Bookkeeper: Best Referral Sources
Who should be sending you clients, and the rooms they are already sitting in.
Get the networking events worth showing up to
Tell us where you are. We will send you the best rooms for bookkeepers and the next meeting dates. Add a ZIP and this page will also show your local chapters and which seats are open.
Most business owners network where their competitors are, not where their referral partners are.
Your own trade group is for learning. Your partners' groups are where the work comes from. Everything below starts with one question. When something happens that makes people need bookkeepers, who else gets a call that same week?
Bookkeepers sell to other businesses, and most of the work starts when somebody starts a company. People take their time deciding, so a recommendation carries most of the weight. Clients come back, which makes one good introduction worth years.
- Business formationwhen somebody starts a company
- First hire / payrollwhen a business puts its first employee on payroll
- Tax notice or auditwhen a letter shows up from the IRS
- Financing or refinancewhen somebody needs a loan closed
- Sale of a businesswhen an owner sells the company
Who should be sending you clients
Who you should be sending clients to
Ranked by what starts the job, not by who sounds close to your trade.
The same list, turned around. Give first and the rest follows.
- 01
CPA / Accountant
They send you work87Trigger: somebody starts a company
CPAs hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 02
Attorney Business & Corporate
They send you work80Trigger: somebody starts a company
Business attorneys hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 03
Business Banker
They send you work75Trigger: somebody starts a company
Business bankers hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 04
Restaurant / Food Service
They send you work69Trigger: somebody starts a company
Restaurants hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 05
Real Estate Investor
They send you work64Trigger: somebody needs a loan closed
Real estate investors hear about it when somebody needs a loan closed, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 06
Hard Money / Private Lender
They send you work64Trigger: somebody needs a loan closed
Private lenders hear about it when somebody needs a loan closed, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 07
Staffing / Recruiting
Two-way63Trigger: a business puts its first employee on payroll
You and staffing and recruiting firms both get the call when a business puts its first employee on payroll, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 08
Payroll Services
Two-way61Trigger: somebody starts a company
You and payroll providers both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 09
Medical Billing & Practice Management
Two-way61Trigger: somebody starts a company
You and medical billing companies both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 10
Insurance Health & Benefits
Two-way61Trigger: somebody starts a company
You and health and benefits brokers both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 01
Graphic Designer
You send them work75Trigger: somebody starts a company
You hear about it when somebody starts a company, before graphic designers do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 02
Merchant Services / Payment Processing
You send them work74Trigger: somebody starts a company
You hear about it when somebody starts a company, before merchant services providers do. Expect to give more than you get back here.
- 03
CPA / Accountant
They send you work71Trigger: somebody starts a company
CPAs hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 04
Attorney Business & Corporate
They send you work71Trigger: somebody starts a company
Business attorneys hear about it when somebody starts a company, before you do. This one sends you work rather than trading it.
- 05
Payroll Services
Two-way71Trigger: somebody starts a company
You and payroll providers both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
- 06
Medical Billing & Practice Management
Two-way70Trigger: somebody starts a company
You and medical billing companies both get the call when somebody starts a company, usually the same week. This one goes both ways.
Where those people actually are
Ranked by how many of your best partners are in the room, and how much work each one can send you.
LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities
Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.
Find your local chapter →Give someone nine choices and they pick none. If you do one thing from this page, do this.
- 01
LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities
Online communityYour partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.
Chapter finder → - 02
Vistage
Paid peer groupYour partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.
Chapter finder → - 03
Your city or county chamber of commerce
Chamber of commerceYour partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Too big and too broad on its own. The value is in one committee. Pick one and go every time. The same fifteen people show up, and they get to know you.
Chapter finder → - 04
SHRM local chapter
Your partners' associationYour partners are in this room: staffing and recruiting firms, health and benefits brokers, and payroll providers.
HR managers. They buy benefits, training, staffing, background checks, and legal help.
Chapter finder → - 05
BNI
Structured referral groupOne seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.
The biggest referral group in the world. You meet every week. Only one person per job. They expect you to show up.
