Booming Bookkeeping Business front page with Bill Von Fumetti, CPA

Remote Jobs > Is Booming Bookkeeping Business a Scam? Our Legitimate Review of the Course

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Our goal is to make it easy for you to travel the world. We offer many remote job recommendations, as well as incredibly developed, yet very affordable, places to live and work. So, we were very intrigued by Bill Von Fumetti’s Booming Bookkeeping Business Course, now renamed to “Keyboard Rich,” when we first came across it. In fact, we signed up for the program hoping to boost our income in a new way. The intro video seemed to lay it all out, and it actually seemed almost too good to be true. We were so hyped that we tried to sell Bradley’s brother on doing it as well!

It isn’t a cheap course, but we committed to it anyway - mostly because we didn’t see anything bad about it online. So, I spent a few months going through the courses, passing my Quickbooks ProAdvisor Certification, and thinking I was well on my way to adding in another fairly low-activity income. But, it ended up becoming a bit of a nightmare for us instead.

The skinny: There are better ways to earn money online.

Continue reading to learn about our experience.

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What is the Booming Bookkeeping Business Like?

Let’s start with the good news. The Booming Bookkeeping Business course, now renamed to “Keyboard Rich,” can legitimately be used by plenty of people. It states that you really don’t need any accounting or bookkeeping experience to get started, and that is accurate.

The courses provided in the program, combined with the free training that you get through Quickbooks (which you don’t need this program to get), teach you everything that you’ll need to know about how to use Quickbooks, the important facets of accounting that you’ll need for bookkeeping, and how to set up your profiles on Quickbooks ProAdvisor, LinkedIn, and a few other platforms.

Bill Von Fumetti’s course essentially just teaches you how to set up the legalities of your business in 3 modules, then teaches a bit about bookkeeping in the next 2 modules, then spends the next 3 modules teaching you how to set up your profiles and make sales.

That last word, “sales,” is so glossed over in the intro video and so under-toned in the training that he tries to convince you that it’s not really even sales at all, but to get clients it is actually nothing but sales.

So, his course is mostly about how to set up a business (any cheap business setup course would likely do as good of a job or better at explaining this than his powerpoint / chalkboard style runthrough), with a module on the overview of accounting (charts and journal entries, which you could likely learn simply on Khan Academy for free), a fairly helpful module on the most common things that bookkeepers would do specifically in “Quickbooks Online” (you can also get this for free), and the profile setup and sales training to get customers (some aspects are very similar to cold-calling through social media, others - like Google-my-Business and Find-a-ProAdvisor directory - teach you how to get some clients to come to you directly, and then how to funnel them into a sales pitch, including the sales language, after they respond).

For the most part, the Booming Bookkeeping Business program is a sales program.

He teaches you how to get clients. And that’s not entirely a bad thing. Actually, business is a process of bringing in customers. So, to be successful in a business like this, you would need to know how to get customers - and he does a fair job at that in the program.

Plus, he provides additional tools - like a Bookkeeping Services Pricing Calculator that helps you know which questions to ask customers to calculate how much to charge them - that are actually where much of the real value comes from in the Booming Bookkeeping Business course.

Reaching out to Bill Von Fumetti Directly

While going through the modules, I ran across an issue with one video, called “Section 5 - Monthly Bookkeeping - Enter Payroll 2”. For some reason I was seeing the same exact video from “Section 4 - Quickbooks master - Entering Payroll 2” in this spot, when the videos were suppose to be different (even though they had similar names). I reached out to Bill to inform him of the situation, but he just told me they were similarly named, but claimed that they were actually different. It felt mildly dismissive. What a strange response. I assumed that he must not have really read my message, or understood what I meant, so I tried again.

This time I explained a little better, but was clear to state that the videos are actually the same video and that both were 10:34 long and identical. Bill’s second response seemed somewhat rude, like he didn’t trust me. He then stated that he “verified that the two are, indeed, different” and asked me to prove that it was happening by sending him a video or screenshot of the issue that I was referring to.

I did what he requested and then he explained that he didn’t know what was happening but somehow knew that he fixed the problem despite not knowing. Then he told me to clear my cache and do a “hard refresh” to let it show correctly in my platform. It worked, but I felt a little odd about our conversation. See images here for the conversation:

Booming Bookkeeping Business promises to give you unlimited income and ability to work from home

What We Expected From Booming Bookkeeping Business

As we already have quite a bit going on in our lives with 2 toddlers, moving around the world, running this website, and running our own services, I was hoping to utilize the Booming Bookkeeping Business to bring in some clients (not a ton) to add to our revenue stream and increase our savings.

