Bookkeepers On Fire with Deb & Donna
Bookkeepers On Fire with Deb & Donna
Deb Kilsheimer & Donna Reade
Where bookkeeping meets bold ideas, disruptive strategies with a whole lot of laughter. Donna with her genius in Systems, Processes, and Optimization and Debbie sharing Quick Wit, Funny Insights, Resolute Belief in people, break down what’s working - and what’s not. Unlock the brilliance behind every episode. Experience the heat, the laughs, and the hard truths of virtual bookkeeping—come see what actually works. Join us for the fire, the laughs, and the unfiltered truth about running a bookkeeping business today’s AI World. Meet Your Hosts: ✨ Donna Reade Visionary behind the award winning firms Team Reade and NextGenBookkeepers Champion of AI-Native workflows and subscription pricing models Known for mixing strategy with storytelling (and just the right dash of sarcasm) ✨ Debbie Kilsheimer Founder of Behind the Scenes - A firm that redefines client relationships. Speaker of Uncomfortable Curiosity - pushing boundaries, stirring deep thinking and meaningful change Humor that slaps: cutting, honest, light-hearted Together, Donna and Debbie light up conversations that Inspire, Educate, and Empower bookkeepers and accountants everywhere to build profitable, joyful, and future-ready businesses. 🎙️ Subscribe, tune in, and get ready to Turn Up The Heat on your bookkeeping journey!
🔴 Bookkeepers On Fire | Live with Scotty Scarano
🔥 New episode drop: Bookkeepers on Fire with Donna + Deb, and today’s guest is Scottie Scarano (yes, “like Soprano” 😄🎤)I’m still cackling because the first time we saw him on stage at Scaling New Heights, we genuinely thought Joe Woodard booked a famous rapper… and then Scottie hit us with the OK Rapper punchline and the room LOST IT 🤣📈Here’s what you’ll love from this convo:🎙️ Creativity belongs in accounting. Scottie went from podcast editing (watching sound waves move!) to rapping about what he knows: running an accounting firm. Turns out: spreadsheets + rhythm = a whole vibe 🔥🧾🧠⚙️ Systems set you free (even if you’re solo). EOS, SOPs, processes… getting it out of your head and onto the page means the work still moves even if you’re out cold for a few hours (or hit by the metaphorical bus 🚌😅).🦸‍♀️📲 Stop letting “last-minute panic” rent space in your brain. December 23rd is the line in the sand, friends. After that? Year-end emergencies become “see you next week” energy ✋🎄💅If you’ve ever felt like the hero… and also felt exhausted being the hero… this episode is for you. 🔥👇 Tell me: What’s your “I’m not rushing for your last-minute chaos” boundary?#BookkeepersOnFire #AccountingLife #Bookkeeping #SystemsAndProcesses #EOS #SOP #FirmLife #Leadership #Advisory #Community #StayFiredUp
Jan 17
37 min
🔴 Bookkeepers On Fire | Live with Jessica Fox
🎙️🔥 Bookkeepers on Fire is officially ONE year old… and we kicked off 2026 with the kind of conversation that makes you sit up straighter in your chair.In our first episode of the year, we welcomed Jessica Fox, and she dropped truth bombs with kindness and a little “don’t-you-dare-bill-by-the-hour” energy 😅⚡️Here are my 3 spicy takeaways:🧠💰 Stop charging for minutes. Start pricing for impact. In a world of automation, billing by time punishes efficiency. Pricing is forward. Billing is backwards. (Yes, we said what we said. 