Accounting & Bookkeeping Business Plan

Max Greenwood is CEO and sole manager of The Sorcerer’s Accountant. With the launch of bookkeeping services, Greenwood will oversee a part-time bookkeeping manager who will oversee the work of the bookkeepers. The manager will be in an MBA or MS accounting program with professional work experience and bookkeeping experience, preferably at the start of his or her graduate school program so that he or she can work through the program’s two years and then be considered for a move to a full-time position in year three. This manager will work from the Sorcerer’s Accountant office or remotely, checking in with the bookkeepers by email and phone to remain apprised of the situations and problems they are facing. The manager will be present for the bookkeepers’ training by Max Greenwood, so he or she will be aware of their responsibilities and requirements.

Periodically, the manager will visit the bookkeepers on-site and also request to audit their work directly to spot any problems before they become issues for the clients. Any issues with the bookkeepers will be reported by the clients to the bookkeeping manager directly. He will either handle them himself or report to Greenwood for help.

Greenwood will remain in close contact with the bookkeeping manager and review work samples from the bookkeepers at least once a month.

Personnel Plan

The bookkeeping manager will move from a part-time position over the next two years to a full-time position in the third year. As mentioned previously, this is designed for an accounting graduate student interested in being part of this growing organization. If this student becomes a CPA, the role can continue to expand and he can take on accounting work within the organization as well as oversight of the student bookkeepers. This growth, and the fact that the business will offer benefits, are the strategy to retain this key employee in future years.

Direct cost wages for student bookkeepers’ billable hours are listed in the Sales Forecast. The wages shown for student bookkeepers in this table represent only training periods (non-billable hours) when new bookkeepers join the business. We will start with two part-time bookkeepers at the start of 2010, and increase to three midyear, adding a fourth in the second year and doubling the student bookkeeping staff to eight total in the third year. 

Employee benefits are 10% of payroll and are provided only for the management.