The Ambitious Bookkeeper with Serena Shoup, CPA

The Ambitious Bookkeeper with Serena Shoup, CPA We help bookkeepers grow their businesses.
🎙️The Ambitious Bookkeeper Podcast

I help experienced and aspiring accountants start and grow their own virtual bookkeeping businesses so they can create their ideal life. Over the past few years of running my own virtual accounting firm, I've noticed there is an abundance of small businesses that need help from qualified bookkeepers and accountants so I started mentoring others who had the desire to help these businesses.

10/10/2026

Does your client's CPA care if you use Xero or QBO?

Real talk: if they're a good CPA, all they care about is accurate books.

Most CPA firms just need a trial balance to pull into their tax software. The system you use? Not the priority.

What actually matters:
📊 A clean trial balance from double-entry software
📁 A year-end tax package with the details they need
🧾 Fixed assets, donations, meals, penalties, and non-deductible items broken out into their own accounts
💬 Open communication so they feel comfortable asking you questions

Hear more in Ep 253 🎙️
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10/08/2026

There is no "quick" way to land bookkeeping clients.

Which should make sense

Your clients are opening up their numbers to you.
You can see SO much about a business just by looking at its books.

That takes trust.

Here's what actually builds trust:
💬 Real conversations and referral relationships
🎙️ Podcast interviews where your ideal clients listen
🗣️ Presentations

And the timing matters. From now through the end of the year, and into January, business owners scramble to get caught up for taxes.

Plant the seeds NOW.

Hear more in Ep 253 🎙️
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10/05/2026

Your client doesn't care what the textbook calls it.

If a “budget” feels restrictive to your client, they're not gonna use it.

Call it a plan or something else instead.

Same goes for your chart of accounts. If a client keeps asking what "bank fees" includes, rename it "bank and processing fees."

One tiny change, much less confusion.

We're not married to these names. What matters is what they mean to your client.

Speak their language and watch them actually use what you build.

Hear more in Ep 252 🎙️
Connect with Katie
https://instagram.com/orderlyaccountingbykatie
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10/03/2026

If your business feels stuck, it's usually one of two things.

1. A client problem. You don't have enough of them. And real talk, it's usually because you're not promoting. Get out of your head and into action.

2. A capacity problem. You're operating way over capacity. No time to train a team member. No time to improve a process. Or you just don't want to spend the money on it.

That second one is sneaky. It feels like hustle, but it keeps you perpetually stuck and can drive you straight into the ground.

Training takes time. Better processes take time. Good help costs money. All of it buys your time back. ⏳

Hear more in Ep 252 🎙️
Connect with Katie
https://instagram.com/orderlyaccountingbykatie
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10/01/2026

They're not gonna fire you for not having the answer. 🙅‍♀️

So many bookkeepers avoid advisory because they're scared of getting on a call and getting stumped.

But here's what actually happens.

My guest Katie Ferro was on a call with a client and her two advisors. They asked if the formulas would carry over when exporting a Xero report pack to Excel.

Katie had never done it. So she said, "I don't know. Let me see." And she did it right there on the call.

Nobody cared. Nobody left.

We think we need the answers.

What we actually need is to ask more questions.

Your current clients already trust you. They already know you see everything in their business. That's a huge head start.

Stop standing on the treadmill watching everyone else on the gym floor.

Hear more in Ep 252 🎙️
Connect with Katie
https://instagram.com/orderlyaccountingbykatie
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Things my business allows me the space to do (even when I’m super busy): - be creative & learn a new skill (quilting!)...
09/30/2026

Things my business allows me the space to do (even when I’m super busy):
- be creative & learn a new skill (quilting!)
- drive thru the mountains
- hike & meetup with other bookkeepers
- play piano with my daughter
- play tennis with my kids
- build things in my yard

Going through my photos is a good reminder that even when life felt overwhelming and too busy, I still made time for myself.
Everything is what you make it. 🩵

09/28/2026

While AI tools get smarter, they won't replace the human touch that connects us with clients.

It's not about replacing, but enhancing.

Hear more in Ep 251 🎙️
Connect with Katie
https://instagram.com/orderlyaccountingbykatie
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09/26/2026

Ever wonder why clients switch bookkeepers even when the books are tidy? 🤔

It's often because they feel a gap between numbers and action.

One question can make all the difference: "Do you send monthly reports?"

Do you offer this to your clients? Let us know! 👇

Hear more in Ep 251 🎙️
Connect with Katie
https://instagram.com/orderlyaccountingbykatie
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Prescott, AZ

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