Episode 9: Legal Questions Bookkeepers & Accountants Often Ask (Answered!) with Linsey Levine
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Conquering Workflows & Systems for Bookkeepers & Accountants podcast with Alyssa Lang, founder of Workflow Queen and Magnetic Bookkeeping & Consulting and Linsey Levine, the owner of Linsey Shae Consulting. Episode topic: Legal Questions Bookkeepers & Accountants Often Ask (Answered!).
I interview Linsey Levine, the owner of Linsey Shae Consulting and an amazing lawyer. In this episode we dive into all the necessary legal things you should be aware of as a bookkeeper, contracts you should have in place and so much more. Linsey is a wealth of knowledge and this episode is jam packed with tips.
In this episode you’ll hear:
What to do when you have legal questions and how to find the right legal professional for your needs
What contracts you should have in place for your bookkeeping business
Why you should have contracts reviewed by a lawyer
The scary things that can happen when you don’t legally protect your company
Resources mentioned in this episode:
*Use code WFQ10 on any of her templates for 10%
📝 Bookkeeper Services Business Bundle Agreement
📝 Bookkeeper Services Agreement
📝 Tax Service Business Bundle Agreement
💻 Breakthrough for Bookkeepers & Accountants
Listen to the Full Episode here 👇🏼
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*The information in this blog and podcast are for educational purposes only and not intended to be used as individual tax advice
One of the hardest parts of owning a business is knowing how to navigate some of the legal questions and overcoming hurdles that can come with it.
In this blog, I talked to Linsey Levine, who’s the owner of Linsey Shae Consulting— and she also happens to be an amazing lawyer.
She has over fifteen years of experience in the legal and compliance world. She has soooo much knowledge, and I promise this blog will be jam-packed with tips you can use to support you in your own business!
Linsey is going to drop tips about:
How to take your legal questions to a professional that fits your needs.
What contracts you need in place for your bookkeeping and accounting firm, (and when to have them reviewed by a lawyer)
What downfalls could happen when you don’t legally protect your company
Let’s go!
Typical Legal Questions And Where You Can Take Them
Linsey gets shouted out by me constantly. I recommend her to so many people because this legal stuff is not our zone of genius! She made the switch during the pandemic to focus on helping small businesses and making legal needs approachable and affordable.
So where do you go when a legal question pops up when you’re starting your small business? Linsey says REACH OUT! And not on Facebook Groups— don’t just swap contracts with other small business owners. Find the appropriate community to ask these questions.
Contract clauses that may get tweaked or changed in these traded contracts can seriously hurt you in the long run. So find someone who can meet you where you’re at. Find someone who won’t shame you to explain all the details of your contract. People shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions and shouldn’t be reprimanded for not knowing!
Facebook is a great place to get tips on attorneys or lawyers to talk to. It’s a wonderful jumping-off point to find a lawyer who can review your contracts to make sure it’s legit and answer any questions you may have.
Must-Have Contracts To Have In Place For Bookkeeping Businesses
So you’re a bookkeeper or accountant. What do you need from the jump to protect yourself? We know we need a contract when we start working with someone. But is there a legal standard for other must haves? Linsey says— hell yeah!
The “SHOULDS” that we need when we start begin with a bookkeeper agreement to provide for your clients. No matter who that client is. A lot of us get started working with people we know. But even if it’s a friend or an aunt— don’t let that stop you from putting a contract in place. It’s so important to be crystal clear about what you’re offering, regardless of your client.
That even gets as specific as the language you have in your contracts! If you’re offering a call— is it one call? How long is it? Will you provide a follow-up call?
If you’re doing monthly bookkeeping, what does that entail? Is there room to change or review what you’re providing?
Avoid a wild west situation by establishing boundaries with your clients. Get as specific as you can now, and that will protect you from potential pitfalls in the future.
Let’s say you’re hiring an independent contractor; get a contractor agreement! It doesn't matter if it’s social media management, branding, copywriting, or whatever else. If you do not have a contract in place, you potentially wouldn’t own the content on your social media page (for example). In the end, you need to own the things that are attached to your business. Be sure that’s included in any contract that you pursue.
Now we have to talk NDA. If you’re bringing someone on to look at your work or your vendors— that needs to be so secure and would require someone to sign a confidentiality form. If you are hiring employees, they need a third party NDA as well.
And because we are in a digital age, she wants to make sure you have a privacy policy in place. That means you need to be sure you know what information you have for each client and you’re not going to sell it.
What Can Happen Without Legal Protection
You’re not going to know you need legal help until you’ve been bopping along your merry way, then you realize you need it because something has gone really wrong.
What can happen? A lot. She has specific advice to bookkeepers about blogs— if you have a blog, put a disclaimer on there! That your blog is advice only, so no one can come back to the bookkeeper and blame them for failing from advice. (Yes. It happens.) And THAT is when not having someone in your corner could come back to bite you.
If you’re selling templates and purchased workflows— even that might need a disclaimer! You don’t want to sell something to someone, then have it blow back on you because they made no money using it.
And these pre-made templates are not a fix-all for contracts. Because even if someone buys a template, it will need to be tweaked specifically to fit your business or follow the laws of your state.
So if you buy a template somewhere, reach out to a lawyer to look at it with you. Even if you end up keeping the template exactly the same— Linsey’s confident you’ll leave the conversation more confident than you came in.
Find a lawyer or an attorney (Yes, they’re the same thing. I asked her!) and look over anything that brings questions to mind. And that goes both ways, whether you’re being sent a contract or whether you’re sending the contract out.
Lastly, if you send out a contract, and a client needs it looked at or tweaked— don’t let that shut the door to working with them. You can’t take it personally if others have their own legal protections they want to put in place. Create your list of non-negotiables in your contract, and move forward from there.
Remember— the most vulnerable things about yourself are being naked and your finances. So be sure to protect yourself and your finances by seeking advice from someone who knows more about it than you do!
And if you’re looking for a jumping-off point for your business’ contracts, Linsey put together a special template bundle specifically written for bookkeepers and accountants! Use code WFQ10 for 10% off any of her contracts!
About our guest:
Bringing over 15 years of experience in the legal and compliance world to your small business I have spent over decade working in corporate America, including Comcast, the Miami Heat and most recently Meta. After graduating from New York Law School, I worked as in-house counsel for Comcast where I gained extensive knowledge in contract law. During that time I was also promoted to Chief Compliance Officer of my division, it was then I realized the importance of creating a strong foundation, no matter the size of the company.
Connect with Linsey Levine:
Connect on Instagram: @linseyshaeconsulting
Connect via email: linsey@linseyshaeconsulting.com
Visit her website: www.linseyshaeconsulting.com
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