Is Your Bookkeeper Actually Helping Your Business—Or Just Ghosting You With Excel?

You run a $400k cleaning business. You've got a crew out buffing floors, vacuuming office spaces, scrubbing residential showers like champions, and juggling invoices, supplies, and scheduling. Business is growing. That’s the good news.

The not-so-good news? You’re starting to wonder if your bookkeeper is, well… doing their job. Or awake. Or even still in the same time zone.

Let’s talk about it.

The Signs Your Bookkeeper Might Be Dropping the Ball (and Your Sanity)

1. They Take Forever to Reply (and That’s If They Reply at All)

If emailing your bookkeeper feels like sending a message into the void—or worse, waiting for a carrier pigeon to return—it’s a problem.

Timely communication is EVERYTHING. You're a business owner, not a pen pal. If your bookkeeper is taking a week (or longer!) to respond to simple questions or doesn’t answer calls, it’s not just frustrating—it’s costing you time and money.

2. You’re the One Catching Mistakes

If you're reviewing financials and noticing miscategorized transactions, missing expenses, or—heaven forbid—a math error, something's not right. You hired a bookkeeper to fix your books, not to have you double-check their work like a middle school group project.

You clean up messes professionally. You shouldn’t have to clean up financial ones too.

3. They’re Not Giving You Reports Unless You Ask (Beg)

You should be getting regular reports without having to ask for them like you're begging for scraps.

Profit & loss, cash flow, account balances—these should be delivered monthly, consistently, and without a guilt trip. If your bookkeeper only sends them after a reminder (or worse, not at all), they’re not doing the bare minimum.

4. They Don’t Understand Your Business

If your bookkeeper doesn’t know the difference between residential vs. commercial service pricing, seasonal fluctuations, or what supplies should be tracked as cost of goods sold… that’s a problem.

You want someone who understands how a cleaning business operates—period. Otherwise, they’re just shuffling numbers around without insight into what matters most to your success.

5. They Don’t Use the Right Tools (Or Any Tools?)

We live in 2025. If your bookkeeper is still emailing spreadsheets manually and doesn’t know how to sync with QuickBooks Online, bank feeds, or use a basic receipt capture tool… it might be time to upgrade.

Efficient bookkeeping uses modern software that integrates with your business systems to automate and streamline your finances. Not scribbles on sticky notes.

6. They’re Not Proactive—Just Reactive (If That)

The best bookkeepers flag issues before they become disasters. They say, “Hey, that AR balance is getting high,” or “Did you know your profit dipped 15% last month?”

A bad bookkeeper? They sit in the background until you discover a financial issue on your own. Then they shrug and mumble something about "being behind on reconciliations."

7. You Don’t Feel Like They Care

Maybe the worst sign of all—you just don’t feel like they’re invested.

They don’t ask about your goals. They don’t understand the importance of timely payroll. They’re not helping you figure out how to grow. Heck, they might not even remember your business name when they email you.

Bookkeeping is more than data entry—it’s financial support. If you feel like a number to them, it’s probably time to rethink the relationship.

So, What Should You Actually Be Getting?

If you're going to outsource your bookkeeping (which, at $400k in revenue, you absolutely should), here’s what a great bookkeeper brings to the table:

✅ Quick, reliable communication (think hours, not days)

✅ Monthly financial reports that actually make sense

✅ Accurate categorization of transactions

✅ Knowledge of your industry

✅ Integration with your current systems (like QuickBooks, bill pay portals, and CRMs)

✅ Real-time visibility into your cash flow

✅ Suggestions for improving financial health

✅ A human being who is invested in your success (bonus if they’re fun to talk to)

Because You Deserve Better Than Ghostbookkeeping

You didn’t work this hard to grow your business just to be held back by someone who can’t keep your books straight or answer an email. You need a bookkeeper who’s as detail-oriented, responsive, and invested in your success as you are in your clients’ homes and offices.

And hey, we happen to do exactly that.

We specialize in helping service-based businesses like yours—especially cleaning companies—stay organized, profitable, and prepared for growth.

Whether it’s cleaning up your books (pun fully intended), getting you set up with real-time financial reporting, or simply making your life a whole lot easier, we’re here to help.

📞 Call us at 406-404-8955 and let’s talk about how your books (and your sanity) could be in much better hands.