I am considering offering bookkeeping services to RE agents as a specialized 'niche' of my business, and would like to know if that type of service would be useful. I know there are several bookkeeping programs out there for agents...like QB & OWL, etc., but that still requires the time of the agent...and may not be the most productive use of time for the agent, even though very necessary. This is something I enjoy doing, so I would be providing a service that frees up the agent's time.
The idea would be to do the monthly books for a monthly fee that is reasonable, and then the taxes at the end of the year if desired.
So my questions are:

1. Would you utilize a service like this if the price was reasonable?

2. What monthly fee would you consider reasonable?

3. What special services would you consider valuable (reports, projections, cost per job, etc.)?

I would really appreciate any comments you might have!
Thanks!

I would really appreciate some feedback on this. I have no intention of soliciting business here....just fact finding. Please let me know your thoughts on if this type of service would be useful. Thanks!!

It seems that nobody wants to give feedback on this message with everyone looking, so I created an anonymous survey on SurveyMonkey where you can answer in complete secrecy
I would really appreciate the feedback!

If interested....here is the link/url.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/S83ZKWR

Thanks!

So, I am not a realtor so I am not sure how valuable this feedback really is, but how would this be different than just hiring a local bookeeper? What makes it specific to realtors? Anyone that runs their own business, realtors included can hire a local bookeeper so I am not sure what is unique in your concept. Not trying to be critical here, just wondering what the value prop is here.

Ditto JavaJack's response. I fail to see why a realtor needs a "specialized" book keeper.

Thanks Java Jack & Perky Realtor for your thoughts! You make excellent points, and I guess that's exactly what I'm trying to figure out.
Basically...yes..I'm a bookkeeper and any bookkeeper could provide that service. I would like to target my marketing to Real Estate agents in my area...but before doing so I wanted to know if it would warrant specialized marketing efforts. And that's also why I ask if there are any special services that I could look into providing that would be of value, since I am not in the real estate field myself. So I would say that "I" want to specialize in Realtors, and would like insight on what bookkeeping related services I could add that would make someone choose me over any other bookkeeping service around. Is there an 'edge' that I can use in my marketing efforts?

But . . . . Why? Since as you already said that you're "not in the real estate field myself", why do you think this would be a valuable place to focus?

Real Estate might have some large transactions, but they are very few in number, compared to other businesses making or selling widgets.

What makes you think there's an unsatisfied need for outside accounting services to keep track of these books ?

Well...the world of Real Estate intrigues me and I love do books. If there is a way to marry the two interests, that would be great. That's the bottom line for me

I just know if I were an auto mechanic looking for someone to do my books, I would want to find someone who was familiar with auto mechanics as opposed to flower shops. While the general functions are essentially the same, I feel there is more 'camaraderie' in someone who 'gets me.'

That's all I am looking to do...build a relationship based on a mutual understanding in the needs of a RE agent and hopefully create a 'community' feeling within my business.

So while there may not be a need for 'specialized books' per se, there is always a need to make each client feel 'Special.'

That's the spark behind the whole concept..."How can I best offer a valuable, cost-effective service in this industry?" And if simply putting "I LOVE RE AGENTS!" on a business card is it, then that's what I'll do.

So I am starting to better understand where you are coming from. However, I think you were asking the wrong questions in your original post. Perahps the thing to do is first seek to understand the type of transactions Agents deal with in their role, understand what type of expenses they have, how they are tracking them, the tools they use in the daily conducting of their business, etc. Once you have a better understand of what they do and how they do it, you can then better tailor your services to meet their needs. Then it becomse something unique to the market. It's hard to offer a niche service to a market if you first don't understand the market.

As app developers just starting out, my partner and I focus on markets and segments we know and understand when deciding what type of app to develop. Our soon to be released Real Estate app was based upon my experience when buying my home. Leveraging what I did to track and select a house then it what we put into the app. It's like the old expression for writers, write about what you know.

Get to know what an Agent needs, then you can offer a valued service that will be attractive to clients. So perhaps you should rephrase your questions so you can better target your services.

I can definitely understand where you are coming from - it is VERY helpful to have a bookkeeper familiar with the way a business works - the terms, common transactions, and so forth.

I think that you should go down to the largest real estate agency in your area, and just ask the agents. Get one agent on board, and by word of mouth you'll probably have more than you can handle! To get your foot in the door, maybe you can offer a training seminar for free. Market it as "You're an AGENT, not a bookkeeper! - Five ways to streamline bookkeeping so you have more time to sell houses." Four really valuable hints - and the fifth hint is you!

....sounds like a great idea, I know someone doing very well with just Realtors... www.bluejeansolutions.com And she uses a simple ledger program from www.moneyledgers.com... works great.