Customer Reviews

Successful QuickBooks Consulting: The Comprehensive Guide to Starting and Growing a QuickBooks Consulting Business ---Ideal for Bookkeeping or Bookkeepers, Accounting or Accountants, or Consultants

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Great book! I liked it a lot. I think it is a wonderful book that will help someone with an accounting background either take the plunge into self-employment as a QuickBooks consultant, or give someone who already has their own bookkeeping or accounting firm the know-how to expand into another service offering. This book is not about Quickbooks per se. It is about how to become a Quickbooks consultant in a professonal capacity.

The author has ties to Intuit and the Kauffman Foundation. And sometimes the book comes across as an advertisement for these two organizations. She is also a QuickBooks consultant herself, so this book comes across as a marketing piece for her private practice, too. But the book is a short quick read that certainly opened my eyes to what a person can do to prepare for and become a self-employed QuickBooks consultant.

I am a SCORE volunteer who regularly counsels wanta-be entrepreneurs and small business owners on how to prepare business plans and how to get their new businesses up and running. I'm also a CPA and attorney. I am not one to advise my SCORE clients to spend much on consultants to help them start their own businesses. And the way I usually advise my clients regarding bookkeeping and accounting is to get a PC and a copy of QuickBooks Pro. I tell them to install the software on their computer and struggle with the program for a week. Try to set up their accounting system and then save the data file to a CD. Then find a QuickBooks consultant to examine it and tweek it so it will work well for the business and the data can be easily merged into Turbo Tax at year end. Now that I have read this book I know a little more about what credentials a QuickBooks consultant should have and how my clients can easily find them.

I think some of the material could have been grouped a little differently. If it had, then I would have liked the book better. For example, it seemed like marketing topics were found in a few places. And information about Web sites was found in a few places. I would have liked to see these topics dealt with just once each and more fully.

I would have liked a chapter each on how to write the following plans: business, marketing, public relations, and networking. And I didn't see much value in appendices C, D or E. Instead, I would have liked to have seen a nice 30-page sample business plan that the reader could use as a templete for their consulting practice.

My biggest gripe with the book was Chapter 7 regarding defining one's services and billing rates. I thought the rates were low. Way low! I advise my SCORE clients not to start a business unless their effective billable hour is no lower than $125 an hour. I don't care what the business is. This is one of the reasons EVERYONE needs to write a business plan. By writing it they can figure out what services will generate the appropriate revenues. And what services won't. Don't offer any services that won't provide a reasonable amount of compensation.

Doing data entry is not a valuable service. So don't offer that. Examining a startup's attempt at setting up QuickBooks for $750 for 3 or 4 hours work is a valuable service. So do that. Also, fees should not depend on whether you work in a rural or a highly populated area. QuickBooks consulting can be done online and should be done online. Thus where you live is irrelevant. Charge what you are worth - not a fee based on where you live.

At page 13 the book includes a table or exhibit that lists the type of work typical QuickBooks consultants perform. After looking at the list I can see why they don't make much money. What I expected to see on the list was services related to coaching and helping people prepare great business plans. That is the most logical complementary service a QuickBooks consultant can provide. Of course, helping clients systematize their business' operations is another. And what about payroll consulting?

I would have liked included in the Appendix a list of books the author thought could further help someone who wants to be a successful QuickBooks consultant. This is particularly true with regard to business plans, Web sites, and marketing. None was provided. I am going to post a comment to this book review that will include the list of books I wanted to see. In any event, this is a unique and worthwhile book. I think the author has done us a favor by providing it to us. 5 stars!

I want to start my own business offering bookkeeping services and QuickBooks consulting, but I had a ton of questions and I didn't know where or how to start. This book answered all my questons and many more questions that I hadn't even thought about yet! I can't imagine how much time I would have spent looking for all this information! Plus it will help save me money on the things I need and by not spending money on marketing methods that aren't effective!

Successful QuickBooks Consulting provides the steps I need to take to start my business. It also has a lot of resources along with the relevant website for more info. I wasn't sure where to start or what to do before.

I especially like the "Keys to Success" throughout the book which are comments and advice from other ProAdvisors. There are also a couple of chapters with other ProAdvisors' advice and comments, and things they wish they would have done differently or known sooner. It was great to be able to read all of them. Plus, the results of the survey of ProAdvisors was very interesting!

