So who is this guy, anyways?

I'm Lawrence Fox CMA, CPA.
Want to know more?

You’re a coach, consultant or creative (a copywriter, an artist or a maker), doing something that you’ve dreamed of doing for ages.

You’ve been doing it for some time now, loving it, and feeling like you’re at the top of your game, delivering great things to your clients or creating wonderful stuff to put out into the world.

But … but … but … you struggle with some of those “back office” tasks—like doing the bookkeeping.

You want it to be accurate, complete and tax-ready.

And when you finally get around to it, you’re not really sure that it’s done right.

And you really, really want somebody to help take this weight off your mind and this burden off your back.

Hi! I'm Lawrence Fox, the CPA who loves bookkeeping

I work with coaches, consultants and creatives (like copywriters, artists and makers).

I love bringing order out of chaos.

I once said to a client “I hate an unexplained number”.

Solo operator? Been there, doing that, and I plan on keep doing it. So I get where you’ve been, where you are, and where you want to go. (Going to work for myself was one of the best decisions I ever made.) When I worked “in-house” it was always at smaller companies.

And yes, I wear real self-tied bowties, a pocket watch and write with a fountain pen. (I’ve amassed quite a collection of vintage and modern ones). I also didn’t get a smartphone until I lost my dumbphone in the winter of 2014. So I am a bit of analogue guy in a digital world—but not when it comes to accounting and bookkeeping tools!

But all that means that I’m not your typical, dull, gray or boring accountant/bookkeeper. I have a weird and twisted sense of humour, love bad puns (are there any good ones?), and my son despairs of my collection of “Dad jokes”. Raised by a miniature Schnauzer, I am now owned by cat(s), the quantity of which is often changing, that being the nature of cats. When not wrangling numbers, I attempt to create art by painting in watercolour, exercising the right side of my brain, and proving that I can be a “creative accountant” without landing myself or my clients in jail.

What can I do for you?

Bookkeeping

Accounting

Wise, Wizardly Advice

What's my story?

Well, this is my About page, so, as Miss Piggy would say, “You’re here to hear something about moi”.

In the beginning...

I was born in Toronto and raised in the wilds of North York before there was a mega-city.

After high school, Starfleet Academy beckoned (since my high school ambition was—still is—to be a starship captain). But since that Academy doesn’t exist (yet! I haven’t given up my dream!), I ended up downtown at University College of UofT, studying for a B.Comm. But I didn’t get bitten by the “tax bug” as many of my classmates were; I really wasn’t interested in toiling in a big accounting firm, doing taxes and audits, hoping to make it to partner one day. Or in the punishing hours of the dreaded “tax season”.

That’s me on the left, my brother Allan on the right, and Dad in the middle at the gas station.

I’ve lost some hair and some weight since then!

After graduation, I worked for my Dad for a few years at the family business (here’s a photo of the place from the city archives), washing cars, pumping gas (back in the days of full-service gas stations!) and doing the books (pen and ink in ledger books!) after hours or on rainy days when things were slow. Then, a couple of months before my wedding, Dad sold the property to a developer (it was prime downtown real estate), and the week before my marriage, I was an unemployed groom. And so I spent a few years working in a succession of small businesses in the accounting department while getting my CMA designation at night. (In 2014, when the three accounting designations in Ontario were amalgamated, I added Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) to the list). My last “in-house” job, I was the #2 guy in the accounting department, and I was the IT department. But I was getting bored—too many days of “same stuff, different day”, and a job that was fun and challenging had become routine and stressful.

And so...

In 1994 I went out on my own in my first solo business, doing database design, maintenance and development for those small businesses. I was one of the leading experts in North America in developing DataEase applications (a great database tool with a small, but fanatical user base).

In the leadup to Y2K, I was really busy, but then things in that space slowed down to nothing. My son was born in 2001, and I was having too much fun being a dad to notice how slow things got! (Until I started running out of money, that is). In late 2002, I called a former employer and mentor just to chat, and he invited me out for lunch. While we were eating, he said “The world doesn’t always need great database developers. But the people you love to work with will always need a great bookkeeper”.

And so, AccountingWizard Solutions was born and I went back to my bookkeeping and accounting roots.

What am I doing now?

Today, I get to work with amazing, talented and creative people like you so you can stop worrying about your bookkeeping while growing your business.

I bring joy.

While there’s a bit of a thrill when the balance sheet balances and the bank reconciles, the real joy is in helping you.

I love the look on a client’s face when I’m done and we both know that everything is organized, the books are accurate, and a necessary job that you really don’t want to do is done.

The boring, time-consuming, client-service-interfering “stuff” is done.

The paperwork is filed and put away.

And you’re ready to deal with CRA at tax time.

If you’re saying “Yes! Yes! OMG Yes!”

…then you’re in the right place.

Are you …

You are ready to build your professional support team, and you don’t need a full-time bookkeeper.

You understand the value of your time and understand the value, return, and relief that comes with freeing up that time by delegating tasks.

You want to add a trusted advisor to your team, to provide bookkeeping services and business advice. You want assistance in developing your business, tracking your results, and looking down the road.

You are professional, want to invest in yourself, are open to advice and are willing to try new things (and teach me a thing or two along the way!)

And, you must, must, must have a great sense of humour.

Yes, I'm ready to get started.

What's the next step?

Let’s shmooze.

You’re thinking “You sound good, Lawrence, but I’m not so sure”.

That’s OK.

Let’s have a short 30-minute virtual shmooze over coffee (or tea) to start getting acquainted.

If we’re on the same wavelength and you want to take the next step, we’ll book a complimentary, no-obligation “Getting to Know You” consultation.

That’s when we’ll talk for 45-60 minutes (and I’ll ask lots of questions about you and your business, and you can ask me all of yours) and we’ll see if we’re a good fit.

So who is this guy, anyways?

I'm Lawrence Fox CMA, CPA.
Want to know more?

Hi! I'm Lawrence Fox, the CPA who loves bookkeeping