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Specializing in bookkeeping for small businesses
The husband-and-wife team Sonya and Jacob Livshits founded BooksTime in 2016 in Newton, MA. Sonya, a CPA at a leading accounting firm, and Jacob, a technology entrepreneur, empathized with small businesses' struggles in finding a good bookkeeping solution. This understanding led them to start BooksTime with a mission to simplify financial management for small business owners. In this article, we interviewed Jesse Gildesgame, who joined as the company's third co-founder and serves as its CEO.
Reflecting on the company's origins, Gildesgame shared, "We saw a real need in the market for accessible, professional bookkeeping services tailored to small businesses. Many entrepreneurs were struggling to manage their finances while trying to grow their companies, and we wanted to change that." He added, “Sonya and Jacob realized these businesses couldn't really afford the kind of high-quality bookkeeping services that larger businesses took for granted. And the goal was to bring that level of real financial clarity to small businesses that basically forever had always to choose between service providers that were too expensive that they couldn't afford, and service providers that didn't really know what they were doing.”
Securing a client base takes time with any startup. Still, once BooksTime landed its first customers, the founders felt their business was solid. "We knew we were onto something important. Every satisfied client reinforced our belief that we were making a real difference for small businesses," Gildesgame said.
The co-owner shared more insight into the need for bookkeeping solutions tailored to small businesses. He noted that many small business owners manually maintain their books, which is time-consuming and tedious. Additionally, there’s widespread confusion about the difference between a bookkeeper and an accountant. Bookkeeping primarily focuses on keeping accurate financial records, while accounting includes bookkeeping and more, such as auditing, tax preparation, etc.
Gildesgame discussed how BooksTime helps small businesses manage their finances. "Our approach combines the human touch with advanced software solutions. This allows us to provide accurate, efficient bookkeeping while maintaining a close relationship with our clients."
Today, BooksTime has grown significantly and serves a diverse array of small businesses across various industries. “We went from being a very small local kind of mom-and-pop shop to one of the probably top 10 bookkeeping firms in the country. And that's a big change. And with that growth, there's a really meaningful difference in our ability to serve businesses with more unique needs. So in the early days, we were generally taking on pretty simple small businesses only, and we still work with simple small businesses, but now we can work with clients with a little bit more complexity, a little bit more specialization requirements.”
Gildesgame also noted that the company's growth is a testament to client satisfaction. New customers often come to BooksTime via word of mouth. “Referrals are exponential. The more clients we have, the more referrals we have, the more referrals we have, the more clients we have.”
Looking to the future, Gildesgame is optimistic about BooksTime's continued expansion and impact. "Our goal is to empower even more small business owners to take control of their finances," he stated. "We're constantly innovating and improving our services to meet the changing landscape of small business accounting."
Even as BooksTime expands, it remains true to its founding principle of providing small businesses with the financial clarity and support they need to thrive. “We think that right now, it's still true for the vast majority of small businesses and nonprofits in the US that there just aren't really that many good bookkeeping options. A lot of people are still doing things in a very old-fashioned, old-school sort of way. And if we can help more small businesses and especially small nonprofits, any kind of small organization, modernize the way they do bookkeeping, I think it can make a real impact,” Gildesgame said.
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