Bookkeepers On Fire

Checks, chaos, and cash-back mysteries? Just another day in the life of a bookkeeper.

In this sizzling episode of Bookkeepers on Fire, Debbie and Donna dive into the wild world of check deposits, rogue workflows, and Hal’s infamous “pocket account.”

Here’s what went down:

✅ Teach the Workflow, Live in Reality
You can show clients the QBO way—but they’ll still do whatever they want. Adapt or combust.

💸 Cash-Back Confess...

🔥 Ever feel like your cleanup jobs are marching in a never-ending loop? You're not alone. In this episode of Bookkeepers on Fire, Debbie and Donna break down the chaos with a side of sass and strategy.

 Here’s what you’ll walk away with:

 ✅ Batch or Bounce: Whether you're multitasking cleanups or tackling one beast at a time—there’s no wrong way… except the one that burns you out.

 🧠 Pick Projects Like a Pro: Strategy calls...

🔥 FOUR DOLLAR DRAMA just dropped on Bookkeepers on Fire — and oh, it’s spicy.

When $4 turns into a full-blown management meltdown, we’ve got thoughts. And a mic. 🎙️

Here’s what went down:

🔸 Stop Penalizing the Tech – Taking $4 out of your tech's pay because you didn’t notice the underpayment? Bold move. Wrong one, though.

🔸 Fix the Payment Right – Accept the $440. Leave the $4 open. Call the customer. Or don’t. But don’...

🔥 Equity Fix Madness hit the podcast booth this week, and things got real. If you've ever stared at a balance sheet like it's gaslighting you—this one's for you.

Here’s what we unpacked on Bookkeepers On Fire:

🔻 Balance Sheet Baloney – When past-year mistakes haunt your cleanup like bookkeeping ghosts 👻
🧯 Equity Adjustments Gone Wild – Because sometimes “fixing it” just breaks something else

📎 Tax Prep Tangles – H...

Donna & Debbie of Bookkeepers On Fire aren’t here to play—unless it's with 🔐secure, 🔥spicy, and 😅slightly sarcastic password strategies.

If you're still scribbling logins on sticky notes... we need to talk. 

💥 What’s Inside: 

🧠 Why “1234” isn't a strategy (and neither is your kid’s birthday).

📲 RoboForm vs. 1Password – real talk on what actually works.

📝 The naming convention that saves your sanity (and your client’s...

💥 Tweak Your Life: A Peek into Our Not-So-Typical Workweek 💥

Ever wonder what a typical week looks like for two bookkeepers who run on caffeine, creativity, and a calendar obsession? Spoiler: It’s anything but boring. 😎

In this episode of Bookkeepers on Fire, Donna and Debbie unpack what “a typical week” looks like for two bookkeepers who refuse to be boxed into 9-to-5 life.

 ✨ Here's the behind-the-scenes chaos:

🗓️ How co...

🔥 Starting your virtual bookkeeping biz?

Before you dive into reconciliations and tech stacks, let’s talk real talk...

 Here’s what we wish someone told us at the start:

 💥 Skills ≠ Strategy
You know how to reconcile? Great. That’s not enough. You need business chops, not just spreadsheets.

💬 Be Visible + Valuable
Get on LinkedIn. Talk to strangers. Tell people what you do. You're not "just" virtual—you're unforgett...

🔥 In this episode of Bookkeepers on Fire is a spicy audit of one firm’s questionable hiring “strategy”

 A new bookkeeper gets hired “on probation” as a contractor for 60 days.

Here’s what we break down:

🔻 Misclassification Madness – Contractors on probation? That’s a legal burrito 🌯 full of bad decisions.

⚡ Fear-Based Decisions – An LLC won’t make you lawsuit-proof, despite what your paranoid spouse says

💣 Know the Ru...

When a client says “just a quarterly review” and “can I call you anytime?”—we’ve got thoughts. 😏

 In this episode, we tackle:

🔍 Why reviewing isn’t fixing (and why that matters for pricing)

💸 How to charge for “on-call” support without losing your mind (or weekends)

🧠 Why this level of service needs respect—and a higher rate

 It’s time to stop undervaluing your skills. Set the boundary, set the price, and send the invoice.

�...

Just starting out in bookkeeping? You’re not alone in the mess of mismatched balances and mystery journal entries. In this episode of Bookkeepers on Fire, we’re keeping it real—and hilarious.

