeah. And the other, I mean, the other option is to hire somebody to set it up and to end for you. But like, first of all, that can cost you starting at like $4,000 for one. And then the other thing is like, If you're not working with someone who already knows the bookkeeping process or has those templates ready for you, it's going to be even harder because then you have to basically lay it all out for them and walk through your entire process with somebody. But in Dubsado Decoded, like, we give you the exact workflows because we know they work for us. And like, all you have to do is customize it to your exact process, but like the bones of it should be similar and there's going to be things in there that you're like, I don't even know I was supposed to be doing this, like the testimonials.

Corrie Scott:

Exactly.

Serena:

And you don't have to think about it. It's just all there laid out. So yes, thank you so much for sharing your experience. And If you have any words of wisdom for someone who is like wanting to start their business or they're in a situation like you were, where you're like, I'm a solo firm owner. Like, where do I go next? Like, what should I do? That would be great to share with our listener.

Corrie Scott:

Hmm. I think just, you know, having a vision of what you want and just not letting things get in the way of that. So like, for me, it's, I wanted to be a stay at home mom. And be with my kids. And so that's the whole why behind my business is to be able to have that flexibility and be able to be with my kids if they're sick or if they need me, or if they just want to go swimming in the afternoon, like. That's okay. You know, I want to be able to be there because they're all young. I have three under six. And so you don't get that time back. And so I think just trying to be there with your kids and prioritizing the times that you do get for work. So work is work and you know, time blocking is very

Serena:

Mm hmm.

Corrie Scott:

and just staying mindful of all of that too. I don't know if that answers that question

Serena:

No, that was great. I think a lot of people lose sight of like, well, why was I interested in this? And like, just know you're not the only one that it's doing it for this reason.

Corrie Scott:

Yeah, it gets overwhelming because you're so like, you start this business and then everybody throws things at you. You should be doing this. You should be using that. You need to do this and you know, but knowing your why, like, helps keep you grounded and keep your focus on your end goal and what you want to accomplish and kind of helps feed out the noise of, I should be doing this or I need to be doing that. No, what's, yeah.

Serena:

yeah. Especially as a solo firm owner for someone like you and I, who is like, I mean, I talk about a firm, but I'm like, it's not huge. We have under 20 clients, but that's because I'm not trying to become a millionaire from my firm. Like, that's not my goal. It could be someone else's, and in that case, you're going to have to build a really big one. But if you're listening to this and you're like, I was definitely interested in this solo firm conversation, like, this is how you do it without burning yourself out, hopefully, is implementing systems like Dubsado so that, we have so much amazing technology at our fingertips, but it is overwhelming. So.

Corrie Scott:

Yeah. Yeah.

Serena:

for spending the time with us today in your busy client load and mom life. I really appreciate it. Thank you again so much. If someone wants to connect with you where's the best place to do that?

Corrie Scott:

So you can find me at TaylorMadeBKS on Instagram or TaylorMadeBKS. com is my website. So, both of those places, easy to get a hold of me.

Serena:

Awesome. Thank you so much, Corey.

Corrie Scott:

Thank you so much for having me.

Podcasts we love

Check out these other fine podcasts recommended by us, not an algorithm.

Accounting High Artwork

Accounting High

Accounting High