Do you have a client right now as a VA bookkeeper?
Let me ask you something personal. What if they let you go today? What if your client's business closes down tomorrow? What happens to you?
Will you sink into debt? Will you suddenly have nothing to pay your bills with? Will you panic? Or do you have a backup plan?
That's what I want to talk about here: what we can do while we still have a client, so that losing one doesn't cripple us and doesn't send us into a panic.
If this is your first time here, I'm Kyle Nelson Omac. I've been a VA bookkeeper for almost five years, and I fix systems and software for business owners here in the Philippines. Before I get to the tips, I want to tell you about the many mistakes I made by relying on just one client.
Starting From Zero
When I started as a VA bookkeeper, I didn't have a degree.
I was as green as it gets. I had just graduated senior high school, I had just dropped out of college, and I had zero experience as a VA bookkeeper or in accounting in general.
So getting clients was one of my biggest struggles. In those early years, whenever I did land a client, it was one at a time. Just one. And I had a hard time finding additional clients to sustain what I was doing.
That meant every time a contract ended, every time a client let me go, the same thing happened: no income. Zero. And every time, it was hard to get back up again.
Finally, a VA Agency
At one point I got hired by a VA agency as an Accounts Payable specialist.
This was the very first agency that ever hired me in my whole VA career. For years, someone like me, with no degree and no prior experience, found it really hard to get into agencies. But after slowly accumulating part-time VA experience, combined with my corporate experience in Accounts Payable, I finally got in.
The pay surprised me. It wasn't huge, but it was the first time I had a fixed income. A real eight-hour shift. That's how VA agency rates usually go: somewhere around $3 to $4 an hour, eight hours a day.
Compared to what you can earn with direct clients, that's low. But there's a different kind of value in it. The agency finds the client for you. The agency handles the contract. The agency chases the client for payment. For that peace of mind, the offer was fine, and honestly, that rate is livable for our Filipino lifestyle. Especially for me back then: I was single and didn't have a family to support yet.
I was receiving around ₱22,000 to ₱23,000 every payday cutoff. To me, that was big. Really big.
Big enough that I told myself: This is it. I'm settled here. I don't need to look for anything else. I can live off this. I even started picturing how much I'd be able to save from this job.
The Catch: All My Time Belonged to One Client
Once I started, I couldn't do anything else. I couldn't look for other clients because the job was full-time.
My expertise was also in the US and Canada time zones. I had no experience yet with Australian clients, so even if I wanted to add another client, finding one that fit around my shift was hard. My energy, my time, my entire brain went into that eight-hour shift at the agency.
And that agency's client, which effectively meant my client, was a construction company. They used QuickBooks Desktop, accessed through remote desktop.
Cloud vs. Remote Desktop: Where I Hit a Wall
In VA bookkeeping, there are basically two classic setups: cloud-based and remote-based.
Remote-based systems are really slow, automation is limited, and what you can do is limited too.
Up to that point, every bit of my VA bookkeeping experience was cloud-based. This was the first time I had ever worked with QuickBooks Desktop, and I felt so limited. That's honestly how it felt. I wasn't fast anymore.
I was so slow. The process was so manual, and I didn't fit in that slow-paced environment. It wasn't slow because the people were slow. It was slow because the technology itself was holding back the speed of the work.
At the same time, invoices kept pouring in. More and more needed processing. My pace couldn't keep up with the volume. I was barely catching up.
So I opened up to my manager at the time. I told her, "Ma'am, I'll give it my best for one month. I'll gauge whether I can last here or not."
All this time I had been used to working online: bank feeds, bank rules, reconciliation, fast uploads, fast processes. I wasn't used to slow technology combined with a meticulous process.
I understand why everything had to be documented. But there are many ways to automate that kind of work. The company was simply still at the stage of searching for the right technology. So I, as the person processing invoices manually, suffered. Eventually, I resigned.
I filed my resignation with both the agency and the client. We parted on good terms. I just accepted that it wasn't for me.
Zero Backup, Zero Peace of Mind
After I resigned, I had no backup clients. I had no backup anything.
I had almost nothing to do. Thankfully, I had a little savings because what I'd been earning was decent. I had enough to roll over for a few weeks.
But the security and the calm? Gone. I no longer had any peace of mind. I was rushing to find a new client.
While I was searching, I kept thinking about it. This can't keep happening. I can't always be chasing. I can't always be without peace of mind, without security, every time something like this happens. Something about how I'm doing this is wrong.
The Part-Time Client That Changed Everything
Then I landed a part-time role with a real estate company. QuickBooks Online again, back in my expertise, and real estate too.
