Bookminders

Bookminders is a Pittsburgh-based company providing outsourced accounting and bookkeeping services for small businesses and nonprofit organizations, using a home-based workforce.

The company compensates its home-based workforce based on the volume of transactions processed. The incentive system was inspired by a 60 Minutes segment on Lincoln Electric, a company that used employee incentives to manufacture products. Bookminders has a licensing program for building a large-scale bookkeeping practice. The program consists of Marketing & Sales Programs, Pricing & Compensation Systems and Service Delivery Processes. They also provide training programs, help systems and reference materials.

The company developed the concept of the "Cottage Corporation." A Cottage Corporation has its employees working from home and its corporate headquarters in an office building, unlike a home-based business, which has its main office in a home.

Bookminders has been featured in media outlets including the Philadelphia Business Journal, Pittsburgh Business Times, Smart Business Network, TEQ, Intuit Advisor Spotlight, Accounting Today and The Wall Street Journal.

History
In 1991, Tom Joseph founded Bookminders with the idea that he could attract top-tier talent if he offered a flexible work environment. It is a concept he devised when implementing an accounting system for his father's business. His sister agreed to act as the company's bookkeeper, but only if she could do most of the work from home. They created an arrangement in which she would go onsite each week to collect their financial data but do the data entry from home when her schedule allowed. Joseph's goal was to grow Bookminders into a company of home-based accountants.

The company expanded to Philadelphia in 2006. In 2017, it expanded its Delaware Valley presence with the opening of its Cherry Hill, New Jersey, office. Since then, it has opened offices in Baltimore, Maryland and Austin, Texas.

Awards
Bookminders was recognized by the Pittsburgh Business Times in their "50 Best Places to Work" listing, honored by the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association for their employment model, and presented with the "Balance Award - Company of the Year" by the American Society of Women Accountants. They were also recognized as "Pennsylvania Home-Based Business Champion" for outstanding performance by the U.S. Small Business Administration and among Pittsburgh's 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004.