It's a fair question—one I hear all the time from coaches, consultants, designers, and other service providers.

After all, if you're just trading your time for money, sending invoices, and tracking expenses in a spreadsheet, what do you really need a bookkeeper for? Can't you just handle it yourself?

Look, you absolutely could handle it yourself.

But here's what I see every January when I'm catching up clients who DIY'd their books all year: one of two things happened.

Either they spent WAY too much time trying to keep up with it (time that could've been spent on client work, business development, or literally just taking a day off).

Or—and this is way more common—they just... didn't do it. At all. They kept putting it off, and putting it off, and now we're looking at 12 months of transactions that need to be categorized and reconciled and it's a mess.

(And honestly? I'm not judging. Bookkeeping is boring and confusing and it's easy to let it slide when you're busy running an actual business. But that doesn't make the cleanup any less painful.)

And half the time, when people DO try to keep up with it themselves, they're doing it wrong anyway.

(I'm not saying that to be mean. I'm saying it because bookkeeping is one of those things that seems straightforward until you actually try to do it, and then you realize... oh.)

Whether you realize it or not, DIY-ing your bookkeeping is costing you more than you think. Maybe it's time you're not spending on client work. Maybe it's money you're missing out on because you don't actually know your numbers. Maybe it's stress that's keeping you up at 2am wondering if you're doing it right.

But even if you're managing to keep up with it (for now), there's still a strong case for handing it off to someone who actually knows what they're doing.

Here's why a bookkeeper is not just a nice-to-have but a must-have for service-based businesses. 👇

Your Time Is Worth More Than You Think

Let's do some quick math: if you're spending 5-10 hours a month updating spreadsheets, categorizing transactions, and trying to figure out why your bank balance doesn't match QuickBooks, that's 60-120 hours a year.

If you bill your time at even $75/hour, that's $4,500-$9,000 worth of your time spent on bookkeeping. Every. Single. Year.

Those hours could be spent on billable client work, business development, or literally anything that actually generates revenue. Or—wild idea—you could just take a day off without feeling guilty because you're behind on your books.

(And if you're thinking "but Taylor, I kind of like doing my bookkeeping…" consider this: do you actually like it, or have you just convinced yourself you do because you're scared to let go of control? Be honest.)

Unless you're already a numbers person who genuinely enjoys financial tasks, you're likely spending way more time on bookkeeping than you need to. And that time adds up.

Here's What Having a Bookkeeper Actually Does for Your Business

A good bookkeeper does more than just categorize transactions. They can also give your business a serious boost in several key areas:

You'll actually know if you're making money.

It's easy to look at your bank account and think you're doing fine. But your bank balance doesn't tell you the full story.

A bookkeeper tracks everything—income, expenses, what you owe, what you're owed—so you can see if you're actually profitable or just busy.

(There's a difference. Trust me. I've seen plenty of "busy" businesses that were barely breaking even.)

You'll make better business decisions.

Want to hire help? Raise your rates? Invest in a course or new software? You need accurate financial data to make those calls.

A bookkeeper gives you clear reports so you can make decisions based on real numbers, not guesses.

I can't tell you how many times I've had clients tell me they "felt like" they were doing well, and then we looked at the actual numbers and realized they'd been operating at a loss for three months. Or the opposite—they thought they were struggling but actually had way more profit than they realized and could totally afford that VA they'd been putting off hiring.

You can't grow based on vibes. You need data.

You'll stop scrambling at tax time.

If you're one of those people who shares a Google Drive folder full of random screenshots with your accountant every April, your accountant hates you. (Sorry, but it's true.)

A bookkeeper keeps your records organized year-round, which makes tax prep way less painful—and potentially saves you money on your tax bill.

Plus, your accountant will actually like working with you, which means they'll probably give you better advice and faster responses. Win-win.

You'll catch mistakes before they become problems.

Missing transactions, duplicate charges, incorrect categorizations—these things happen. A bookkeeper catches them early so you're not stuck fixing a year's worth of errors or dealing with an IRS audit.

(I once noticed a new client was paying for two subscriptions to the same service for eight months. EIGHT MONTHS. She had no idea. We cancelled one, but imagine how much money she would've kept throwing away if nobody was actually looking at her expenses?)

You'll sleep better at night.

Knowing your finances are handled by someone who actually knows what they're doing? That's peace of mind you can't put a price on.

No more wondering if you forgot something or if you're doing it wrong.

No more 2am panic spirals about whether you remembered to categorize that expense or if you're going to owe a massive tax bill you didn't plan for.

Just... peace.

Look, I'm Not Saying You Need Me Specifically

But you probably need someone to handle your books if you actually want to grow your business without losing your mind.

They're making sure you know where your money is going, where it's coming from, and whether you're actually making a profit. They're giving you the financial clarity you need to grow.

So, if you've been putting off hiring a bookkeeper—or worse, if you're still trying to DIY it with a Google Sheet and good intentions—it's time to wake up and invest in someone who can actually help.

Then watch how it transforms the way you run your business.

A Real Example

I work with service providers just like you—coaches, designers, consultants, therapists, you name it. Most of them come to me because they're either:

1. Completely overwhelmed by their bookkeeping and avoiding it

2. Trying to DIY it but pretty sure they're doing it wrong

3. Recovering from a bad bookkeeper experience—someone who didn't actually know what they were doing and left their books in worse shape than before

(That last one? SO common. There are a lot of people calling themselves bookkeepers who have zero training and are just... winging it. And then their clients end up paying twice—once for the bad bookkeeping, and again to have someone fix it.)

Good bookkeeping doesn't just save you time. It tells you what's actually happening in your business.

It gives you confidence in your business decisions. It gives you peace of mind. It gives you back your weekends.

(And honestly? It gives you permission to stop pretending you enjoy doing your own bookkeeping. Because let's be real—you don't.)