It was only three to four hours a day. But the hourly rate was higher. If I remember right, I was earning around $7 to $8 an hour, compared to $3 to $4 at the agency.
The catch was the hours. Because they were so limited, my total income still didn't match the full-time job. The full-time job still paid more overall.
But my peace of mind was so much wider. My energy after work was still there. There was so much I could still do after my shift. And it was incredibly flexible.
That's when I finally had the chance to onboard other clients.
I looked for more US clients. At the same time, I reached out to Filipino business owners in my network who needed my services in systems and software. That's how I ended up with multiple clients, all of them flexible.
And that's when I felt it: I wasn't nervous anymore whenever a client said they might leave. I knew I'd still be okay, because I had multiple clients I was working with.
That's when I realized, and really learned, how important peace of mind is. And how important it is to structure your work so that you can still survive even if you lose one client.
So enough of my long story. Here are the things you can do right now, while you still have a client, so you won't be afraid of losing one tomorrow or in the future.
1. Take a Part-Time VA Job on Top of Your Full-Time
The first thing you can do is apply for part-time VA bookkeeping roles, or part-time virtual assistant work from home.
I know people right now who are incredibly hardworking. They have a full-time job, and after their shift, they work a part-time job too. Their working hours are long.
But if one of their clients lets them go, at least they have a backup. At least they have peace of mind.
If you can handle that, go for it. Personally, I don't do this. When I have a full-time job, I'm out cold after my shift. I can't do it, and it's just not for me. But it might be for you. A lot of my batchmates do exactly this, so maybe you can too.
2. Build Your Income on Part-Time, Flexible Clients
The second option: onboard clients that are all part-time. Part-time here, part-time there, every client flexible.
This way you still earn, and you're still free. With this kind of setup, you can work from a café. With a full-time role, you sometimes need a fixed setup: backup power, backup Wi-Fi, everything. But when you're flexible, you can go on vacation with just your laptop, and as long as there's internet, you can get the work done.
And because you're flexible and part-time, you still have the energy to onboard multiple clients. Whether they're all US-based, a mix of US and Australian, or US and Filipino clients, that's up to you. The point is to avoid being anxious. Work with many clients, but keep them all flexible, so you have both energy and peace of mind.
3. Take On Per-Project Work
The third thing you can do is per-project work. Projects with clear deliverables and deadlines let you add income without tying up your whole schedule to one client.
4. Go Full-Time as a VA to Fund a Business
The fourth: take a full-time VA role and use it to finance your own business.
Some of my former coworkers from corporate are now with VA agencies. Their full-time job is VA work, but they have businesses on the side: a café, a building they rent out, and they're not the ones working in those businesses full-time.
Their VA job becomes their investment engine for starting ventures. That gives them peace of mind both ways. If the business struggles, they still have the VA job. If they get let go from the VA job, they still have the business. They're free to move, execute, and test the ideas they want to try in the market.
It's Not About Earning the Most
For me, this isn't about earning a lot. It's not about becoming a six-figure VA bookkeeper. It's not about becoming a millionaire or getting rich.
At this stage of my life, I would rather be free to do the things I want to do, despite what it costs me. I'm not earning big right now, and I'm not chasing big earnings at this point. What's important to me is doing what I want: finishing my degree, spending my time well, and making the most of my youth, while still earning.
I don't earn as much as some people do. But I have a lot of time to do the things I love, and that's what I value right now.
Today my clients are a mix of US clients and Filipino clients. Everything I do in my business right now is flexible. I don't have a fixed time when I have to report. There are just deadlines, and I have my own systems and procedures so I can deliver properly, with clear coordination between everyone involved.
It's such a fulfilling feeling to be free. Such a fulfilling feeling to be able to do what you want. Because I never want to look back and regret not spending my time the right way.
5. Plan and Save, Because Losing a Client Isn't the Real Problem
There's honestly nothing wrong with losing a client. What you need is proper planning and proper savings.
If you get let go, your savings carry you while you look for your next opportunity. That alone is a valid plan too.
What works for me might not work for you. But it might. I'm just sharing this from my own point of view for VA bookkeepers who currently have an existing client.
Up to this day, I'm still a VA bookkeeper. Not full-time, but flexible and project-based. Still a VA bookkeeper, legit.
Let's Talk
If you have questions about being a VA bookkeeper, or you're dealing with problems in your systems and software, I'd love to hear from you. You can message me for a quotation, join our Discord community so we can talk personally, and read more of my recent work and writing on my blog.
To know more about my services, writings, connect with me here. Here's my website: https://www.kylenelsonomac.com/
Thank you for reading, and thank you for your trust.
Faith without action is Fiction.