Photo credit: Dev Khalsa
Carolyn Lister started Sage Bookkeeping in Hailey in 2006 from a need that materialized while she worked in offices in the Wood River Valley.
“When I first moved to the area, I worked for Sun Valley Company as a masseuse,” remembers Carolyn. “I started doing the books for my own company and found I had a knack for accounting. When I first started bookkeeping, everything was done by hand in large ledger books. It wasn’t long after that I bought my first copy of QuickBooks and it came on a 5.25-inch floppy disk. It’s pretty amazing to see how far technology has come in 33 years.”
Carolyn took to computers and software like a duck to water.
“I worked as a 911 dispatcher in Ketchum and would frequently work the overnight shift,” Carolyn notes. “I spent many evenings writing the code for Ketchum’s first ambulance billing system. It was a great experience because it gave me the confidence to know I could do this for a living.”
As office manager of a local construction company, Carolyn learned the art of setting up a company’s books to help it in more ways than just having a proper accounting of business that’s been done.
“I always tell people that a company’s books tell a story – the better the books, the better the story,” Carolyn explains. “While I did take classes in accounting at CSI, I probably use my business management classes as much or more in the course of my day. Too many business owners never set up their own method of accounting in a way that helps them make decisions and create strategies. If your books are set up correctly, they’ll help you do a lot more than just keeping a record.”
As a certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor, Carolyn and her team pride themselves on being able to help their clients keep it easy.
“Our goal is to make sure our client’s books are compliant and accurate and that the client knows what everything is,” Carolyn explains. “Your books could be put together perfectly, but if you don’t understand what it means, it’s useless.
In her time away from the office, Carolyn volunteers as secretary of Hailey Rotary and also serves on the advisory board for the Sawtooth Botanical Garden.
“I encourage my staff to stay involved in the community,” Carolyn notes. “We currently have eight staff including myself and we really like being on Main Street in Hailey. We work with clients all over the country and I’m glad we get to do it from such a great location.”