{"id":15291,"date":"2023-06-23T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=15291"},"modified":"2026-01-29T09:26:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T09:26:17","slug":"daily-bookkeeping-higher-profits-happier-clients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/daily-bookkeeping-higher-profits-happier-clients\/","title":{"rendered":"Why daily bookkeeping can lead to higher profits and happier clients"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/money-matters\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Money Matters<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWhy daily bookkeeping can lead to higher profits and happier clients\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2023-06-23T10:00:00+01:00\">23 June, 2023<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Why daily bookkeeping can lead to higher profits and happier clients\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/daily-bookkeeping-higher-profits-happier-clients\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/willfarnell\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/05\/Will-Farnell-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"will-farnell-headshot\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/05\/Will-Farnell-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/05\/Will-Farnell.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Will Farnell<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Daily bookkeeping can benefit both your clients and your practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From more money coming in for your business to better insights that can help your clients\u2019 companies thrive, it\u2019s definitely worth exploring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this article, I talk about the power of regular bookkeeping and reasons for you to provide this service at your practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s what I cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"#using\">Using tech in the right way<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#the\">The power of bookkeeping<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#why\">Why you should put daily bookkeeping on the map<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"#final\">Final thoughts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">The Human Firm<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">In this best-selling book, discover how you can revolutionise the way your practice operates and build deeper client relationships.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/cp\/thehumanfirm\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-14970\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Find out more<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1213\" height=\"603\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/05\/The-human-Firm-cover.png\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2023\/05\/The-human-Firm-cover.png 1213w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"using\">Using tech in the right way<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As accountants and bookkeepers, we\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accountants\/\">blessed by the technology<\/a> that powers our ability to deliver hugely valuable insights to our clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, the same technology ensure business owners have the same power at their fingertips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But tech alone is not enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/cp\/thehumanfirm\/\">The Human Firm<\/a>, I talk in depth about the need for us to ensure we are using the technology in the way it was designed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\u2019re using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/accountants\/products\/autoentry\/\">AutoEntry<\/a> to get regular data from clients and bank feeds hitting your general ledger on a daily basis, for example, why wouldn\u2019t you turn that data into insight on a daily or weekly basis?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a long-term advocate of daily bookkeeping, as part of the work on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/the-human-firm\/\">The Human Firm<\/a>, I had the opportunity to talk to a friend of mine, Kenji Kuramoto, to add another level of insight into the power and importance of bookkeeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s great to be able to reshare some of the conversation that we included in the book here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<a\n\t\tclass=\"button button--primary gate-35b910d3-4e32-4112-b3bf-c8d2cf982d8b\"\n\t\trole=\"button\"\n\t\tdata-button-location=\"content_area\"\n\t\thref=\"#gate-35b910d3-4e32-4112-b3bf-c8d2cf982d8b\"\n\t>For detailed advice on why and how to become a Human Firm, download our essential guide and checklist<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"the\">The power of bookkeeping<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Kenji Kuramoto is the founder and CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/acuity.co\/\">Acuity<\/a>, a firm offering bookkeeping, accounting and finance services (among other things).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below, he talks about the need for good quality data, and how that springs from daily bookkeeping\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kenji says: \u201cWhen I founded Acuity about 18 years ago, the mission at that point was to go and serve high-growth innovative entrepreneurs with their accounting financial function.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSpecifically, the way that we were doing that was providing advisory services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cA lot of CFO level services initially, but we always had a heart for helping small businesses and entrepreneurs. We identified rather quickly that doing the accounting \u2013 doing financial work \u2013 was their single least favourite job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere was not a single entrepreneur out there that said: \u2018Oh, I can\u2019t wait to do my own, accounting and do my own financial work,\u2019 as part of becoming an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo we wanted to step in and fill that gap and help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe launched in Atlanta, Georgia, here in the United States, with all of our team members working in-market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn our small universe, we were really grateful when we saw the emergence of cloud technologies. Fortunately for our firm, our number one client base has always been the technology companies, software companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo, just by the fact that we serve software companies, we are immersed in tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur clients expect us to use tech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo, when we started seeing little bits of innovation in the accounting space we realised there was plenty of possibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlmost 10 years ago, we embraced the idea we could expand that market beyond just Atlanta. We thought: \u2018Well, we don\u2019t have to get on site to their physical office. Through a cloud platform we can get in and serve clients anywhere.