After getting this book, I feel much more confident starting my own business and it is nice to have this book as a reference when I need it!!! I would highly recommend this book if you are starting your own business (or want to)--whether your focus is on QuickBooks, bookkeeping, or taxes you'll find lots of useful information in the book.

Truly a valuable contribution. As a CPA with an established retained CFO practice, I found in this book many 'not available elsewhere' ideas both for building a practice and for maximizing consulting practice income. A great mix of clear, comprehensive 'how-to' basics and valuable 'from the trenches' suggestions.

I have read quite a few books regarding bookkeeping services, consulting services and tax services but this is the first book I have read regarding QuickBooks consulting services - which is the main service area of my business. I think this is an excellent reference guide for anyone that is starting or growing a QuickBooks consulting business.

I found Michelle's information on marketing, performing engagements, establishing billing rates and growing the business very helpful. Prior to reading this book I would constantly read the QuickBooks on-line forums especially on practice development to gain insight from other QuickBooks consultants. I have even tried contacting consultants that have been in business for quite some time to see if they would offer some advice, tips or insight for a "newbie". Unfortunately I have not had much luck until now. Michelle's chapters entitled:

* Common Mistakes Consultants Make
* Advice From Other ProAdvisors
* What Consultants Wish They Would Have Known Sooner
* Keys to Success

contain the information that I have been looking for! I wish I would have known about her book when I first started my practice these four chapters alone would have definitely saved me a lot of time and money. If you have ever wondered "can QuickBooks consulting be an ideal business for me", "I'm a Pro-Advisor what's my next step", "what works and what doesn't work when growing a QuickBooks consulting business", "can I make any money at this", "how can I find more QuickBooks clients" - BUY THIS BOOK!

Andrea Young-Miles
Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor

This book contains a wealth of information for both the experienced consultant and the novice consultant. You'll learn what works and what doesn't work from someone who actually has a successful consulting business. The author has the unique opportunity to hear from consultants across the country, and she has apparently listened to what they have to say. Everything is well written in an easy to follow format. The experienced consultant will gain new insight and new ideas. The novice will learn how to start step by step.

Becca Dove,CP
Dove Bookkeeping Service

This book contained too many repetitions of quotes, and the font face was huge! The relevant content could have easily fit into a book 1/3 the size. While the true contend of this "booklet" is good information for anyone considering becoming a QuickBooks Consultant, I especially like that Michelle stressed the need for continuing education. I read this book cover to cover in just a few hours, skipping the repetitive quotes that are laced through-out this "booklet".

I just finished reading "Successful QuickBooks Consulting" and I LOVED IT!! I only wish it was available in 2001 when I started my business. Having been an office professional since 1978 in a variety of jobs, I did not know I had so much to learn about starting and succeeding in business. This book confirmed many of the business practices that I use and confirmed that I have a solid business model. Thank you Michelle for writing this book. I meet lots of people who ask me how to do what I am doing. Now I can refer them to your book.

I LOVE this book and you will, too! This is not one of those books full of only about 3 useful tidbits of information. Rather, this is jam-packed full of useful and important information for seasoned and new QuickBooks ProAdvisors or those just thinking about starting their own consulting business. I constantly refer back to this book and each time I do, I find something new.
I just became a QuickBooks ProAdvisor this year and this book has been a valuable reference in starting out and continuing along with my business!

I often get other bookkeepers asking me how I got started in my bookkeeping business. I can't say it better than Michelle Long does in her book "Successful Quickbooks Consulting". Do you want to get started on the right foot? Do you want to avoid the mistakes others have made? I recommend this book to anyone getting started or anyone wanting to make their bookkeeping business better.

I recently read Michelle Long's book, Successful QuickBooks Consulting: The Comprehensive Guide to Starting and Growing a QuickBooks Consulting Business. Comprehensive it is! It is an excellent resource for someone just starting out or an existing QuickBooks consultant. I've been a bookkeeper for 20 years and have my own consulting business. And, I still found this book to be a very valuable resource. The most helpful sections for me were the chapters on marketing, Advice from other ProAdvisors, Keys to Success and the interviews with ProAdvisors.

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading any future books from Michelle.