Can we ask you a question?
You want your bookkeeping business to soar to success, right?
Then, you’ll want to give yourself the best chance of making that happen. And ICNZB is here to support you the whole way.
As a recognized professional body with Inland Revenue, ICNZB membership will provide you with the credibility to grow and develop not only yourself as a Bookkeeper, but also validate your business as a professional bookkeeping service.
While membership is provided on a individual basis, once you are a member you are able to apply for an Accredited Bookkeeping Business endorsement. This is a powerful way to showcase your business to clients as well as offer a host of other benefits.
But don’t just take our word for it. See what two of our long standing members have to say about the value of their membership and the benefit the business endorsement has provided for them.
Boost your bookkeeping business with ICNZB
Startup to booming business
For Irene Bennetts, owner of Admin Army, joining ICNZB back in February 2017 was an opportunity to show people that she took her business and the bookkeeping profession seriously and to elevate herself above others in the profession.
“It gave an element of validation about the services I offered. It was a way to give people confidence that I was offering a good service and gives the opportunity to represent the business as taking bookkeeping seriously”.
After going through the “straightforward, though slightly nerve-wracking” testing process, Irene became a Provisional Member. Pleased to deal with the nerves, Irene just knew she wanted it more! That drive led her to quickly progress to an ICNZB Certified Bookkeeper™, and be awarded ICNZB Master Bookkeeper™ membership in the very first intake in November 2021.
Opportunities galore
For Irene, the access to ongoing professional development through ICNZB has been of great benefit. The guidelines helped her to develop her team and get them to adhere to certain standards. The opportunity to enter things like the Bookkeeping Business of the Year award has also given Admin Army the opportunity to reflect on their strengths and successes. Winning the top award in 2019 brought extra kudos for the business to share with clients.
Irene also took the opportunity to make Admin Army an Accredited Bookkeeping Business. Becoming an Accredited Bookkeeping Business has allowed Irene to take a step back and represent the business, rather than herself personally. This has created better credibility and a professional impression with clients.
“It takes the focus off me personally and onto the service that we provide as a whole. And on the Find a Bookkeeper section on the website if people are looking for a business as opposed to a solo bookkeeper they will identify us as such.”
Being an Accredited Bookkeeping Business also allowed Irene to register her staff as Provisional Members at a reduced price, which in turn has provided her team with their own access to professional development opportunities. It also opened the door for the team to become award winning themselves with one of Irene’s staff, Hasheel Ram winning the first every ICNZB Employee Bookkeeper of the Year Award in 2022.
Should you do it?
Irene says she would definitely recommend joining ICNZB to others.
“I would certainly recommend that you do it. It's a powerful way to show you are serious about what you are doing. It helps to raise the value of the profession as a whole and set ourselves apart from people who may not have the same levels of experience”.
Taking the industry by storm
Samantha Brown (nee Bell) joined ICNZB in November 2015 and became an ICNZB Certified Bookkeeper™ as a way of ensuring high professional standards that aligned with her business brand. For Samantha, one of the big benefits of becoming a member has been the regular professional development and access to up-to-date information.
“As business owners we should not try to be here, there and everywhere. ICNZB provides a flow of information for us to keep up with market changes.”
She was one of the first applicants for Corporate Membership, as it was then called, and found that having the business accreditation not only gave each of her staff members status, but also created a collective purpose for the business and created the right impression for their clients.
“From a client perspective it has given transparency that we know what we are doing. Things like insurance and client testimonials make us stand out among the rest and gave us a valuable competitive edge in our client proposals”.
Would you like to enjoy the benefits of being an ICNZB member?
When you join ICNZB you get access to ongoing professional development, networking opportunities and industry information. It also gives you the ability to promote your business as a trustworthy and reliable provider and be featured in our Find a Bookkeeper directory, which is a search tool used by many people and businesses who are looking for a bookkeeper.
The first step is to sign up as a Provisional Member which gives you access to many of our benefits. From there, you can apply to become an ICNZB Certified Bookkeeper™ which recognises your skills and professionalism.
Like Irene, Samantha highly recommends others to join the ICNZB.
“You’d be silly not to. The benefits of having a channel like ICNZB available are incredible and so is the community that comes with it.”
If you would like to become an ICNZB member or if you have any questions please get in touch.