Two Miles Daily, Issue 057: What Happens After You Send Me a Message
People sometimes tell me they put off reaching out because they didn't know what would happen next. Would they have to explain everything perfectly? Would they get a sales pitch? Would someone judge the box of receipts in the truck?
So here's what it actually looks like on my end.
First, I read your message myself. Two Miles is me. There's no call center and no handoff to someone you've never met. I check messages most days, and you'll always hear back within five days. Then we find a time to talk.
That first conversation is mostly me asking questions. What kind of work do you do? How do you get paid? Who's doing the books now, if anyone? What's been bugging you? I'm listening for the question underneath the question. "I need a bookkeeper" sometimes means "I have no idea which jobs make money." "Can you help with 1099s?" sometimes means "I've never collected a W-9 from anyone."
Then I look at what you have. That might be a QuickBooks file, bank statements, a spreadsheet, or a folder of receipts. I'm not grading you. I'm figuring out where things stand: what's current, what's behind, and what would make the biggest difference first.
After that, I tell you in plain language what I'd suggest and what it would cost. Sometimes it's monthly bookkeeping. Sometimes it's a one-time cleanup. Sometimes it's "you're in better shape than you think, and here are three things to fix." If what you need is outside what I do, I'll tell you that too and point you in a better direction.
Once we start, the rhythm is simple. Transactions get categorized, accounts get reconciled, and you get reports you can actually read, with me there to walk you through them.
Why I work this way: I've worked in finance and bookkeeping roles since 2008, and I still work as a financial controller. In that world, nobody gets to say "I think the numbers are right." You check. You reconcile. You explain. I bring that same habit to small businesses, because a roofer or a real estate agent deserves the same care with their numbers that a larger company gets.
You don't need to be organized before you reach out. That's kind of the point.
If something has been sitting on your "I really need to deal with that" list, send me a message through the Contact page. No pitch, just a conversation.
— Rachel, Two Miles LLC