What a bookkeeper's website needs so small business owners call you

A small business owner looking for a bookkeeper is usually behind. The receipts are in a shoebox, the GST is due, and they are about to hand a stranger their bank statements. They ask four things, in this order.

1. Do you do the thing I'm behind on?
2. Are you a real person, near me?
3. What will it cost?
4. How do I hand it over?

I read three Vernon bookkeeping sites. All three answer the first question. None answers the fourth, and only one comes near the third.

1. Do you do the thing I'm behind on?

All three list what they do in words an owner uses: payroll, source deductions and remittances, T4s, bank and credit card reconciliations, payables, receivables, month-end. One lists the payroll frequencies it handles.

That's what to copy. The owner isn't searching for "financial services". They're searching for "payroll Vernon", or "catch up my books". Name each job as its own line, and add the ones that bring people in a panic: catching up a year of late books, and getting your files ready for your accountant.

Say which software you work in. One of the three says "QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor", and the other two don't mention software at all. An owner who already pays for QuickBooks wants to know you'll work in it.

Say who you work for. One site names forestry. A tradesperson, a shop and a one-person company don't all want the same thing, and "I work with tradespeople and small shops" tells them they're in the right place.

2. Are you a real person, near me?

Search results for "bookkeeper Vernon" are full of out-of-town firms with a Vernon page. Those pages have no Vernon phone number and no Vernon person.

That's your advantage, so use it. Two of the three give a phone number and an email, and two give their hours. Two put a person and their experience on the page: "over 30 years of experience in finance" is the sort of line that works. Only one has anything that says Vernon, and it's the town and nothing more.

Put your name, a photo, your phone number, your hours and "Vernon" on the first screen. If you come to the owner's shop, or take photos of receipts by text, say so. Two of the three offer remote or mobile service.

One thing about titles. In BC, only members of the CPA body can call themselves a Chartered Professional Accountant or a Professional Accountant, and "implying" it counts. Bookkeeping itself isn't regulated. So call yourself a bookkeeper, and list what you can prove: a QuickBooks certification, a bookkeeping designation, years of experience. One of the three uses "CPA, CGA" because he holds them. Don't use "accountant" unless you are one.

3. What will it cost?

Two of the three offer a free first conversation. Only one talks about price at all, and it says it will "customize a service package specific to your needs and budget". No number.

A small owner asks the price first, and a missing price reads as "expensive". You don't have to price every job. Give a starting figure and what it includes:

> Monthly bookkeeping from $__ a month, up to __ transactions. Payroll from $__ a run. Catching up a year of late books: quoted after a free call.

An owner who sees a number can decide. An owner who doesn't often picks the one who lists it, even if that one costs more.

4. How do I hand it over?

None of the three has a "how it works" section. That's the question behind the whole decision: do I give you my passwords, send you a box of paper, or what?

Four short steps do it:

1. We talk for 30 minutes, free.
2. You tell me what you're behind on, and I tell you the price in writing.
3. You send me bank statements and receipts. A photo from your phone is fine.
4. I do the books and send a short report each month.

One of the three says "secure bookkeeping support". Handing over a bank statement is a trust decision, so add a line on how you receive and store documents.

The two answers nobody gives

1. A price, even a starting one.
2. How it works, in four steps.

Add those two to a page that already has your name, phone and services, and you're ahead of all three.

Where this goes on your site

Your name, photo, phone number, hours and "Vernon" go at the top of the home page, with a button for the free first talk. Your services come next, then a starting price and the four steps.

Want it done? Text me your business name at 778 808 5385. I'll look at your site and tell you what I'd change, and the rebuild is free. Here are sites I made up, so you can see what they look like.

Written by Mackenzie Bowes in Vernon, BC. October 27, 2026.