Entrepreneurship often begins with passion and a leap of faith. While there is plenty of uncertainty in starting a business, a strong partnership can ensure business owners are able to invest in their dreams.
By The Books is an accounting firm that helps small businesses and entrepreneurs manage their finances by providing bookkeeping, financial analysis and payroll services.
Sara Wolfe, the owner of By the Books, and her team work with clients ranging from electricians to doggy daycares to non-profits. Their services complement the work of a certified public accountant (CPA) who manages end-of-year taxes.
“A CPA is very big picture,” Sara said. “They are looking at all of the different pieces of a great big pie, whereas a bookkeeper is very fine-tuned into tedious transactional details.”
Sara provides free consultations, starting with a questionnaire and a virtual meeting to discuss a client’s financial needs.
“Opening up your books to somebody you don’t know is scary,” Sara said. “I help ease those fears and let them know that everything's going to be okay and we have their best interests at heart.”
Following a consultation, By the Books operates in two phases: project and maintenance. The project phase consists of going as far back as necessary to clean up a client’s books through the present day. Once compliant, clients can move right into day-to-day maintenance.
While many bookkeeping firms will charge clients based on a percentage of revenue made, By the Books’ business model charges based on transaction volume. They also offer three tiers of service: compliance, professional and growth.
Beyond standard bookkeeping services, the professional tier provides clients with financial analysis and can include back-office support, such as payroll and sales tax.
The growth tier is By the Books’ premier offering which includes both the previous tiers’ services, as well as in-depth reporting and strategic meetings focused on a business’s long-term growth. This is where Sara’s passion for helping her clients succeed shines.
“I am trying to get people to stop thinking, ‘Well, I'm just a small business,’” Sara said. “Today you are, but tomorrow, or six months from now, who knows what you could be.”
By the Books supports many small business owners throughout their entrepreneurial journey, including Dr. Tory Schoonmaker, a physician and owner of Vital Spine Therapy chiropractic clinic.
Dr. Tory specializes in spinal decompression, chiropractic care and rehabilitative therapy with over 16 years of experience. The biggest challenge he faced when opening his own practice was that his responsibilities quickly expanded.
Suddenly, he found himself wearing many hats, not only taking care of clients, but also being responsible for payroll and advertising. He needed to delegate, so he reached out to By the Books.
“The partnership with Sara makes my life significantly easier,” Dr. Tory said. “She does all the end-of-day closing and makes sure everything goes where it's supposed to go, so I don't have to worry about it; it’s fantastic.”
Dr. Tory said partnering with By the Books is, in one word, easy, and he described Sara as a “great accountability partner.”
“As a small business owner, people that you can absolutely trust are really hard to come by,” Dr. Tory said. “I never have to worry about that with Sara.”
Even more so having recently opened a second office in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, he appreciates how he can count on By the Books to manage his finances, freeing his time to focus on what matters most: his patients.
“Now that I'm older, and maybe a hair wiser, I realize that working smarter, not harder, is the way to get more satisfaction and more joy out of your work,” Dr. Tory said.
While some may not understand the value in hiring a bookkeeper, Sara further emphasized the importance of delegation as a small business owner.
“My question for the client is how much is your time worth?” Sara said. “Because you can do your own books, maybe, but how long is it going to take you? What are you missing out on because you're too scared to let go?”
Sole proprietors, entrepreneurs and small businesses alike – Sara and By the Books want to help their clients tackle financial roadblocks and make their business dreams come true. For more information about By the Books, visit their website https://www.bythebooks.biz/, or call today at 682-220-9288.
“It is never too early,” Sara said. “My consults are free, and you can have as many as you need to get the foundation in place at the beginning. It makes life so much easier.”
"Stop thinking, ‘Well, I'm just a small business. Today you are, ... but who knows what you could be.”
“Opening up your books to somebody you don’t know is scary. I help ease those fears and let them know that everything's going to be okay ... and we have their best interests at heart.”