My name is Kimberly Berrow and I ’am’ Stafford Bookkeeping!

I have always liked numbers, originally working as a Statistician after graduating with a Mathematics degree from Bath University. After taking a career break to raise my two sons, I qualified as a bookkeeper with the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers and started to work for a local accountancy firm.

For eight years I was employed as a senior bookkeeper and accounts technician, also taking the role of resident vat ’expert’. In 2014 I made the decision to hand in my notice in order to challenge myself in the world of self-employment, and I am pleased to say it has been a great success.

Technology has brought many changes to traditional bookkeeping over the last few years and this is now my key focus, improving efficiency for both myself and my clients. I’ve always preferred to be an expert in just one bookkeeping software rather than get by in many. Having always used Sage desktop software, at the start of 2017 I took the decision to migrate all my bookkeeping clients to QuickBooks Online and now run a 100% QBO practice. I have invested time in taking courses run by QBO to make sure I can use the software in the most efficient way and actively follow the monthly updates to see if there are any changes which I can use to improve both my own and my clients bookkeeping processes.

I enjoy supporting local businesses and meeting my clients in person but with modern technology allowing digital submission of paperwork, video meetings and desktop sharing it is now possible to almost replicate this no matter where you are in the country.

Being a sole practitioner, I really appreciate being an active member of The Bookkeepers Alliance where I have daily contact with other bookkeepers across the country, sharing experiences and supporting each other, along with more formal Continuing Professional Development.

When I’m not working, you’ll find me in the kitchen, cooking up a new recipe, or occasionally in the wilds of South Africa (in my dreams when not in reality!)