After watching the intro video, it appeared that I could use a ProAdvisor account to draw in a couple of clients. Our expectation with the ProAdvisor profile (actually what ended up being the “Find-a-ProAdvisor directory”) was that it would occasionally lead a client or two my way, and that I wouldn’t have to do much to bring them in - apart from using that Bookkeeping Services Pricing Calculator to then determine how much to charge them.

I wasn’t looking to make $100,000 from the program or to make it a full time job. I don’t look at success as working every second of every day. A little extra income is all I was hoping for in the Booming Bookkeeping Business.

So, in my view, I wasn’t expecting to have to do a ton of sales calls, cold-email messaging, or anything like that, when I decided to sign up for the program. Honestly, I just wanted the “easy” part, not the “hard” part, and the intro video sold me on the idea that I could just use the ProAdvisor method if I wanted. So, I bought the program and I did the training.

By the end of the training, I felt empowered to be successful and encouraged that I would be able to get a few clients. I passed my ProAdvisor exam, got my certification, set up my ProAdvisor profile - and my LinkedIn profile for added potential as the course required - and was ready to begin.

Then, I requested to become listed on the Find-a-ProAdvisor directory and everything fell apart.

Booming Bookkeeping Business program and modules

Is the Booming Bookkeeping Business Real?

My ProAdvisor profile was declined on the Find-a-ProAdvisor directory.

I have the certification, but Quickbooks wasn’t going to let me use my ProAdvisor profile to find any clients. Essentially, I’m not searchable in the system.

When I asked why, I was told that Quickbooks could tell that I wasn’t currently in the United States and that they wouldn’t approve my account unless I was in the United States for the last 90 days. They offered to re-evaluate their decision if I came back to the United States for 90 days and then reapplied.

Here’s the thing, we almost never go through the United States because our lifestyle involves saving as much money as possible by traveling to, and living in, more affordable countries. So, even if we do go through the United States on occasion, we don’t stay for 90 days!

Could this just be a fluke? Is it happening to anyone else? I checked the facebook group that is designed as a method for Bill Von Fumetti’s customers of the Booming Bookkeeping Business to help each other out. As it turns out, there have been a few! However, the solutions are to simply do what Quickbook requests: move back to the United States for 90 days and then re-apply.

The response from Bill Von Fumetti? “What documentation did you upload?” and “Curious what documentation they needed [...] Normally the address, LLC, and business license are enough!”

From his assistant, Andy Seleen: “Have either of you tried using a VPN that routes through a US server to submit your info?” and “That’s a pain in the butt, but don’t forget that this is only one of many marketing channels available to you.”

Problem not solved for me, for Cherie, or for Nicole - who are basically all in the same boat. We were all counting on the Find-a-ProAdvisor directory. See their conversations below:

Booming Bookkeeping Business recommends using Google-my-Business — Google-my-Business frontpage

Google-my-Business Doesn’t Always Work Either

The other method that is listed in his program that doesn’t require searching for clients on your own is Google-my-Business. This requires you to list your business on Google Maps, essentially, in the hopes that people in your area will simply find you on Google Maps, and then reach out to you through your contact information on that page.

While I was trying to get my ProAdvisor directory issue resolved, I noticed other people having issues with this one: “The call this afternoon with Google Business to verify my business was awful. He wanted to see my business office so I showed him my desk setup at home and that wasn’t sufficient. He then asked to see my vehicle and that wasn’t sufficient. I don’t understand what I’m doing wrong. Please help!” was one message from a person named Christina, who attached a photo from Google showing their response:

“Your Business Profile could not be verified to appear on Google Search and Maps because it’s an only online business with no in-person contact which doesn’t comply with our eligibility guidelines.”

Andy Seleen responded to her by saying something to the effect that this person should list their business as hybrid instead, even though it isn’t.

Christina then responds to Andy by saying, “Bill doesn’t mention this in the Google Business Module. No guidance is given for those of us that don’t have brick and mortar business address” to which another client, named Richard, responds saying “I’d imagine the majority of us folks don’t have a formal office building/suite.” Christina: “exactly and since Google My Business is so important to our marketing what’s the workaround? According to Google’s guidelines, if you don’t have formal office building you don’t qualify for it.”

The conversation continues with someone recommending to use a P.O. Box, but another person named Tim responds to that saying: “Many people have been denied only having UPS box. Then it’s next to impossible to get verified after that.”