🧩 Beginner mistakes we’ve all made (and cleaned up)

 💸 Why reconciling to zero isn’t always a win

 📉 Journal entries that should’ve never happened

 😂 Learn, laugh, and level up your bookkeeping game with us.

 🎯 Listen now—because the...

This episode dives into one of the most asked questions in our industry: Can you take on clients while still learning bookkeeping? The answer might surprise you… 😅

 💡 Here’s what we cover:

🔹 Learning vs. Earning – Why gaining hands-on experience before taking clients is crucial

💸 Pricing Pitfalls – How undercharging early on can hurt the whole industry

✨ Confidence = Value – Clients aren’t paying for time, they’re paying f...

🔥  "Nonprofit Trailblazer with No Workarounds" 🔥

Donna & Debbie sat down with the one and only Megan Tarnow—a nonprofit accounting genius who makes QBO sing 🎶 (and no, there are NO workarounds involved). 

✨ What’s inside this firecracker of a conversation? 

🔍 Accounting isn’t math—it’s puzzles. Megan breaks down how true nonprofit mastery comes from understanding both accounting AND the tools.

💥 Stop driving f...

This episode of Bookkeepers on Fire brings the heat on business meals, tax rules, and real-world money habits. 🍕📄💥

 Takeaways that might surprise you:

 🥡 Not all meals are taxed — travel meals, team parties, and coffee chats are deducted very differently.

 🖊️ You’ll need more than a receipt — think names, dates, and purpose to keep the IRS happy.

 🎯 A client’s $500/month Starbucks habit was the reason she couldn’t afford...

🔥 We made it to 100! 🔥

Bookkeepers on Fire just hit our 100th podcast episode, and we’re feeling all the love, laughter, and late-night Zoom calls that got us here.

What started as a hallway conversation at QuickBooks Connect turned into something that’s changed us—and connected us—with bookkeepers everywhere.

 Here’s what we’ve learned along the way:

 💬 Just start – We didn’t have all the answers. We hit record anyway.

 🧠...

🔥 How to Catch Small Errors Without Losing Your Mind 🎯

Donna & Debbie of Bookkeepers on Fire bring the heat 🔥 and the honesty 💬 when it comes to self-review, bookkeeping mistakes, and staying sane in a spreadsheet world.

 🌲 Zoom Out – Step away from the trees 🌳 and review with fresh eyes 👀.

 💥 Mistakes Happen – Even the pros 🧠 double-enter sometimes. Just fix it and move on ➕.

🤝 Find Your People – Lean on your bo...

🔥 Bookkeepers, let’s get real—Excel isn’t cutting it anymore.

On the latest Bookkeepers on Fire, Debbie & Donna break down how they stay organized (and sane) while juggling client chaos.

✅ Start with a system
Before chasing shiny apps, map out your client workflow. Tools like Notion, Bublup, or Keeper only work if you have a plan.

🧠 Gamify your to-do list
Turn productivity into a game with Tweek.so, Google Sheet...

👻 Clients Be Ghostin’? Not Anymore.

On the latest episode of Bookkeepers On Fire, we’re tackling one of the hottest topics in bookkeeping: clients who disappear when it’s time to pay. 🔥

 Here’s what we cover:

💳 How to ditch late payments with upfront & recurring billing

🔁 The magic of automated payments through QBO

🧾 Why it’s 100% okay to change your payment terms—even for existing clients

💡 Your business, your rules. ...

Are classes in QBO a blessing or a bookkeeping beast? We’re diving in with sass, strategy, and some strong opinions.   Tune in to hear how we really feel about tracking your bar, bus trips, and nonprofits.

 ✨ Here’s what you’ll learn:

 💡 When to use classes and when to walk away slowly...

 🏠 How one client bought the HOA to get better parking—and how we classed it all out

 📊 The difference between a well-structured class sy...

🔥 Priced to Flee – A Bookkeepers On Fire Breakdown with Debbie & Donna

Are clients handing you boxes of receipts like it’s 1997? Time to rethink your approach (and your price tag)! Here's the scoop:

📦 Set Boundaries – If clients want receipt management, they need to follow your tools, your process, and definitely not text you receipts.
💸 Charge What It’s Worth – Pricing starts at $500/month and up—because your tim...