# Bookminders

Bookminders is a Pittsburgh-headquartered company providing outsourced accounting and bookkeeping services for medium to large-sized businesses and nonprofit organizations, using a home-based workforce.
The company traces its origins to Steele Financial Services, founded by Tom Joseph in the 1980s to provide flexible work opportunities for women needing work-life balance. Inspired by his sister Diane's effective use of an Apple IIc computer from home, Joseph envisioned a tech-based, flexible bookkeeping model. Although Steele Financial Services closed due to technological limitations of the time, the concept laid the groundwork for Bookminders.
Founded officially in 1991, Bookminders was designed to offer affordable, high-quality outsourced bookkeeping for small businesses, while also providing meaningful part-time work. Joseph’s approach leveraged a piece-meal compensation model, inspired by a 60 Minutes segment on Lincoln Electric, a company that used employee incentives to manufacture products. This approach was combined with to offer at-home accountants a flexible schedule, a novel idea in the early 90s. The company’s first client, a demanding architecture firm, pushed the team to refine their processes, ultimately establishing Bookminders’ hallmark Quality Assurance Program.
The company developed the concept of the "Cottage Corporation." A Cottage Corporation has its employees working from home and its corporate headquarters in an office building, unlike a home-based business, which has its main office in a home.
Bookminders’ employee-centric model, dedication to quality, and innovative approach led to sustainable growth. By integrating cutting-edge technology over the years, the company transitioned from using floppy disks and shared email accounts to a customized, cloud-based platform that supported remote work long before it became mainstream. Today, Bookminders is a premier provider of outsourced bookkeeping for nonprofits and mid- to large-sized businesses. It continues to be distinguished by its focus on quality, affordability, and an employee-centric culture, with the tagline: "Driven by Excellence, Distinguished by Trust."
Bookminders has been featured in media outlets including the Philadelphia Business Journal, Pittsburgh Business Times, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Record, Austin Business Journal, Smart Business Network, MSN Money, KXAN, TEQ, Intuit Advisor Spotlight, Accounting Today and The Wall Street Journal.

## History

In 1991, Tom Joseph founded Bookminders with the idea that he could attract top-tier talent if he offered a flexible work environment. It is a concept he devised when implementing an accounting system for his father's business after the Joseph’s family business lost their bookkeeper in 1984. Tom, who had early exposure to Apple computers in his job at Westinghouse, bought an Apple IIc computer along with accounting software and formed Steele Financial Services. The original idea of having his uncle run the system was a failure, but Tom’s sister Diane was able to grasp the new technology and agreed to take on the role if she could work primarily from home. Tom and Diane transformed a lengthy process into one that took only a few hours, completed mostly from her home office. In an era before the internet, this was a radical concept. Despite this initial success, the idea was not scalable given the lack of internet infrastructure and led to the closure of Steele Financial Services.
Over the next seven years, Tom continued his career in factory automation, but the idea of Bookminders was never far from mind. A 60 Minutes segment featuring a manufacturing company that was highly successful using a piece-meal compensation model inspired him to think that a similar model could be used for his “bookminders.” He envisioned an environment that would leverage technology to offer meaningful, part-time accounting roles for women seeking an alternative to traditional full-time office jobs, all while providing affordable, high-quality bookkeeping for small businesses.
When Tom launched Bookminders in 1991, he enlisted the help of Diane’s twin sister, Lynne. Their first client, an architect in Shadyside, PA, was fortunately demanding and forced many refinements, which greatly improved the ease of navigating the financials. This commitment to continuous improvement became the foundation for Bookminders’ Quality Assurance program which attracted auditors eager to position their clients for success.
During a meeting with one such firm, a partner remarked that Bookminders’ approach sounded like the wave of the future. Tom replied, “We’re going to make it the wave of the present!” The employee-first focus, unique compensation model, timely and cost-effective financials, and commitment to quality poised the company for considerable growth over the next several decades, proving Tom’s vision correct.
In the decades that followed its founding, Bookminders expanded dramatically but sustainably. By consistently adopting and integrating cutting-edge technologies, Bookminders evolved from using floppy discs and a shared email account in the 90s to perfecting remote access with its customized, cloud-based platform. Recognized early on as one of Pittsburgh’s Fastest Growing Private Companies and a champion for home-based workers, the company set a new bar for work-life balance expectations in Pittsburgh’s accounting community.
A focus on building resources tailored to non-profits and small to mid-size businesses, along with the opening of the Philadelphia office in 2006, led to Bookminders’ emergence as the premier outsourced bookkeeping service in Pennsylvania. Over the next decade, its innovative concept and in-demand services resulted in the launch of two additional locations: a Cherry Hill, New Jersey office and Eastern Maryland. The strong, employee-centric culture and remote opportunities attracted an influx of staff. Finally, with an abundance of resources and growing demand, Bookminders expanded its footprint beyond the Eastern United States with a Central Texas location in 2022 and Indiana office in 2024.

## Awards

Bookminders was recognized by the Pittsburgh Business Times in their "50 Best Places to Work" listing, honored by the Pittsburgh Human Resources Association for their employment model, and presented with the "Balance Award - Company of the Year" by the American Society of Women Accountants. They were also recognized as "Pennsylvania Home-Based Business Champion" for outstanding performance by the U.S. Small Business Administration and among Pittsburgh's 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies by the Pittsburgh Business Times in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. The company was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's #2 Top Workplace in 2022 and 2023, securing the #1 spot in 2024. In 2024, The Daily Record celebrated the company as one of its Empowering Women honorees.
CEO Jessica Minkus was named the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Top Leader in the Top Workplaces Awards in both 2022 and 2024. She was honored by Smart Business Magazine's Smart 50 Awards and the Pittsburgh Business Times's C-Suite Awards in 2023.