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Our History

Our History

The concept of Bookminders came about in 1984 when the Joseph family needed someone to run the accounting system for their business. One of Tom’s sisters had recently left the workforce to concentrate on her family but was willing to do the job if she could do most of the work from home. To address this need, Tom Joseph established Steele Financial Services, pioneering a remote-first solution well ahead of its time.

Over time, it became evident there were a growing number of talented, educated professionals who wanted to work but had family commitments that wouldn’t support a 9 to 5 schedule. The remote work concept embodied in Steele Financial Services was further refined leading to the launch of Bookminders in 1991. This new iteration, grounded in offering home-based opportunities, emphasized an incentive-based compensation structure and a supportive, well-resourced work culture.

Bookminders’ remote-first employment model appeals to accountants who traditionally struggled to achieve work-life balance. Since its founding, Bookminders has grown to become an industry leader in outsourced accounting.

The Philadelphia office of Bookminders opened in 2006. In 2017, Bookminders experienced unprecedented growth with the opening of two new offices: Southern New Jersey in the spring and Eastern Maryland in the fall. In May of 2022, the company opened its first office in Central Texas and in 2024 expanded into Indianapolis. Visit our locations page for our growing list of bookkeeping and accounting offices.

Bookminders was named a 2022 and 2023 Top Workplace, and a 2021 DotCom Magazine Impact Company of the Year. It has previously been honored by the American Society of Women Accountants as a Work/Life Balance “Company of the Year”, recognized as Pennsylvania’s “Home-based Business Champion” by the U.S. SBA, and named a seven-time recipient of the Pittsburgh Business Times’ “100 Fastest Growing Private Companies”. 

Betsy Krisher, CPA

“Bookminders provides their clients with the means to access reliable monthly financial information, key to decision-making. Timely, accurate financial information is critical for all entities but not always easily achieved with internal staff. Bookminders also facilitates annual independent audits; assisting with one more management duty.”

— Betsky Krisher, CPA; Chairman/CEO, MaherDuessel

David Wilke, CPA, MBA

“Bookminders’ system allows our CPA firm to spend less time cleaning up our clients’ records and more time on tax and business planning. Keeping meticulous records is a critical requirement of any successful business, and our clients are more likely to reach their goals with accurate and timely general ledgers.”

— David Wilke, CPA, MBA; Wilke & Associates, LLP

Jeffrey Sollenberger, CPA

“My client had been through several bookkeepers in the last few years, resulting in a constant state of upheaval within their organization. Bookminders saved them the time and money involved in training someone new, and eliminated their risk of future turnover. Plus, Bookminders brings a level of accuracy and professionalism I don’t often see with internal bookkeepers.”

— Jeffrey Sollenberger, CPA; President, Buonomo & Associates

Leslie McGee, Partner

“McGee Maruca & Associates, P.C. highly recommends Bookminders. We have worked with Bookminders for the past 28 years and can attest with certainty that Bookminders provides the utmost professional, highly quality services to all of the mutual clients we have worked with over the many years.”

— Leslie McGee, Partner; McGee Maruca & Associates, P.C.

Kimberly P. Griffith, CPA

“As Director of my firm’s Not-for-Profit Services Group, it’s crucial to maintain independence on audit engagements. Bookminders’ depth of experience in nonprofit bookkeeping enables our Group to serve our clients efficiently and ensure independence on our audit engagements.”

— Kimberly P. Griffith, CPA, Nonprofit Industry Group Shareholder; Schneider Downs & Co Inc.