ABOUT THE UNEXPECTED BOOKKEEPER COURSE

Helping small business owners feel confident with their numbers

For the bookkeepers who never meant to be bookkeepers.

If you’ve ever been the one who got volunteered to “just do the books,” you’re in the right place.

The Unexpected Bookkeeper course is designed for small-business owners and family-run teams who want simple, practical systems for managing their business finances without the overwhelm or accounting jargon.

Why “Unexpected Bookkeeper” exists

 

At Northwest Accountancy, we’ve worked with hundreds of family businesses. We kept hearing the same story:

“I was just asked to do the books… and now I’m stuck.”

The Unexpected Bookkeeper course was built to change that story.

We believe every business owner deserves to understand their numbers and feel confident using them - not just hand them off and hope for the best.

Improve Your Skills


Lots of people want to learn how to do things better - quicker to save time, or to get it right the first time.  We’ve been teaching bookkeeping for decades, starting with MYOB and now with Xero, as the most common bookkeeping software for small business in Australia.

While software keeps evolving it can be hard to keep up, sometimes it’s easier to do the tasks as you have learned in the first place, rather than taking advantage of the new innovations. 

You will learn all the new updates and how to use them in the course - making you more efficient at your job. 

Save Time


Let’s face it, if you have fallen into the role of the bookkeeper, it’s unlikely that this is your full time role or that you have hours and hours every week to dedicate to the task.

People who learn our time saving skills often save 2-3 hours per month of bookkeeping time.

The training videos & resources (spreadsheets & checklists) are often quick, easy to understand and easy to implement into your own business - meaning you don’t need to re-invent the wheel or start from fresh - saving you valuable hours.

 

Save Money

 

Some accountants can be like lawyers, and can charge per hour or per phone call, even for a quick question.  We have seen many people avoid asking questions of the accountant, and this means they miss opportunities or get an unintended tax penalty, because they didn't know what they didn't know.

At Northwest Accountancy Pty Ltd, we have been building this database of “Quick questions” that are recorded so you can access them when you need them - everything from How to data entry, to cashflow solutions.

The course is a lifetime access course - so instead of paying for multiple consults and trainings throughout the year, you can join in the weekly sessions (as many as you like) to get real time feedback, information on your specific circumstances, and learn - without a bill for each session.

Grow Your Business

 

“There’s no point learning something if you can’t teach it to others” - Jodi

I have learned both formally and informally, ways of operating successful businesses.  I’m here to teach them to you.  If you are the paid bookkeeper, enhance your skills to help your boss transform their business.

If you are the partner of a business owner doing the books “for free” then learn how you can get the business to a point where you can pay yourself properly and make the business more profitable so that you can have family holidays.

As the treasurer of a not for profit - you will get access to insights and intel about streamlining processes so that your not for profit becomes more of a profit for purpose entity - keeping funds aside for the longevity and sustainability of the organisation.

Community

 

Being in business is lonely.

Unexpected Bookkeeper community can open up the conversations and meet people like you - who do some (or all) of the bookkeeping functions of a business - to learn new things, implement quickly, and feel on top of what's going on. 

Not only is there something to learn every week, but we can also ask our specific questions, and get an understanding of what others are also asking, to help inspire and create changes in the business.

 

Meet Jodi Porteous

I’m Jodi – CPA, Tax Agent, Certified Profit First Professional, and long-time small-business owner.

After 20+ years helping others manage their finances through Northwest Accountancy, I saw how much pressure falls on the person behind the books – and it’s usually someone juggling a dozen other roles at home and in business.

So I built a course that blends:

  • Xero know-how for simple bookkeeping routines
  • Profit First strategies for steady cash flow
  • Accountability and community to keep you moving forward

It’s everything I wish every small-business owner had from the start.

"I wanted to make bookkeeping feel doable, not dreadful."

The path that brought us here

What started as a way to help a few overwhelmed business owners has grown into a full online learning community.

Over time, we’ve turned our best bookkeeping systems, cash-flow templates, and client workflows into a course that works, whether you’re just starting out or looking to bring structure to a growing family business.

Jodi has been training people since 2000 - bookkeeping (when GST first came in) using MYOB and then Xero, taxes, money & cashflow, improving business systems and even life coaching transformations.  From in-person workshops in Karratha, to online webinars, especially when covid shut down face to face meetings for a time. She thrives when sharing knowledge and loves seeing the ripple effect that this has.

Jodi first joined as a Profit First Professional in 2019 - and from there has built skills to help people manage their money (in both business and personal) and furthered education around business improvement strategies.  All of this is wrapped up in the Unexpected Bookkeeper, which launched in 2025, with various “test runs” along the way.

Jodi’s super power is taking jargon out of complex situations and making them easy for people to understand, and finances is the main topic.  We all know cash is king - and having a strong cashflow in a business can be one of the determining factors of a long-lasting business.

See what it's all about

Get a feel for the course, the structure, and the support you’ll receive.

Watch Jodi walk through how the program works and how it can help you manage your business finances with clarity and confidence.

 

Learn bookkeeping with support that lasts

You don’t have to do this alone. Join a community that helps you stay consistent, confident, and in control of your business finances.

Join the Course

Proudly brought to you by Northwest Accountancy Pty Ltd — sharing over 25 years of small-business experience, Profit First expertise, and real-world bookkeeping know-how.

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