By 2023, Dr. Amanda Buduris had already built a thriving therapy practice in Eugene, Oregon, and was preparing to launch a second business dedicated to coaching other trauma therapists in private practice.

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But after forming a new LLC, she was faced with the prospect of setting up a whole new bookkeeping system as well.

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“I had a glimpse at what it would look like to do all the bookkeeping and everything myself,” Amanda recalled. “And I was like, nope, nevermind.”

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It was time to double down on Heard.

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The benefits of early adoption

Amanda was no stranger to the challenges bookkeeping, accounting, and tax filing present to new practice owners. She faced those hurdles when she launched her therapy practice.

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“I didn’t know how to keep track of money and I had no idea what tax filing would look like,” she recalled. “Along the way, I learned.”

Specifically, she learned what a time drain running her financial back office could be, and how easily minor errors could cause major problems later on. “I was spending at least a couple hours every week, which doesn’t feel like a lot but it adds up and costs you time where you could be earning income,” she added. Even just two hours per week is over 100 hours per year.

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So when the hosts of her favorite podcasts for therapists started recommending Heard on their shows, she wasted no time signing up.

The “all-in-one” aspect

In those early days, it was the “all-in-one solution” aspect of Heard that attracted her most.

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“They did the bookkeeping, the accounting, the tax filing,” she said, “and they provided year-round support, as opposed to just at the end of the year. You take everything and you throw it at someone, and you know it’s all in one place. Someone’s going to take care of it. And they specialize in supporting therapists specifically. That felt different.”

A therapist-specific solution

Amanda said that she especially appreciated Heard’s specialization—the fact that it was tailored to therapists—because she couldn’t get the same support from one-size-fits-all accounting firms.

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“It's important to me that someone who's helping me with my business financially knows specifically about helping therapists,” she said. “You're looking for all the ways therapists can save money on their taxes, like my own personal therapy being a tax deduction. I don’t think anyone like H&R Block would tell you that.”

Doubling down on what works

Fast forward to 2023, Amanda was preparing to launch her coaching business. Once she understood all the work she would have to do to manage her books, file taxes, and meet reporting requirements for the new LLC, she said opening a second Heard account was a no brainer.

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“It’s nice to know that, for all my businesses, the financial stuff is taken care of, and I don't really have to think about it as much as I would have had to on my own,” she said.

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Plus, because she already had one Heard account, her second account was discounted: a welcome perk as she worked to get her second business off the ground.

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The power of P&Ls

Of all the features benefiting her therapy and coaching businesses, Amanda says Heard’s up-to-date profit and loss statements (P&Ls) are her favorite.

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“[I like] being able to see, at a glance, where my money is going: what's coming in, what's going out, being able to track that,” she said. “Not just month-by-month, but over the full year. Big picture.”

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She said the insights she gets from up-to-date P&Ls have helped her make smarter financial decisions for her practice. 

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“Okay, maybe I spent a little bit too much on that professional development, for example],” she said. “‘I should look into saving a little bit more in the next month.’”

More time to focus on what matters

With bookkeeping, accounting, and taxes handled by Heard, Amanda is freed up to focus on the parts of her business that matter most to her.

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“Heard really helps me, as a business owner, focus more on the things that I do really well,” she said. 

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“I could spend a lot of time looking at spreadsheets and budgets and things like that. But Heard already helps with that: tracking all of the expenses, and emailing me when I need to send some documentation in, so that I don't forget to do it.”

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Breaking the money taboo 

“I think therapists in general have been trained to be avoidant of money,” said Amanda, “because it feels gross, and you're not supposed to talk about it.”

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However, she said, treating money as a taboo topic only leads to problems later on.

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“It's scary to look at numbers and to think about budgets and all of that,“ she said. “But if you're avoiding your money, you have no sense of what's coming in and what's going out.” 

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In 2022, when she was just a few months in business, she was making $6,000 to $8,000 a month by trying to minimize expenses as much as possible. But when she started investing so that she could learn ways to better market her practice, she could then track steady patterns of seeing her income increase overall ($10,000 to $15,000 a month).

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This helped her decrease her own fear around making conscious investments. She brought in about $55,000 in six months in her first year of private practice. In 2023, she brought in $183,000.

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Amanda said that getting outside help with her business finances made that aspect of being a business owner less intimidating and easier to tackle head on. That means less stress day-to-day, and better likelihood of success in the long run.

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“The more aware you are, the less scary it actually is,” she said. “It just makes sense.”

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This post is to be used for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, business, or tax advice. Each person should consult their own attorney, business advisor, or tax advisor with respect to matters referenced in this post.

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Amanda Buduris, Ph.D, is a Licensed Psychologist, Certified Brainspotting therapist, EFT therapist, and Certified Safe & Sound Protocol Provider based in Eugene, Oregon. Learn more by visiting her therapy website and her coaching website.

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