😤)🏗️🧩 Systems = freedom. Jessica built a “lifetime business” by turning chaos into workflows, then got her time back (15–20 hrs/week kind of back) 🙌⏳🤝🌶️ Community beats overwhelm. She created a free space for entrepreneurial bookkeepers to connect, problem-solve, and grow faster than she had to: Bookkeeping Systems Lounge https://bksystemslounge.club/ 💬🚀If you’re a bookkeeper who leads with heart + power + purpose, come ignite with us 🔥✨And if you’re still tracking time like it’s 2009… we need to talk 😄📉➡️📈Connect with Donna on LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/donnareade/Connect with Debbie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debbiekilz/Debbie & Donna Do Digits: https://www.youtube.com/@dodigitsDebbie & Donna Decoded: https://debbieanddonnadecoded.substack.com/Debbie & Donna Decoded Store: https://debbie-donna-decoded.shoprocket.io/#BookkeepersOnFire #ValuePricing #Bookkeeping #Accounting #Workflow #Systems #Entrepreneurship #WomenInBusiness 🔥
Jan 6
32 min
🔴 Bookkeepers On Fire | Live with Heather Satterley
🔥 Bookkeepers on Fire is back—and this one is equal parts innovation, horses, and four-leaf clover magic ☘️🐴✨This week, we sat down with the incredible Heather Satterley .And whew… Heather brought the heat and the heart. ❤️‍🔥Here’s what hit hardest (and brightest) 👇🧠 Change doesn’t need more “push”… it needs more empathy. Heather broke down real change leadership: validate the emotions, have a plan, communicate clearly, and create a safe space for people to speak up. (Yes—clients AND teams!)🤖 AI isn’t just “the next cloud shift”… it’s a full-blown revolution. The drudgery gets automated, but our humanity becomes the differentiator—reading between the lines, coaching clients, and showing up like real people (not P&L robots 😅).☘️ Mindset is a pattern your brain can learn to see. Heather’s four-leaf clover story is pure gold: what you tell yourself is what you start recognizing—and eventually… what you start creating. “They’re all four-leaf clovers.” Boom. 💥And yes… there may or may not have been talk of 💃 a live polka in the exhibit hall + 🎭 comedy routines + 🤠 horse emergencies being the perfect metaphor for running a firm.🎯 Take your shot. Swing big. Look for your clovers. Be kind.If you’re heading to Scaling New Heights, get ready—because this community is where you find your people. 🔥🙌
Dec 16, 2025
44 min
🔴 Bookkeepers On Fire | Live with Martha Yasso
Bookkeepers who get it don’t just balance books. They build communities, change lives, and nerd out on spreadsheets together. 🔥📊In this episode of Bookkeepers on Fire, we sat down with Martha Yasso. Wall Street alum, AI pioneer (her thesis was on neural networks… in 1996 🤯) and founder of Fiscal Clinic, a niche community for advisors serving independent healthcare practices.Here’s what we dug into:💚 From cutthroat Wall Street to radical communityHow Martha left a backstabbing Wall Street culture for a bookkeeping/accounting community where we share engagement letters, contacts, and real-life support. The kind that shows up when your kid is struggling or your health throws you a curveball.🧠 Healthcare + habits + cashflow reality checksWhy she niched into independent healthcare practices (it low-key chose her), how bad advice like “spend so you don’t pay tax” destroys cashflow and how better data, habits and pricing help doctors actually keep more of what they earn.🤖 AI, systems & the future of our professionMartha breaks down AI as “really fast math” (not magic), why it won’t replace curious, constantly-learning pros and how systems, checklists and language that clients understand turn numbers into real-life decisions like family, community, and freedom. If you’re a bookkeeper or accountant who loves a good spreadsheet, cares deeply about people, and wants to lead with intention this episode is your jam.🔥 Hit follow, drop a ❤️ if community has carried you, and tell us:What’s ONE habit you’re helping your clients build in 2025?
