About
Why the Quill
A ledger kept by hand demanded something a spreadsheet doesn't: that every entry be deliberate, and that the whole thing balance before you closed the book. That standard is the point of the name — and of the practice.
The practice
One person, accountable for your numbers
LedgerKeep is run by Joel Hatzfeld — a Controller with thirteen years in accounting and a Bachelor of Accounting Sciences from the University of Kansas. You work directly with the person doing the work and answering for it.
Most of those years were spent responsible for numbers other people made decisions from — closes that had to land on time, reconciliations that had to tie out, and reporting a business actually ran on. Before that came public accounting, where you learn quickly what a tax preparer needs when you have been the one waiting on it.
Credentials
- Bachelor of Accounting Sciences — University of Kansas
- QuickBooks Certified ProAdvisor
- CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ certified
- Construction and project-based job costing
- Accounting software implementation and migration
- U.S. Navy veteran — Electronics Technician
Platforms: QuickBooks Desktop & Online · Sage · NetSuite · Salesforce · ADP · Paychex · Paylocity · Bill.com · Excel · Power BI
On security: handing someone access to your bank feeds and payroll takes trust. The person holding your credentials has formal training in protecting them.
- 13years in accounting
7+ as Controller - 11legal entities
closed monthly - 200+employees on
multi-state payroll - 78projects job-costed
per year - 300individual returns
per season - 25concurrent
bookkeeping clients
How LedgerKeep works
Four commitments that shape every engagement.
Accuracy before speed
A fast wrong number is worse than a slow right one, because people act on it. If something doesn't reconcile, it gets chased down before the report goes out — not plugged to a suspense account and forgotten.
Plain language, no exceptions
Financial jargon is often a way of avoiding a clear statement. Every report comes with an explanation you can act on, and no question is treated as one you should already know the answer to.
Priced up front, held to
You get the number in writing before work starts, and it doesn't move because something took longer than expected. Predictable cost is part of what you're buying.
Your records stay yours
Everything lives in accounts registered to your business, under your control. No hostage data, no proprietary system you can't leave. If the relationship ends, you walk away with all of it.
Who this is for
A good fit
- Owner-operated businesses roughly $100K–$5M in revenue
- Trades, services, and professional practices
- Anyone whose books are behind and who wants it fixed properly
- Businesses that have outgrown DIY but can't justify a finance hire
- Owners who want to understand the numbers, not just receive them
- New businesses that want it set up right from day one
Probably not a fit
- If you need tax returns prepared — that's a CPA or Enrolled Agent
- If you need an audit or reviewed financial statements
- If you're looking for the cheapest possible data entry
- If you want books that "just look right" for a lender
- If you already have a finance team that's working well
Being told plainly that you'd be better served elsewhere is part of the service.
Have a conversation before you commit to anything
Thirty minutes on the phone costs you nothing and tells you a great deal — about your books, and about whether this is the right working relationship.