[Question] QuickBooks Virtually

[kimbeckers]

Hi fellow VA Bookkeepers,

I have a client (well almost) that wants me to do some bookkeeping for her amongst some other things. She wants to use QuickBooks but is a bit skeptical about the whole virtual thing. I suggested that she could use QuickBooks Online, not a huge fan but for what she needs done it servers the purpose, but she does not even believe in online banking. I also offered here goToMyPC as a solution but she did not seem to keen on that either. The last suggestion that I had for her was sending the file back and forth but she was not too keen on that either.

What other suggestions can you offer?

Your input is very much appreciated.

Thanks,
Kim :-)

[KathyCrofoot.com]

See if you can pin down what her concerns are. Is it confidentiality? How about a fear of exposing her financial situation? Is it loss of control? Or is it she is unconfortable sharing her finanical information because she fears misuse?

I have a client who had some of those concerns, and we were able to work out a system where I only had access to information (read only) and could not directly access their accounts. It is working well so far. I send her a portable company file monthly with the most recent updates, and her accountant gets the updated backup file quarterly. We've been working together for more than a year now.

[kimbeckers]

Thank you for your response. I think her main concern is safety of her information. Her office is about 30 minutes or so from me and she is fine with the access if I were to do it in her office but is not that comfortable with the information being sent over the internet.

[KathyCrofoot.com]

What you're saying is she is fearful that the information will fall into the wrong hands, right? Explain to her how you will safeguard her files. Would you provide password protection? How about on your computer? Do you have password protections?

Is there something else behind the concern? Was she a victim of identity theft, or does she know someone who was? Usually that is what prompts the concerns. How would you address them?

It would be costly for her if you were to go to her office to make the updates, with travel time and mileage. I have more than one client who trusts me to keep their files safe and supply them with the reports they require to run their business.

[kimbeckers]

Thanks Kathy,
I will try to get to the heart of her concerns, she has now asked to perform a background check on me. Is this common practice? I have never been asked this before. I understand where she is coming from and do not have a problem with it but was wondering if anybody else has been asked this before?

I do have other clients that I do bookkeeping for, I use GoToMyPC for both of those clients without incident.

[KathyCrofoot.com]

I've never had a client ask for a background check that I know of, but I can understand the concern. It seems like a face to face might put her concerns to rest. There are only 3 of my clients that I have never met before. The rest I have met when I travelled to their area and asked for the meeting. That was after I'd worked with them for some time.

[kimbeckers]

Yes, I have offered to meet her and we will be setting up something for next week, I just hoping to have some other options for her when we meet.

Thanks,
Kim

[leedrozak]

Let her do a background check if she wants to pay for it. If you were in the JOB world chances are the same would be done as well. She sounds like she just does not like the whole concept of online financials. Do you have E&O you can give her to ease her fears as well. Put together a security plan and meet with her F2F this may be all that she needs to ease her fears.

[Office Goddess]

I would also suggest getting a service bond (provides insurance for her against theft by you or an employee of yours from her bank accounts). Mine is $100/year and makes my clients feel better about me having access to their bank accounts and financial information...

As I posted in another thread:

... I provide bookkeeping services. I have general liability insurance (to cover my equipment, etc.), E&O Insurance (errors & omissions), and a Service Bond (to cover theft from my clients by my company). The General Liability was $225 (State Farm) and the E&O/Service bonds were $500 & $100 respectively (NAPLIA - accounting industry specific). However, I feel that $825/year is a small price to pay for my, and my client's, peace of mind.

[kimbeckers]

Thanks for your suggestions. This is actually my first client that I am doing books for that I have known in the past so I understand where she is coming from. I told her no problem with the background check as I have nothing to hide.

I do not have the security bond, how would I go about getting this? And how long does it take to do so?

Thanks