Dec 9, 2025
38 min
Balances Aren't Bookkeeping
⚡️If you think balances = bookkeeping, we need to talk… ⚡️🔥 Balances Aren’t Bookkeeping 🔥Ever been tempted to just drop in a monthly total and call it “done”? Yeah… no. Bookkeeping isn’t a shortcut game—it’s about details, clarity, and yes, a little bit of struggle (even for the pros).✨ Here’s the real deal:📊 Reconcile like a pro → It doesn’t matter if the bank cuts statements midweek—reconcile to the statement date and keep moving.🧾 Transactions matter → Totals won’t cut it. Every dollar has a story, and your job is to tell it.💡 Struggle = Growth → We’ve all been there. Asking questions and making mistakes is exactly how you level up.👉 Welcome to the club, new bookkeepers. It’s spicy, it’s messy, but it’s worth it.🔥 Join our Bookkeepers On Fire Community to connect 🤝, collaborate 💬, and thrive 🚀 with like-minded professionals who are passionate about bookkeeping, accounting and business growth.Join us here: Bookkeepers On Fire CommunityBookkeepers On Fire is proudly ad-free and 100% listener-supported, so we can bring you unfiltered conversations without outside agendas. If you enjoy the show, consider donating to help keep our mics hot and our mission independent.🔥Donate with Venmo🔥    🔥Donate with PayPal🔥#Bookkeeping #QuickBooks #EntrepreneurLife #BookkeepersOnFire
Dec 3, 2025
7 min
🔴 Bookkeepers On Fire | Live with William "Murph" Murphy
🔥 New Episode Drop: Bookkeepers on Fire with the legendary William “Murph” Murphy of Insightful Accountant 🔥This week we went deep on what it really looks like to lead, serve, and stay all-in for our profession — even while life is throwing curveballs.Here’s a taste of what we unpacked with Murph 👇💥 From funeral homes to QuickBooks royalty – How Murph’s wild career path ran through medicine, paramedics, health economics, offshore financing (😳) and eventually into accounting, data repair, and becoming the editorial engine behind Insightful Accountant.🧠 Behind the curtain of the Top 100 ProAdvisor Awards – The dog-show inspired scoring system (yes, really 🐕), why it’s 100% standards-based and mostly objective, and why you cannot win unless you complete the application (nomination alone won’t cut it).🔥 Premium content, QB Talks & what’s coming next – Murph’s 16-article weeks, 80–90 page reports, in-depth blue papers, expanded QB Talks, and how Insightful Accountant is leveling up training, app comparisons, and ProAdvisor support for 2026 and beyond. If you’re a bookkeeper or accounting pro who’s ready to be seen, valued, and elevated — this one’s for you.Here is the link to apply: https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/00DALX 👉 Tag a ProAdvisor who needs to apply this year 👉 Save this post as your reminder to fill out that application 👉 Stay fired up and intentional 🔥✨🔥 Subscribe to the : Bookkeepers On Fire NewsletterBookkeepers On Fire is proudly ad-free and 100% listener-supported, so we can bring you unfiltered conversations without outside agendas. If you enjoy the show, consider donating to help keep our mics hot and our mission independent.🔥Donate with Venmo🔥    🔥Donate with PayPal🔥
Dec 2, 2025
47 min
Hackers Love Bookkeepers
💥 “Hackers don’t break into banks anymore—they break into bookkeepers.”🚨 Traveling with tech? It’s not just about convenience—it’s about protecting your client’s goldmine of data. Hackers love bookkeepers (because that’s where the juicy stuff is 💳🔐).Here’s what we spilled in this week’s episode of Bookkeepers on Fire:✨ Laptop > Tablet – iPads are great for Netflix, not payroll. Functionality matters when you’re working on the road. 🔒 Security isn’t optional – VPNs, WISP docs, and Practice Protect aren’t “extras,” they’re essentials. 🌍 WiFi traps everywhere – especially airports like Maui ✈️. Stick to cellular data or risk starring on the Dark Web.🔥 Bottom line: If you wouldn’t leave your house uninsured in hurricane season, don’t leave your client data unprotected online.🔥 Join our Bookkeepers On Fire Community to connect 🤝, collaborate 💬, and thrive 🚀 with like-minded professionals who are passionate about bookkeeping, accounting and business growth.Join us here: Bookkeepers On Fire CommunityBookkeepers On Fire is proudly ad-free and 100% listener-supported, so we can bring you unfiltered conversations without outside agendas. If you enjoy the show, consider donating to help keep our mics hot and our mission independent.🔥Donate with Venmo🔥    🔥Donate with PayPal🔥#BookkeepersOnFire #CyberSecurity #AccountingHumor #StaySecure