Andy Seleen says “USPS street address PO Boxes seem to work much better” and another comment from Tim states: “When you set up your business on GMB [Google-My-Business], did you select walk in business welcome? Or something like that?” It’s not something that seems to get fixed.

Anyway, with ProAdvisor out and Google-My-Business in question… I found myself in a predicament. This program was not designed for people like me. It’s designed for people that have the flexibility to do a ton of sales calls and cold-email messages. It’s designed for salespeople.

So, it might make sense that the ones that are really successful in this program are the ones who are great at sales and have large networks of people to contact. This is a job where you have to reach out to everyone you know, and have them forward or share your message to people in their networks. That really isn’t us.

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Booming Bookkeeping Business Training Video

Booming Bookkeeping Business Misrepresentation

I decided to let Bill know that without being able to be in the ProAdvisor directory, this program was not for me. In my very own words:

“I’m very sorry, but I can’t continue with the Booming Bookkeeping Business program.

I signed up after the introductory training video because it talked about being able to utilize the Quickbooks ProAdvisor directory as a way of getting clients to come to me and being able to work remotely from anywhere.

Unfortunately I found out after going through the Quickbooks ProAdvisor certification that Intuit will not approve my profile as I’m out of the US and will only approve it after I’ve been in the US for more than 90 days previous.“

I typically over-research everything, and I did that with this program as well, so it really pained me that it didn’t turn out how I expected. I let Bill know this, said some good things about his program, and asked him to cancel my account. I stated that I wasn’t looking for a refund, but I wasn’t going to be able to be successful in the program as the information provided before signing up had misled me on what to expect - so, I just wanted him to cancel the remaining payments.

His response was that of a typical salesperson - and I suppose that makes sense as he must be a great salesperson to be so successful at this business. He sent a verbal response, via a loom video, to tell me that I was wrong, and that I didn’t have to use the ProAdvisor directory to be successful. Here is the transcription of his words in that loom video:

“Hey there, Jennifer it's Bill here. Hope you're doing great. Thought I'd record this quick video to address your email. It's a little easier than typing a long reply. So, um, you are questioning whether or not you're able to continue with the program. Um, you signed up because we talked about the ProAdvisor, uh, directory in a way, um, and that being a way to get clients, um, you went through the certification and they want to prove your profile because you're out of the US and will only prove it after you've been in the us for more than 90 days. Um, a couple of things here. First, we have a lot of people outside of the U S that use the ProAdvisor profile, as long as you've got an address in the US and you've got one, I think, in Davenport, Florida, um, you can use that. Okay. They don't need to know that whether you're physically inside or outside of the country, as long as you have an address, that's the address that you can use. Okay. So, um, you know, not a problem that we have a lot of people doing that.”

Again, maybe I wasn’t super clear, but I didn’t use an overseas address. I did use my Davenport, Florida address. I never told Intuit that I was overseas in anyway. He continues:

“In addition, the ProAdvisor directory is just one of the ways, and you can see module six, which is the marketing module in the program. It's just one of the ways that you can use to get clients. We have lots of people that don't even use the ProAdvisor profile, even though, you know, it's, it can be a great way to get clients and they focus on other things like Google-my-Business, or LinkedIn, or Facebook or Facebook groups, or, you know, the marketing strategies that we cover in module six are, uh, all very, very effective in it's important for you to pick and choose whichever ones are right for you. So, uh, like I said, you're able to use that US-based address whether you're inside or outside of the, the country. Um, but if for whatever reason you decide not to do that, you don't have to use ProAdvisor at all. Okay. It's just one of the many effective marketing strategies. Okay. So, um, so that, that, that, that pretty much clears that up.”

As it turns out, what is right for me was to use the methods that didn’t require me actively hunting for clients: primarily the ProAdvisor directory and maybe Google-my-Business. And no, Bill, that doesn’t clear that up!

In my message to him I also state that I’ve had a theme park Call-Center job in the past as well (this is the phone line where the most upset customers call in and yell at you and say mean things to you all day long, and it took such a toll on me that I had to leave for my own mental health). Anyway, I told him I wouldn’t have bought the program if I knew I was going to need to “close the deal” over the phone with clients either. That also wasn’t discussed in the intro video, and truly turns this into a Sales Job. Anyway, Bill responded to that as well - once again quite well for a salesperson:

