We Figure It Bookkeeping
About
My name is Jennifer Santerre and I'm the owner of We Figure It Bookkeeping, LLC My specialty is small, self-employed businesses and catching them up with QuickBooks and other Bookkeeping tasks. I'm a Certified QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor so I can help maintain QuickBooks Online Plus for all your real estate needs keeping track of your properties, customers, expenses and commissions.
I'm not your typical bookkeeper. I'm a business owner just like yourself, running a bookkeeping service, so I understand the hassles of running a small business.
I bet your strong point is not finances. You became a Realtor because you loved people and finding them a home that will make them happy.
Trust me, your not alone.
Many business owners, like yourself did not go into business to run the finances of the business. Well, I love numbers and figuring out how to make you profitable. I love finding where you can deduct your expenses and keep track of your commissions. At year end my job is to give you all the information you need to file your taxes. It's what I do and I would love to help you take that part off your plate.
I'm in the business of relationships, I don't just want to figure out your books, but I love to hear how you started your business, why you started it and what your goals for your business are. I love numbers and people, it's my top strengths. I decided to go into the bookkeeping business because it would allow me to analyze data, help people with an issue that they don't like, interact with different people and challenge myself all at the same time. How cool is that?
I specialize in:
Bookkeeping
Quickbooks & Set up
Chart of Accounts Set Up
Reconciling
Inventory and Asset Control
Customer and Vendor Database Maintenance
Payroll Preparation and Taxes
Clean-up of Books
Reconciling Monthly Bank Statements
Financial Reports
In addition towards working to be a Certified Bookkeeper, I am a member of the American Institute of Professional Bookkeeper (AIPB) and National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB).
I love numbers and I love meeting people and hearing the stories about why the are doing what they are doing. The fact that I can help them save money and not have to worry about the financial portion of their business is the best part of my job.
Photos and videos
No reviews (yet)
Frequently asked questions
What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
We offer a Free Consultation and no obiligation phone call to see what you have currently, what are you looking for and if I can help them.
Once we have determined if I can help you than I will ask that I be added to their QuickBooks as an Accountant. From there I can offer more advice. This could be a second phone call or the initital phone call.
I will send out a Bookkeeping Agreement via email with the terms that were agreed upon and once it is received back with signatures will proceed with doing the work.
Payment is invoiced at the end of each month for the work done.
What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I graduated from the University of North Dakota in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Finance Management.
After I graduated I worked in a securities firm handling mutual funds. In 1999 I moved to Boston and worked as a Trust Administrator handling millions of dollars in trusts and investments. I got married in 2000 and started worked in a Securities firm trading stocks and bonds and opened trading accounts. During that time I specialized in 10B-5 plans and IPO’s.
In 2004 I left the financial industry and spent the next 15 year years raising kids, starting a daycare, working from home and starting a side business. However, I wanted to get back to work and help people. My strongest strength is numbers and I did like working in the financial industry I decided to and become a ProAdvisor with Quickbooks. I am also working on getting my hours in to become a Certified Bookkeeper.
In addition towards working to be a Certified Bookkeeper I am a member of the American Institiute of Professional Bookkeeper (AIPB) and National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB).
So, if you need help keeping your books, I know how to do that and save you money. Please contact us today at [email protected].
Do you have a standard pricing system for your services? If so, please share the details here.
- Catch up Accounting $40/hour
- Quickbooks Set up (one time fee) $300
- Need less than 5 hours a month $40/hour(Two hour minimum charged per month)
The table below contains estimates of what our rates are for the flat fee monthly services as described to help give you a better idea.
Estimated Fee Structure
About 5 hours a month $200
About 10 hours a month $375
About 15 hours a month $450
About 20 hours a month $650
How did you get started in this business?
I got started as a bookkeeper because I love numbers and helping people. I am not an accountant but ran my own business for many years and the part I found the most exciting was the actual bookkeeping part of it.
Since my kids are much older now I decided to go back to work, however, I didn't want to work in an office as I loved the flexibility of working from home. So, I decided that I would start my own business by doing something I loved which is dealing with numbers.
The best part of my job is taking the stress off of a client and allowing them to do what they love to do while I get to help them keep track of the finances, which is something I love to do.
What types of customers have you worked with?
I love working with the self-employed and small businesses that can't afford a full-time financial person but who needs help a couple of hours a week.
I love working with those people who feel overwhelmed with keeping track of finances but once I either help them understand what they are doing they feel comfortable with it and aren't intimidated by it.
I also love just doing it for them if they truly despise the financial part and helping them with it so they can concentrate on their business.
Describe a recent event you are fond of.
So, I had a client who knew nothing of QuickBooks. They had started a business but never kept track of anything. They called me to help train them and not feel intimidated by it.
Over the next 3 months, I got them caught up in their accounting, trained them on how to do run payroll through a third party and reconcile their accounts. They still have some questions and I am there to help them. However, one of the family members pulled me aside on one of the last training sessions and thanked me for teaching her sister on how to keep books. Not only did I train her on QuickBooks, but I gave her confidence to help her dad run his business. She can now help others learn.
I will never forget the joy I felt on helping them become profitable.
What advice would you give a customer looking to hire a pro in your area of expertise?
My advice for a customer looking for a bookkeeper is not expect us to do taxes. I would also say that if you want someone to file taxes that are overdue and behind on tax payments, a CPA is their best asset for that.
I would tell them that a bookkeeper will help them maintain their books and identify ways where they can streamline their processes and save money. We do know some basic tax laws and can help you categorize expenses so you can take advantage of the deductions you might have.
An experienced bookkeeper can help you with all the vital tasks related to the financial aspects of your business.
This gives you time to focus on the important stuff such as growing your client base so that you can make all that money in the first place.
At times it may feel that you are willing to pay any amount of money to relieve you of the stress of month and year-end figures.
What questions should customers think through before talking to pros about their needs?
So some question you should ask yourself are:
1) Do I have time to enter sales and expenses from business? How far behind am I recording them?
2) Do I have employees or subcontractors? If you have employees I highly recommend a third party payroll service to do all the work for you as they will file all the necessary paperwork to the various agencies. If you have subcontractors, you will need to keep track of 1099 payments over $600 for them.
3) Am I registered with the state? Do I need to pay sales tax? You won't believe how many people are not registered
4) What's the biggest pain point in running my business?
5) Am I behind on tax filings? If so, than you need to hire a CPA not a bookkeeper.