Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Dunham.
Hi Sara, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Dunham Bookkeeping Services started in 2020 after I lost my job during COVID. What began as a way to take more control over my own career has grown into something much bigger than I originally planned.
I had already spent years working in bookkeeping and accounting, so the business initially centered around helping small businesses get their bookkeeping organized and keeping their financial records accurate. Over the last six years, though, both the business and the work I do have changed quite a bit.
I’ve expanded beyond traditional bookkeeping into more complex accounting work, cleanup projects, payroll and sales tax compliance, and tax preparation for individuals, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. I’ve also developed some pretty specific areas of expertise, including working with therapists and other service businesses, nonprofits, law firms, and businesses that need more than someone simply categorizing transactions in QuickBooks.
One of the biggest changes has been how I think about the work itself. Accurate books are important, but I don’t think business owners should receive a stack of financial reports they don’t understand and be expected to figure it out from there. I want my clients to understand what their numbers are telling them, know what needs attention, and be prepared before tax time rather than finding out afterward that something was wrong.
Today, Dunham Bookkeeping Services is really an accounting and tax practice built around small businesses and nonprofits. I still do plenty of bookkeeping, but the goal is much bigger than keeping QuickBooks tidy. I want the financial side of the business to actually make sense to the person running it.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It definitely hasn’t been a completely smooth road. Starting a business during COVID came with plenty of uncertainty, but honestly, some of the bigger challenges came later as the business grew.
One of the hardest lessons has been learning that being good at accounting and being good at running an accounting business are two different skill sets. I had to learn how to price my work appropriately, define the scope of an engagement, recognize when a project was turning into something much larger than originally expected, and get comfortable saying no when a client or project wasn’t a good fit.
I also had to learn that growth doesn’t necessarily mean taking every client who comes along. In the beginning, it’s tempting to say yes to almost everything. Over time, I’ve become much more intentional about the types of clients I work with and the services I offer. That has allowed me to build deeper expertise in areas like tax preparation, nonprofit accounting, professional service businesses, and more complex cleanup and compliance work.
Running a solo practice also means wearing a lot of hats. I’m doing the accounting and tax work, but I’m also responsible for client communication, continuing education, compliance, technology, marketing, scheduling, and everything else that comes with owning a business. Learning how to manage that without letting the business consume every available hour has been an ongoing process.
Probably the biggest lesson has been that building a sustainable business sometimes requires saying no, changing how you work, and being willing to outgrow things that once worked well. The business I run today is much more focused than the one I started in 2020, and I think that has made both the work and the client relationships better.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Dunham Bookkeeping Services?
Dunham Bookkeeping Services provides bookkeeping, accounting, tax preparation, payroll support, cleanup work, and compliance services for small businesses and nonprofit organizations. I work with a wide range of clients, but I’ve developed particular experience with therapists and mental health practices, nonprofits, law firms, professional service businesses, and other owner-operated businesses.
What I’m probably best known for is taking situations that feel overwhelming and making them understandable. Sometimes that means cleaning up years of bookkeeping problems. Sometimes it means figuring out why the numbers in QuickBooks don’t match what actually happened. Other times it’s helping a business owner understand their financial reports, prepare for taxes, deal with payroll or sales tax issues, or build a better process so the same problems don’t keep happening.
One thing that sets my practice apart is that I don’t think bookkeeping should exist in a vacuum. The decisions made in the books affect tax returns, cash flow, payroll, financial reporting, and sometimes regulatory compliance. I try to look at the whole picture rather than focusing only on whether transactions have been categorized.
I’ve also expanded significantly into tax preparation. I prepare individual and business tax returns as well as returns for nonprofit organizations, which gives me another perspective when I’m working with bookkeeping clients throughout the year. I can see how decisions made during the year will affect the tax return instead of waiting until tax season to discover a problem.
I’m especially proud that the business has grown without losing the personal side of the work. Clients work directly with me, and I want them to feel comfortable asking questions. Accounting can be intimidating, particularly when someone knows their books are a mess or they’ve received a tax notice. My job isn’t to make someone feel embarrassed about what went wrong. It’s to figure out what happened, explain it clearly, and determine what needs to happen next.
At its core, Dunham Bookkeeping Services is about giving small business owners and nonprofit leaders financial information they can actually use. Clean books matter, but understanding them matters just as much.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I think the biggest shift in accounting over the next five to ten years will be the continued growth of automation and AI. More of the repetitive work will be handled by software, including transaction coding, document collection, reconciliations, and parts of tax preparation. I don’t see that eliminating the need for accountants and bookkeepers, though. I think it changes where our value comes from.
The more software automates, the more important judgment becomes. A system can suggest where a transaction belongs, but it doesn’t necessarily understand the tax impact, whether something is being handled consistently, whether the books actually make sense, or whether a business owner is making decisions based on bad information. I already see plenty of situations where everything looks fine in the software until you start digging into the details.
I also think clients will expect more from their accounting professionals. Simply entering transactions and handing someone a Profit and Loss statement once a month won’t be enough. Business owners want someone who can explain what the numbers mean, identify problems early, help them stay compliant, and connect the accounting work to taxes and the decisions they’re making throughout the year.
Specialization will probably become more important as well. Different industries have very different accounting and compliance needs, and I think firms that really understand the businesses they serve will be more valuable than firms trying to be everything to everyone.
Technology will absolutely change how we do the work, and I’m excited about that. I just don’t think good accounting is going to become less important because software gets better. If anything, I think having someone who knows when the software is wrong is going to matter even more.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.dunhambookkeepingservices.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dunhambookkeeping
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dunham-bookkeeping-services
Image Credits
Personal photo credit: Reece Haney Photography
