Why Every SEO Coach Needs a Bookkeeper Who Feels Like a Partner: Brittany's Story
If you're a service provider growing your businessājuggling client work, marketing, maybe even deciding which offers to keep and which to let goāyour bookkeeping is probably the last thing you want to think about. But it might be the thing that changes everything.
That's exactly what happened for Brittany, an SEO Coach & Lead Gen Strategist, when she decided to switch bookkeepers and start working with me at Pothos Bookkeeping.
"I Was Ready for a Change"
Brittany wasn't new to working with bookkeepers. In fact, when I asked her why she decided to hire me, she was refreshingly honest:
"I have worked with bookkeepers before, but I was ready for a change. I noticed a few things that had slipped through the cracksāplusāI was looking to work with someone who'd feel more like a partner in this with me. Someone who'd be able to spot things I'm just not aware of."
That wordāpartnerāis one you'll hear a few more times in this post. It's exactly the kind of relationship I aim to build with every client, and it's the foundation for everything else.
Before: Survival Mode
Before we started working together, Brittany described her financial picture as "ok," but not much more than that:
"I had a rough idea of things that were happening, but didn't have a great handle on things. I wasn't in a good financial place after years and years and years of just being in survival mode."
If that sounds familiar, you're not alone. So many business owners (especially service providers who are heads-down doing client work) end up here. It's not that they don't care about their finances. It's that nobody's shown them how to actually see them clearly.
What We Found (and Fixed) in Her Books
When I started digging into Brittany's books, a few specific things stood out.
First, she had been using the simplified method for her home office deduction. We switched her to the actual expense method, which allowed her to capture significantly more of her real, legitimate expensesāadding meaningful savings she'd been missing out on for years.
Second, we found expenses that had been paid from her personal account but never made it into her booksāmoney she was entitled to write off that just wasn't being tracked.
Third, and maybe most importantly for where her business was headed, I built out custom Income Categories so she could see exactly where her revenue was actually coming from.
Here's why that mattered: Brittany was in the process of adding new services and trying to decide whether to keep her older ones. Specifically, she was weighing whether to move away from her Done For You services and lean more fully into Done With You coaching.
By splitting her income into these two categories, she could finally answer the question every business owner should be asking: Is my time being well spent with where my revenue is coming from?
That's the kind of clarity that turns bookkeeping from a compliance task into an actual business strategy tool.
The Proof Was in the Numbers
You don't have to take Brittany's wordāor mineāfor it. Here's what her CPA said when reviewing her 2025 numbers compared to 2024:
"Even though your 2025 QBO income is higher than 2024, your taxable income is almost the same. There are two reasons for this. One, QBO is 'cleaner' than 2024 and there are fewer nondeductible expenses running through your P&L. Two, your home office deduction almost doubled using the actual expense method (props to your bookkeeper for that one)."
Cleaner books. ([insert hair toss here])
Fewer nondeductible expenses slipping through.
A home office deduction that nearly doubled.
That's not just tidier bookkeepingāthat's more money staying in Brittany's pocket.
After: Confidence and Her Best Year in Business Yet
So how does Brittany feel now? In her own words:
"I feel SO confident about my financials now! I have a clearer understanding of my numbers, I'm more aware of what's happening, and because I've got someone in it who cares about things, too I find that I'm more engaged. Which has all added up to me having my BEST year in business yet!"
Best year yet. That's the outcome we're always working toward together.
And when I asked what it's actually like working with me day to day, she said:
"It feels like I've actually got a partner in this! I've got someone who's looking out for me, who knows things I just don't. I feel supported & in a way, protected. This is by FAR the best bookkeeping experience I've had in my decade as a business owner!"
When I asked what she'd want done differently? Her answer: "lol, I got nothing here. No notes!"
Brittanyās Experience with Pothos Bookkeeping in a Nutshell
"This is by FAR the best bookkeeping experience I've had in my decade as a business owner! If you're looking to partner with a bookkeeper who will feel like a part of your teamāstop scrolling. You've found Elli!"
A Little About Me, Elli!
I love helping you create balanceāand I prioritize it in my own life, too.
When I'm not wearing my small business bookkeeper hat and organizing your books, you can find me and my husband, Trey, planning our next trip, whether it be to a new country or a simple camping trip.
(We even built out our own van and lived on the road for a year!)
Besides a balanced spreadsheet, one of my greatest joys is waking up in the middle of an unexplored national park in the morning and starting my day with coffee, a book, yoga, and sunshine.
If you want to take the stress out of the financial end of your business, youāre in the right place.
Ready to feel confident like Brittany does about her finances?
