Short answer: bookkeepers and accountants get clients mainly through referrals, directories, and local search. The fastest-growing practices add one more channel: reaching new businesses before they have anyone. A company that just registered has its first books to set up, an S corporation question, sales tax and payroll registrations, and a Florida annual report coming, and the owner usually hasn't picked a bookkeeper. Florida registers about 10,513 new businesses a week, and each filing names the owner.
Where do bookkeepers and accountants find clients?
| Source | Who you meet | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Client referrals | Owners who already trust someone you work for | You can't control the volume |
| Banker, attorney, and insurance agent referrals | Owners in the middle of setting up | Takes time to build the relationships |
| Directories and marketplaces | Owners comparing several bookkeepers at once | Often a price comparison |
| Google Business Profile and your website | Owners searching "bookkeeper near me" | Months of work before it brings calls |
| New business filings | Owners who registered in the last few days | They didn't ask, so the first call is an introduction |
The first four bring owners who are already looking. New filings bring owners before they start looking, which is when nobody else is calling about their books.
The first-year deadlines that make owners call an accountant
New owners rarely know what is coming. Each of these is a reason for the first call, and a reason for the owner to say yes:
- The S corporation election. Form 2553 is due within 2 months and 15 days of the start of the tax year it should apply to. Most new owners don't ask until it is too late for this year.
- Florida sales tax. Businesses that sell taxable goods or services register with the Department of Revenue before their first sale. Returns are due on the 1st and late after the 20th of the following month, on a schedule the state assigns.
- Reemployment tax. An employer becomes liable after paying $1,500 in wages in a calendar quarter, or having a worker in 20 different weeks of a year. Reports are quarterly.
- The Florida annual report. Due between January 1 and May 1 every year after the company was formed, with a $400 late fee for LLCs and corporations.
- Year-end forms. 1099-NEC forms for contractors and W-2s for employees are due by January 31.
Florida has no personal income tax, so most owners of pass-through LLCs only deal with federal income tax on their share of profit. C corporations, and LLCs that elect to be taxed as one, also file a Florida corporate income tax return. Explaining that difference in two sentences is a better opener than any pitch.
Which new businesses need a bookkeeper first?
| New business | What gets complicated early | New Florida filings a week* |
|---|---|---|
| Construction and trades | Job costing, subcontractor 1099s, workers' comp audits | 429 |
| Trucking and transportation | Fuel tax (IFTA) for interstate carriers, owner-operator pay, equipment loans | 404 |
| Restaurants | Sales tax, tips, payroll, food cost | 164 |
| Retail | Sales tax on every sale, inventory | 300 |
| Cleaning companies | Payroll for hourly crews, contractor versus employee questions | 228 |
| Medical and dental practices | Payroll, insurance receivables, entity structure | 309 |
| Salons and spas | Booth rent versus commission, tips, product sales tax | 178 |
*Average between August 17 and October 9, 2026, counted from business names that say what the business does. Many new companies have names that don't, so the real numbers are higher.
Lower priority: holding companies, single-property real estate LLCs, and one-person consulting firms. Some will need a tax return, but few need monthly bookkeeping.
What to say on the first call
Lead with the deadline, not the service. For example:
"Hi, is this Keisha? This is Paul, I'm a bookkeeper here in Orlando. I saw Bright Start Cleaning registered with the state last week, congratulations. I work with a lot of new cleaning companies in their first year, mostly getting the books, payroll, and the S corp question set up right. Have you picked someone to handle your books yet?"
Then make the call useful even if they say no:
- Answer one question. "Do I need to register for sales tax?" or "Should I be an S corp?" Two minutes of real help earns the follow-up.
- Offer a short setup call. Twenty minutes to set up their chart of accounts and calendar of deadlines turns into monthly work more often than a price sheet does.
- Send a first-year checklist. A one-page list of Florida and federal deadlines, with your name on it, stays on their desk.
Licensed CPAs should also follow the Florida Board of Accountancy's advertising rules. Everyone should read the calling rules that apply in Florida and our guide to calling new businesses, which has voicemails and a follow-up cadence.
Doing it yourself vs. a daily list
Every new filing is in the state's daily data, about 2,527 a day statewide. The file has no phone numbers and no industry, and much of it is holding companies, filing services, and businesses outside your area. Sorting it and finding each owner's phone number takes 5 to 10 minutes a record. For a bookkeeper who bills by the hour, that is expensive prospecting.
FiledToday's bookkeeping and accounting leads do the sorting and the research. Each weekday you get your county's new businesses with the owner's name, phone number, and mailing address, with the businesses that need a bookkeeper soonest at the top. Plans are $99 to $249 a month per county, and you can get a free county sample first.
Common questions
How do I get bookkeeping clients?
Most bookkeepers grow through referrals from clients, bankers, and attorneys, plus directory listings, a Google Business Profile, and networking. Outbound works best on businesses that don't have a bookkeeper yet. New business filings are the earliest list of those, and every filing names the owner.
How do accountants find new small business clients?
The same way, with one advantage: new owners have tax questions right away, such as whether to elect S corporation status and how sales tax and payroll taxes work. Reaching an owner before those deadlines, with one useful answer, is how many small firms add monthly clients.
Do new businesses need a bookkeeper right away?
Not all of them. A one-person consulting LLC may get by with software for a while. Businesses with employees, sales tax, inventory, subcontractors, or financing usually need help within the first year, and the cleanup costs more the longer they wait.
When is the S corp election deadline for a new business?
IRS Form 2553 is due no more than 2 months and 15 days after the start of the tax year the election should take effect. For a new company, the tax year starts when it first has shareholders, acquires assets, or begins doing business, whichever comes first.
When is the Florida annual report due?
Between January 1 and May 1 every year after the year the company was formed. LLCs and corporations that file after May 1 owe a $400 late fee, and the state can administratively dissolve a company that doesn't file.
Updated October 12, 2026 · By Ben Thalmann, founder of FiledToday