The Busy Bookkeeper

The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners is a registered woman-owned and led professional virtual accounting firm dedicated to supporting startups and SMEs in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa.

As a certified Sage Business Cloud adviser, registered accountant, and author, Magdalene van der Walt founded The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners in 2017 to make a difference in the lives of fellow business owners, the KwaZulu-Natal community, and the young women she employs.

The desire to help others grow and succeed led to The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners’ growth while allowing the proudly South African accounting firm to create much-needed employment opportunities for young mothers within the KwaZulu-Natal community.

Magdalene’s human-centric approach to managing her business and hands-on leadership style means she proudly trains, upskills, and nurtures each member of The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners team. This commitment to mentorship isn’t only a rewarding experience for Magdalene and her team; it also benefits The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners’ clientele by guaranteeing they can rest assured that they are in the hands of a trained, trustworthy and capable team.

“We strive to be your business allies. My team and I want to empower you so your business can reach the success it deserves. It’s why we create tailored, professional services and solutions to support your small business when needed,” Magdalene says.

The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners have a vision, “To establish an accounting firm built with exceptional professionalism and integrity using a harmonious balance of human assets and technology.” This is a goal that Magdalene and her team strive to achieve as a trusted, well-respected accounting firm in South Africa.

Magdalene’s business journey and personal experiences as a business owner in South Africa are why The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners is committed to servicing small and medium enterprises. Being a proud, devoted mother and passionate entrepreneur with over 15 years in the finance sector, Magdalene not only understands the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance and improving efficiency to “work smarter, not harder” but also the immense value of receiving support when starting and running a new business.

When asked about her career and business, Magdalene says, “I provide a vital lifeline and support to small business owners who are overworked, overstressed, and overstretched.”

Since opening in July 2017, The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners have provided professional and personal accounting, bookkeeping, financial statements, payroll, taxation, company registrations, statutory compliance, finance applications, creditors/debtors administration, and secretarial services to aid and empower business owners and entrepreneurs.

To ensure business owners understand Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Codes of Good Practice and B-BBEE compliance requirements, Magdalene supplies a step-by-step guide and digital resources for B-BBEE applications.

Magdalene and The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners team also offer one-on-one support and administration for the often daunting and stressful task of acquiring a B-BBEE affidavit.

In addition to their expert administrative and finance services, The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners supply convenient, easy-to-use digital templates for business plans, cash flow forecasts, and employee leave applications to simplify time-consuming yet essential administrative tasks.

Establishing partnerships with award-winning data backup and cybersecurity providers, IronTree, automated payment reminder suppliers, Nagging Panda, and purchasing software specialists, Procurement Express enables The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners to assist business owners with the challenges often faced by startups and SMEs today.

While strategic partnerships with accounting software specialists, Draftwork, Sage and Xero, wealth management experts, Warwick Wealth, and business funding suppliers, Bridgement and Merchant Capital ensures The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners can support clients and help them navigate and overcome the restrictions, hardships, and pitfalls that frequently affect South African businesses and their ability to succeed.

As Magdalene explains, “By providing valuable support in the form of services, helpful resources, partnerships, and business software, we help small business owners reduce the stress of managing overwhelming paperwork, tax compliance, and searching for funding so that they can actually focus on starting, growing, and confidently managing their businesses.”

With a “your success is our success” business motto and affordable offerings, The Busy Bookkeeper and Partners ensures their services and business solutions remain accessible, all the while providing dependable resources and offering a much-needed source of support to South Africans who are pursuing a dream and starting their business journey, as well as growing SMEs and established enterprises that are striving for success.