“Uh, and then you say that you didn't realize that getting clients would require being on the phone and closing the sale after working in a high volume call center for a year, it caused a lot of stress and you've avoided work that required being on the phone. Um, I'm sorry to hear about your prior position. What you'll find is, you know, when you say closing the deal, uh, or closing the sale, you know, uh, it's not like, you know, used cars. It's not like we're selling anything at all. The phone calls that you'll be having with clients are. And if you, um, if you've watched a module, the closing, the deal module module eight, uh, you'll hear me talk about how these consultations are just conversations. We're getting to know about the client, their business, what their challenges are. And then we talk about how we're able to solve those challenges. We don't say, Hey, you know, um, you know, we don't say salesy things, you know, what do I gotta do to get you into this car today? You know, we don't have to do any of these salesy things or anything like That. We're just, uh, presenting a solution to their problem. That's it, it's a conversation. You got to remember that the people that you'll be on the phone with, they scheduled a call with you, they want to work with you, that's it. We're asking them some questions we're answering any questions they have. That's it, low pressure. It is just a conversation. So, um, once you have kind of that consultation on the phone, most of the clients, you'll never talk to again on the phone. Okay. Everything will be over email. Sometimes you can do like a little screen recording to walk through financials if you want. Um, but there is no hard selling. There is no, you know, none of that call center type stuff. So that is absolutely nothing to worry about. Um, you know, you did talk about that. Uh, you weren't aware that you, you know, you, you, you did some research and you weren't aware, um, that calls were required. I do. I'm on the page to enroll, you know, talk about the different modules, including the, the, the, the consultations and how to handle consultations modules. So obviously, you know, uh, if you're going to start a business and get clients, there will be some communication. Again, that initial communication is typically on the phone, low pressure, low, you know, low pressure and, and very conversational. Uh, but beyond that, there's really nothing else, nothing else you need.”

Ok. I’m not sure how to respond to that, but sure. I suppose if I break through my fear of doing that then I suppose I could do it. That’s true with just about anyone who is afraid of anything… just stop being afraid. Easy peasy! Really talking it down and pushing it back like it’s not what it really is, a sales call, didn’t make it any easier. It just made me feel worse. What else could you say, Bill?

“And then again, ProAdvisor profile, you can make that work for you with the address you have in the US otherwise focus on the LinkedIn, focus on the other marketing strategies that we talk about. You can have all the success you're looking for, um, without having to worry about, you know, the ProAdvisor profile or being worried about high pressure phone sales. Okay. I would hate to see that your assumptions, that these things would hold you back, prevent you from being successful with this. Um, because you know, it is a great program. You, uh, you know, and, and I don't say that to toot my own horn, but it's, it's a program that's effective for people.”

Well, you tooted your own horn, told me that I must have misunderstood what Intuit was clear to tell me about ProAdvisor, and ignored my fear of being on the phone. Well done, an excellent sales person indeed!

“And if you're in the Facebook group, you're seeing people in the program get clients every day. Okay. As long as you're willing to follow the program, put in the work and lean on me as a mentor. Okay. Lean on me as a mentor every step of the way. Um, cause that's what I'm here for to support you both while you're training. And as you work with clients, um, as long as you're willing to do those three things, you can have all the success you're looking for. Okay. You can, you know, make what you want live, where you want work, where you want when you want. It's really, really cool. Okay. So with that being said, I encourage you to jump back in, let me know where you're at. Let me know if anything's given you, uh, giving you trouble and we'll just keep you moving. Okay. So let me know if you have any questions, Jennifer, and we'll talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. Now.”
- Bill Von Fumetti

To be kind, I responded once more to really put the heels on this run-away trainwreck:

Hello Bill,
I received the video you sent in response to my email. Unfortunately, the info you stated is incorrect. I applied with my Florida address already and was declined. There was nothing in my Quickbooks account stating I was not in the US, but when I asked QB support why I was declined, they stated it was because they could see I was accessing QB from outside of the US. In the Facebook group there is another student who had the same problem and even with a VPN they were declined. So simply using my Florida address to set up my ProAdvisor Profile does not work.
You stated that you have other students who were able to set up their profiles despite being out of the country, and while that may be true, currently, QB is not approving profiles for people who access it outside of the country.
I tried to make it as clear as possible in the previous email, so I'm not sure how to make it any more clear. But again, I am not requesting a full refund but to discontinue payments due to not being able to have a ProAdvisor listing as expected upon purchase after passing my certification.

Please, Bill, just let me cancel this thing - it’s becoming such a nightmare! I can’t understand how a person that boasts about making over $400,000 per year on his bookkeeping business, and more from the Booming Bookkeeping Business Course, would care so much about 10 more payments of $197. Why this is such a big deal to him I’ll never know! Ugh. But his response is GOLD, completely dodging me again!!!