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSo we started developing a greater depth of services alongside the recognition of the emergent cloud software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe moved from being just a CFO advisory firm all the way down into bookkeeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSome of our CFOs on the team and friends of mine who were Big Four looked at me like I was crazy and said: \u2018Why in the world do you want to go do bookkeeping? That&#8217;s just the lowest level work!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTo be fair, I also was not very sure about this. I thought: \u2018Wait a minute, I myself am a Big Four alumni. I\u2019ve been CFO of a tech company. Why am I interested in bookkeeping?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut we saw so many challenges not going down that road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen the underlying data wasn\u2019t good we couldn\u2019t get to our higher level advisory work. We just couldn\u2019t do it because the underlying data wasn\u2019t sufficient to build financial models or pro-forma models or even to give sound advice to an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think it was our decision to move into more transactional-level accounting and bookkeeping along with the emergence of the cloud solutions, that put us on the path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why we saw our growth really take off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBefore that time we\u2019d been growing as a firm by adding a few new controllers or new CFOs per year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe had just grown bit by bit, probably in a much more traditional professional services firm model. Just in the same way as in an accounting firm you\u2019d maybe add a new partner or someone would be promoted to manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe saw a very different type of growth that was built around the emergence of cloud technologies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"why\">Why you should put daily bookkeeping on the map<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In our conversation, Kenji summarised on so many levels the reasons why we must look at how we create great data through regular bookkeeping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that\u2019s either by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/digital-firm-vital-human-firm-critical-practice-succeed\/\">supporting our clients<\/a> to do it themselves or my favoured approach \u2013 that we take it and make it a profitable service line for our firms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By combining the right tech, people and process, we can make what was once seen as a low-value offering into a hugely valuable and indeed profitable service line that in turn opens the door to those value-driven advisory services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some reasons why you should be building your bookkeeping offerings right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Better insights:<\/strong> Take control of the data quality to ensure you have information that can be relied upon for great insights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>More client touchpoints:<\/strong> Daily\/weekly bookkeeping creates at least 52 touchpoints a year for every client you serve. These touchpoints in turn create deep relationships with your clients.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Higher profits:<\/strong> Bookkeeping done right is a profitable service line that leads to increased lifetime value from every client you service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"final\">Final thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Bookkeeping largely continue to be perceived as low value.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Often, it\u2019s seen as a means to an end. It\u2019s the thing you do to prepare management accounts or a VAT return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it\u2019s so much more. It is an end in itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If we accept this, we have to treat it with the respect and value it deserves and make it meaningful. And this comes with doing it regularly.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a final thought, imagine if you\u2019re employed as a bookkeeper of financial controller in a commercial organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you reconciled the bank account once a month how long would you keep your job? My guess is not very long.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why therefore is it OK as an external service provider to think its fine to reconcile a client\u2019s bank once a month or once a quarter?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>See bookkeeping for what it is \u2013 make it count and make it daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">The Human Firm<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><!-- wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">Discover how you can turn your accountancy practice into a Human Firm by downloading our essential guide and checklist.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- \/wp:paragraph --><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-35b910d3-4e32-4112-b3bf-c8d2cf982d8b\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download your free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1193068676-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1193068676-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discover why daily bookkeeping can result in more money coming in, both for your clients and your practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1685,"featured_media":11399,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[223,23,288],"business_type":[115],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[67],"imagine_tag":[220,301],"coauthors":[630],"class_list":["post-15291","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-money-matters","tag-accountant-accounting","tag-bookkeeping","tag-the-human-firm","business_type-accountants"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Will Farnell","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-530281091.jpg","imagine_tags":{"220":"Accountant accounting","301":"The Human Firm"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/1685"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15291"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15291\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/11399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=15291"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=15291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}