24/7 Bookkeeping/Tax Agent/Accounting Service - Beta Testers Required

bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 09:47

Hi Guys,

I've been working hard on a project for the last 5 months which is due to launch at months end. In essence it is an around the clock advisory service for clients which will offer Bookkeeping, Tax Agent and Accounting advice. All professionals are screened for qualifications and insurance to ensure you are dealing with real professionals.

Anyone can use it and is designed to all enquiries no matter how big or small with the added benefit of around the clock availablity and in the comfort of your own space.

Leading up to launch date I need to do some Beta testing to ensure a smooth launch and wanted to put the call out to anyone who is either a registered Bookkeeper, Tax Agent or Accountant who would like to join this journey with me? Your input would be greatly appreciated to make this a quality service for all users.

Financial

Comments

  • Master Bates on 10/11/2016 - 10:37

    In the long run, what are these professionals going to get in return for their time and money? Not having a dig, just interested to know your marketing plan to get the service populated and useful.

    I'm none of the above by the way so can't help out.

    • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 11:58

      Fair question MB,

      Professionals will not be the ones looking for clients, we will be doing all the advertising to bring it to them as we plan to hit the market hard. Professionals will have an open Australian (and international) line of enquiries for which we will source for them. They dont have to worry about debt collection as monies are paid up front and held in trust until a client enquiry is completed. Finally administration is taken care of as we prepare all professional invoicing for clients. We don't set the fees, that is between the client and the professional to negotiate.

      We plan in time to offer CPD opportunities for our professionals also as well as other technical data for what's happening out there.

      Basically it's an excellent opportunity for professionals who are looking for extra work to find some (subjectively speaking of course).

  • jzx100 on 10/11/2016 - 12:04

    Will you be paying penalty rates for advice from a profession at out of hours time? Or will it be a case of finding any cheap accountant that can provide advice?

    • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 13:00

      We are merely an agent between the 2 parties. So price is negotiated between the professionals available and the client.

  • mrsi on 10/11/2016 - 12:32

    What are you going to charge professionals? A commission per job or a flat rate and at what price?

    I am qualified and registered but would want to know more first.

    • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 12:59

      We charge a flat rate of 20% of the job value. Job value is negotiated between the client and the professional. Let me
      Know what other information you would like mrsi given you fit the criteria

    • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 13:02

      No joining or membership fees. You can simply join and see what's available and determine if it's worthwhile or in your scope without any obligation.

  • bongom on 10/11/2016 - 13:49

    How are you going to stop the professionals eliminating the middleman charging 20% and dealing directly with client?

    • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 13:52

      Never really can 100%. It's like eBay. That being said if there are measures in place if we find out that people use us as a referral service. Also if people take their business away from us it means that we don't guarantee their services. Our model is based upon quality service and we reserve the right to remove anyone who impedes that. Also in the event there is a dispute, we can't intervene so it's all on them…

  • JetLi on 10/11/2016 - 14:28

    How are you going to guarantee a high quality level of service or do you disclaim yourself from this as you are just the "middle man"? As has been seen, there are plenty of cowboy tax agents or bookkeepers that give bad advice. Furthermore, wouldnt the average person just call the ATO/their accountant if they have questions? Don't really understand how your service is different to someone just googling "accountant, tax agent or bookkeeper" or looking up their local yellow pages.

    • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 15:23

      All good questions.

      Clients have the ability to rate their professional after they have dealt with them. This allows us to determine the level of standard we expect professionals to have. Anyone who falls short will be spoken with and at worst case removed from our system all together. We personally screen all professionals prior to application to make sure all have the appropriate quals also.

      And yes you're right. People can call the ATO or their accountant. We see our service filling in needs outside their hours of operation or for those who can't get in during normal hours. The difference being with us over the ATO is that your paying for advice that can be relied upon. As an accountant I can tell you that the ATO doesn't have answers for all situations that present themselves…

      People can use google to search for their answers. But once again, we offer professional definitive advice and service based on that individual rather than a generic situation (which can prove problematic if interpreted incorrectly).

      An example for where our service might be useful is if you take a small business who is up late at night desperately trying to prepare group certificates or their BAS and needs an answer then they can get that quite readily.

      • dasher86 on 10/11/2016 - 15:48

        just because you're paying for advice doesn't mean it can be relied upon.
        Accountants don't have all the answers either - many things fall into a grey area and sometimes there is no definitive answer.
        Accountants offer professional judgement based on experience and special training, this is what you are paying for, but it doesn't mean that their answers are definitive.
        Accountants get audited all the time and have to make adjustments.
        Accounting and tax law is open to interpretation in many areas.

        • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 16:08

          True. But they will be accountable for the advice they give. So if a decision was made and worst case it was deemed to be wrong. That's where PI comes into play.

  • mrsi on 10/11/2016 - 20:53
    +1

    My issue with this is many people think our time is worth nothing/very little. I love helping small business and do it with my clients at all hours, but they also realise I'm not free. The fact I care means I help them when they need it, not when it's convenient for me. They recognise that and pay me for my time.

    Still, I'm happy to test it in my spare time but I can't promise a huge chunk of time.

    • bemybubble on 10/11/2016 - 21:05

      Of course mrsi I can relate to what you're saying. To be honest this idea spawned out of hatred for people contacting me outside normal work hours for 'accounting emergencies'. But then I realised there is a market for people needing advice at anytime no matter how big or small and are willing to pay for it. I think the beauty about the concept is that you give it as much time as you want or as little as you want. you may have downtime where you are looking for 'odd jobs' and want the convenience of not having to look for it. That's where we facilitate that for you. By the sounds of things you will probably never need us to find work as you come across pretty established, but you never know what you might find on our platform.

      If you're keen send me a pm. Won't be any pressure from my end. Any feedback is great.

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