“Hi Jennifer,
As mentioned in the video, we have quite a few folks listed in the ProAdvisor directory who are living overseas.
I guess I'm a bit confused as to why you feel that being listed in the ProAdvisor directory is mandatory for success. We have lots of folks in the program who aren't listed in the ProAdvisor directory and they are growing just as fast as those who are. Module 6 covers all of the most effective marketing strategies that are working to get clients right now.
At the end of the day, you'll want to decide what's more important to you. having a ProAdvisor profile or owning a successful bookkeeping business. Because they are not dependent on each other.
Regarding the payment plan option that you selected when you enrolled in the course...it represented a purchase commitment to make all 12 monthly payments, not a subscription that could be canceled. You can review the Billing Policy that you agreed to here: boomingbookkeeping.com/enroll
That said, we are open to allowing you to cancel, but there is a $400 charge for those who have accessed and consumed the course materials.
Let me know how you'd like to proceed.
Have a nice evening,
Bill

Wow. Again he either didn’t listen to me about what ProAdvisor told me or simply didn’t trust me, despite this occurring to other people in the program as well. So many things were said in this response to deflect me that it’s hard to wrap my mind around it. But, in the end, he said that once you’re in, you can’t back out. Then, oddly, he offered a way to back out: pay him $400. Is he really that desperate for $400? I just don’t understand.

I tried one last time to reason with him, letting him know why my husband and I both felt that this program had misrepresented itself, but that the Booming Bookkeeping Business still provides good sales material and that I believed that a reasonable outcome could still allow us to recommend the Booming Bookkeeping Business Course to sales-oriented people who come to our website - as we were in his affiliate program as well - but that I had already paid $396 and didn’t want to pay another $400 to cancel as we both felt he had misrepresented the product.

All I wanted was for him to understand the issues that were going on, believe them, and do something to address them for future clients so they weren’t as misinformed as I was. Plus, to stop charging me money as I wasn’t going to use the program anymore.

It was weird, like he thought I was trying to scam him out of his program. I had learned the material and now I wasn’t going to pay him for it and probably go off on my own and do it anyway.

I also mentioned that I was legitimately trying to promote his course, because after all, it could be decent for the correct people…

“I'm not trying to scam you! I'm a blogger who is trying to write a decent review for your program. I'm in your affiliate program. I'm trying to help you make MORE SALES! Now, I'm trying to be polite and I'd like to still write a decent article and review of your service. I'd like to also continue to recommend your course to others. We both still stand to gain from this.”

After a few days, he hadn’t responded to that message so we took matters into our own hands and called our bank. They recommended that we put a stop payment on any item coming in from that business, we agreed. They helped us stop the charges. That was the only way out.

Here’s the Kicker…

Within a few hours, Bill had removed me from the affiliate program, the Booming Bookkeeping course, the members-only facebook group, and even the free facebook group that’s available to everyone (even if they aren’t paid students in the course). It seemed a bit unnecessary and over the top to get so upset at a single client. Especially over a few hundred dollars in the grand scheme of a 6-figure business?

Bill Von Fumetti's email signature as your booming bookkeeping business coach

Our Legitimate Review of the Booming Bookkeeping Business Course

This program will likely work for some people, but if you are located outside of the US, and don’t plan to stop over for 90 days before continuing onwards, you cannot count on being in the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Directory to get clients. So, if this part is as important to you as it was for me, this program is not for you. However, if you’re currently located inside the US, this shouldn’t be an issue. As Bill said, there are also many other options for you to use if you are comfortable with using them.

However, the Booming Bookkeeping Business will work a lot better for sales-oriented people with large networks of people to reach out to, like: people who are great at being insurance salespeople or great at selling in MLM businesses.

That being said, we can’t recommend the Booming Bookkeeping Business because of our interaction with Bill himself. His responses to me were that of a certain type of salesperson. They came off on the surface as kind and genuine, but when it really came down to it, he wasn’t very friendly. I legitimately tried to make this work, but I did feel deceived with the product that I received after I made the purchase.

We hope this article helps you decide if the Booming Bookkeeping Business Course will work for you. If you’ve come to the conclusion that the information that we provided actually helped you make the decision NOT to buy his program, please consider helping us recover our cost from that program as well by dropping a couple dollars into our Ko-Fi account for this review. We truly hope that our experience helped you.

Do you have experience with the Booming Bookkeeping Business?

Feel free to write about your experience, good or bad, in the comments section below!

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