Chapter finder → - 06
LeTip International
Structured referral groupOne seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.
Weekly referral chapters. One person per job. Strong with trades and home services.
Chapter finder → - 07
Network In Action
Structured referral groupOne seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.
Referral groups that meet once a month. Good if you cannot give up a morning every week.
Chapter finder → - 08
Master Networks
Structured referral groupOne seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.
Weekly chapters with one person per job. They spend more time teaching than most.
Chapter finder →
LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities
Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.
Find your local chapter →Give someone nine choices and they pick none. If you do one thing from this page, do this.
- 01
LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities
Online communityYour partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Works when your buyer has a job title. Useful comments on your partners' posts beat posting your own.
Chapter finder → - 02
Vistage
Paid peer groupYour partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Run CEO peer groups. You are buying advice, not leads, but the group turns into a warm list over time.
Chapter finder → - 03
Your city or county chamber of commerce
Chamber of commerceYour partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Too big and too broad on its own. The value is in one committee. Pick one and go every time. The same fifteen people show up, and they get to know you.
Chapter finder → - 04
SHRM local chapter
Your partners' associationYour partners are in this room: staffing and recruiting firms, health and benefits brokers, and payroll providers.
HR managers. They buy benefits, training, staffing, background checks, and legal help.
Chapter finder → - 05
Prime Time Business Network
Structured referral groupOne seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.
A South Florida referral group. Only one person per job in each chapter. So your competitors are kept out, and your referral partners have the other seats.
See chapters → - 06
An independent local leads group
Structured referral groupOne seat per category, so your competitors are excluded by rule and the seats around you are the partners above.
Most cities have small leads groups you will never find online. A realtor or insurance agent usually starts them. Ask three people in your trade who they meet with.
- 07
A paid mastermind inside your own industry
Paid peer groupYour partners are in this room: real estate investors and private lenders.
Owners in your trade from other cities, so nobody competes. No local referrals by design. The real payoff is running a better business.
- 08
Restaurant & lodging association
Your partners' associationYour partner is in this room: restaurants.
Restaurant and hotel owners. They replace equipment all the time, fail inspections often, and talk to each other more than almost anyone.
Chapter finder →
State CPA society
Most bookkeepers join this room first. It is also the one most likely to be the wrong pick. A CPA is the person most business owners trust most. Sponsors can go to chapter meetings and classes. Everyone in it does what you do. Join it for the training, the licences, and the ties to manufacturers. Do not join it for referrals, and do not join it instead of the rooms above.
State CPA society →Let us be straight with you. For bookkeepers, a weekly referral group is not the best pick. Your partners gather in professional groups instead, so spend your time there. We would rather say that than sell you a seat you do not need.
Is your seat open?
Prime Time takes one bookkeeper per chapter. Put in a South Florida ZIP above and we will show you which seats are open.
Add a ZIP code at the top of the page to see which seats are open.
Prime Time doesn't operate where you are yet.
We have fifteen chapters in South Florida and none near you. Telling you to join would be bad advice. The rooms above are the real answer where you are. We can email you the one page version and let you know if we open near you.
Send me those roomsHave the next meetings sent to you
The rooms above are the answer. This is when they meet. Tell us where to send it and we will email you the next dates for bookkeepers, with the one page plan.
We already know your trade and your area from this page, so there is nothing else to fill in. We do not ask for a phone number. Every email we send has an unsubscribe link.
Your one-page action plan
Five partners, five things to say, three rooms. Print it and keep it in the car.
Networking plan: Bookkeeper
The five people who should be sending you clients
- CPA / Accountant (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - Attorney Business & Corporate (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - Business Banker (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - Restaurant / Food Service (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody starts a company - Real Estate Investor (They send you work)
Shared trigger: somebody needs a loan closed
The three rooms to be in
- LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities: Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
- Vistage: Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
- Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
- LinkedIn groups & local B2B communities: Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
- Vistage: Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
- Your city or county chamber of commerce: Your partners are in this room: CPAs, business attorneys, and business bankers.
Don't confuse this with networking: State CPA society. Learning and supplier access, not referrals.