Nov 30, 2025
9 min
Fake Support Scams
⚡️ “If it smells scammy, it IS scammy.” 🚨Ever been told by “QuickBooks Support” that it’ll cost you $249.99 to fix your books? Yeah… fake support scams are real (and pricey 💸).✨ 3 Hot Takeaways:🛑 If “support” asks for upfront $$$ — HANG UP. Legit QuickBooks support doesn’t charge like that.📂 Banks have quirks: some go back 7 years, others only 60 days. Know your bank’s limits before you panic.🤖 AI + CSV uploads > manual entry. Train yourself now, and you’ll thank yourself later.🔥 Pro tip: Do it right, not easy. Fake fixes = fake results.🔥 Join our Bookkeepers On Fire Community to connect 🤝, collaborate 💬, and thrive 🚀 with like-minded professionals who are passionate about bookkeeping, accounting and business growth.Join us here: Bookkeepers On Fire CommunityBookkeepers On Fire is proudly ad-free and 100% listener-supported, so we can bring you unfiltered conversations without outside agendas. If you enjoy the show, consider donating to help keep our mics hot and our mission independent.🔥Donate with Venmo🔥    🔥Donate with PayPal🔥#BookkeepersOnFire #QuickBooks #ScamAlert #SmallBusiness
Nov 28, 2025
8 min
Processing Fees Rock
⚡️“Hot take: If you’re whining about processing fees, you’re already doing it wrong.”⚡️💳 Processing fees got you grumpy? Think again. Paying those fees means you’re actually making 💵 (congrats 🎉). But here’s the kicker—stop nickel-and-diming your clients with “convenience fees.” It’s not convenient. It’s annoying.✨ Key Takeaways from this week’s Bookkeepers on Fire:🚫 Don’t scare clients away with extra line-item credit card fees (they’ll walk—just ask Vegas 🎰).💡 Instead, bake the cost into your pricing—make it seamless, make it easy, make it frictionless.💳 Remember: McDonald’s, Amazon, Macy’s… none of them charge you extra to swipe a card. Be that business.👉 Stop treating processing fees like a burden—make them part of the experience. Because Processing Fees Rock. 🎸💸🔥 Join our Bookkeepers On Fire Community to connect 🤝, collaborate 💬, and thrive 🚀 with like-minded professionals who are passionate about bookkeeping, accounting and business growth.Join us here: Bookkeepers On Fire CommunityBookkeepers On Fire is proudly ad-free and 100% listener-supported, so we can bring you unfiltered conversations without outside agendas. If you enjoy the show, consider donating to help keep our mics hot and our mission independent.🔥Donate with Venmo🔥    🔥Donate with PayPal🔥
Nov 26, 2025
10 min
Worldwide Worker Woes
🚨 Hiring contractors overseas? Don’t overcomplicate it. We just broke it down on Bookkeepers on Fire and here’s the 🔥 truth:✅ Contractor ≠ Employee – If they’re outside the U.S., they’re not subject to U.S. payroll taxes. 📝 W-8BEN is Your Friend – Have it on file, don’t send it anywhere. Just keep it for your records.🌍 Simple, Not Scary – Unless you’re setting up payroll in another country (👀 Canada anyone?), don’t make it harder than it needs to be.Sometimes the biggest bookkeeping “headaches” are actually just paperwork in disguise. 😉✍️👉 Would you ever hire a contractor outside the U.S.? Why or why not?🔥 Join our Bookkeepers On Fire Community to connect 🤝, collaborate 💬, and thrive 🚀 with like-minded professionals who are passionate about bookkeeping, accounting and business growth.Join us here: Bookkeepers On Fire CommunityBookkeepers On Fire is proudly ad-free and 100% listener-supported, so we can bring you unfiltered conversations without outside agendas. If you enjoy the show, consider donating to help keep our mics hot and our mission independent.🔥Donate with Venmo🔥    🔥Donate with PayPal🔥
Nov 25, 2025
3 min
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