Crunching numbers

ABS keeps businesses running coast to coast

Hired as a receptionist, Billie J. Hooper spent nine whole days in that role before she moved up to be an accountant. Now, barely five years after she started with the company, she co-owns Accounting and Business Services with longtime employee Coni Blevins.

After she spent several years at home raising her children, Hooper, who studied accounting in college, never saw small business ownership in her future when she applied with ABS. “There was a need to take over some accounts to help while an employee was out,” Hooper says about her move to the accounting side. “I never would have thought that four years into being with a company that I would own it. It’s exciting.”

With a team of more than 15 employees, the established Ardmore business handles payroll, taxes and general bookkeeping for hundreds of businesses from California to New York and several states in between. Many of its clients are small retail shops, grocery stores and gas stations. And if ABS wasn’t on top of its game, employees nationwide wouldn’t be paid. “Everybody wants a paycheck,” Hooper says. “Payroll is a big responsibility. We have to make sure our staff is ready for changes. There’s a lot that goes into it, and it’s very important to get payroll right. We try to keep everyone — business and employees — running.”

New Adventures

While plenty has changed since Hooper and Blevins purchased the business from former owners George Dimock and Laura Knight in January 2022, Dimock and Knight haven’t gone far. Both still work for ABS.

“As someone who’s new to owning a business, it’s great to have their help and consistency,” Hooper says. “You can’t do this by yourself. It’s nice to go to someone who has the experience and get their guidance. There’s been lots of changes, but clients know us as the same business with the same principles. That’s gratifying because we’re able to keep everyone happy.”

She’s also grateful for the work Dimock and Knight put in to grow and market the business over the years. “A lot of our growth has come from word of mouth,” Hooper says. “If our clients are happy, they’ll refer us to their friends, and it grows from there. We have clients from all over, and we’re able to take care of them from afar.”

No matter where ABS clients are located, Hooper also knows broadband is a necessity. “We’re almost at a freeze without it,” she says. “If we don’t have it, we literally can’t do our job. Rarely do bookkeepers talk to people, our work is mostly through email. Broadband is the backbone of how we run our businesses.”