How I Doubled My Revenue By Outsourcing My Freelance Bookkeeping
Back in 2017, I made $60,000 in freelance revenue and by 2018, I had doubled it, making over $120,000 in revenue – solely from my freelance graphic design business. The number one way I did this was FINALLY outsourcing tasks in my business.
Here's what I've learned in my 7+ years of freelancing – although as freelancers we're expected to wear all the hats in our business, the best way to make more money is by outsourcing so you have more time to focus on the income-generating tasks in your business. If you've hit the $60,000 annual revenue threshold, I highly recommend you start outsourcing some of those tasks. Not only does outsourcing give you the time to make more money in your business, but it also means you get to offload some of the tasks you hate doing.
While I also outsourced things like Pinterest management and some of my client work, my favorite thing that I outsourced (and the task that I suggest all of my freelance coaching clients start with too) is my freelance bookkeeping.
What exactly is bookkeeping for freelancers?
Bookkeeping for freelancers is tracking your monthly income and expenses, categorizing those expenses (for both your knowledge and for your end of the year tax write-offs), and making sure you know where your money is coming from and going to inside your freelance business. Not only is bookkeeping a task you should be doing monthly but it's a task that is imperative for knowing your numbers and therefore growing your business.
I won't lie, freelance bookkeeping is a huge time suck, so it's really hard to get motivated and stay on top of. (Plus it's hella' boring and most of us creatives dread the thought of numbers and spreadsheets.) Unfortunately for me, up until 2018, I was doing my freelance bookkeeping all by myself – and I freaking hated it.
By tax season of that year, I had vowed I would never do my own freelance bookkeeping again. In 2018 I officially started outsourcing my freelance bookkeeping to a subscription-based platform that handled it all for me. And it was a FREAKING DREAM.
No more hours-upon-hours inside of Google Sheets reconciling my accounts. No more questions about whether I was even doing my freelance bookkeeping correctly. No more scrambling at the end of tax time because I had someone finalizing my bookkeeping reports and doing all of my tax prep for me. No more freelance bookkeeping stress to make my head spin month after month.
Have I piqued your interest? Good, now let me introduce you to Collective.
Collective* is a subscription-based freelance bookkeeping platform as well as an all-in-one financial solution for self-employed entrepreneurs. This means they take care of your monthly freelance bookkeeping, LLC or S-Corp formation and compliance, accounting, payroll, and best of all – your quarterly taxes and end-of-year tax returns.
Here's how it works:
First, you'll answer a few questions to see how best Collective can save you money at tax time – did you know Collective members* save an average of $10,000?
Next, you'll meet with a Collective advisor to ensure they're a good fit for where you're at in business. Once you officially join Collective, they'll help you set up an S-Corp as well as get you an EIN, and business license, and even help you open a business bank account.
Then you'll meet your dedicated accounting and tax team who will be responsible for your monthly bookkeeping, payroll, and annual tax filing for both your personal and business tax returns. With Collective, you'll also be assigned a direct point of contact who will be your go-to person for any bookkeeping, tax, and financial questions that come up throughout the year.
You'll then receive monthly freelance bookkeeping reports as well as personalized advice and answers to your freelance finance questions any time you need them!
The best part is it's SUPER affordable (even more so with my discount code) and way cheaper than hiring a bookkeeper. You can click here* to see your different pricing options and get your first two months for 50% off! (Or use code MARIAH when you sign up!)