Customer Story

Amy Hooke: The Savvy Bookkeeper

The Savvy Bookkeeper by the numbers

>570

Bookkeepers assisted with their business plans

Background

The Savvy Bookkeeper, founded by Amy Hooke in Melbourne, Australia, offers strategic planning and consulting services to bookkeepers. Amy started her own bookkeeping firm, Off The Hook Bookkeeping, in 2014, and soon realized that the challenges she faced in growing her business were common to all bookkeepers. This insight led her to establish The Savvy Bookkeeper, which has since helped hundreds of bookkeepers align their business and life visions. With a team of eight full-time staff, The Savvy Bookkeeper provides comprehensive support, including website development, marketing strategies, and team management advice.

"We help our clients relieve the overwhelm of working outside their skill set."

Amy Hooke

Founder, The Savvy Bookkeeper

Problem

Bookkeepers often struggle with strategic business planning, pricing their services, and adapting to rapid industry changes. Many lack confidence in managing their own businesses, let alone offering advisory services to clients. Amy needed a tool that could help her guide bookkeepers through the process of setting up and growing their businesses, while also allowing for collaboration and ongoing planning sessions.

Solution

Amy discovered LivePlan and integrated it as the core tool for The Savvy Bookkeeper's strategic advising services. LivePlan's user-friendly interface, collaborative features, and comprehensive planning sections (pitch, plan, industry research, and forecast) provided the framework Amy needed to have meaningful conversations with her clients. The platform allowed for both quick client meetings, and facilitating ongoing planning sessions, covering all aspects of business planning from idea validation to pricing and growth strategies.

Outcome

Using LivePlan, Amy has transformed how she delivers strategic advising services to bookkeepers. The tool has enabled her to help clients transition from hourly billing to more profitable fixed monthly fees. Amy uses LivePlan's pitch feature to create high-level overviews, the plan section to detail 3-5 year goals, and the milestone section to break these down into actionable steps. The forecast section has been particularly valuable in helping bookkeepers price their packages effectively. LivePlan's integration with QuickBooks and Xero allows for comprehensive financial analysis and reporting. As a result, Amy's clients have gained confidence in managing their businesses and offering advisory services to their own clients. The success with LivePlan has even inspired Amy to restart her original bookkeeping business, Off the Hook Bookkeeping, with plans to use LivePlan for business owner clients as well.