Testimonials

 

What our clients are saying

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"Jean's experience as a restaurant owner combined with her accounting background offers an insightful perspective on the food and beverage business! "
Stuart McLeod, Owner, Hectors Restaurant, Kirkland, WA

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"We were looking for someone to come in and help us get our financial numbers in order which at the time were unfortunately a mess. Jean Klein at Small Restaurant Specialist was able to get us on track in no time. She is friendly, informative and very helpful. We still use her on a consulting basis when unknown financial situations arise."
Joseph Merkling, Executive Chef, General Manager, Steakhouse9 Restaurant and Lounge, Lynden, WA

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"Our bottom line on paper was below what we thought it should be based on the popularity of our restaurant. Fortunately we contacted Jean Klein, CPA. She cleaned up our accounting system on QuickBooks, fixed issues in our POS, and found improvements in many areas of our operation which increased our bottom line. She was conscientious, very thorough and gave us service way beyond what we expected. She also gave us easy, practical procedures that we have been using going forward. We would wholeheartedly recommend Jean to anyone."
Dan and Erin Murphy, Owners, Ballard Loft, Seattle, WA

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"I was confident when I opened my first restaurant, still I had questions. For example, were my books correct and how did my costs compare to industry standards? When I engaged Jean, she analyzed my books, all my costs data and made several operational recommendations that I could implement right away. Jean kept me focused on the changes I needed to make and I'm so glad I called her for support. I'm now completely confident that my books are in order and my costs are under control. Jean's advice - I call them gems - keep ringing true to this day."
Leigh Stylos, Owner, Mo's Pizza and Wine Dive, Mercer Island, WA

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"Over the past 5 years it has been my pleasure to work with Jean Klein on several of her projects. Jean brings an exceptional combination by being an accounting professional plus having decades of hands-on, Owner/Operator restaurant experience. Her " tell it like it is" approach is refreshing and spot on. She is our "go to" expert in the food service business."
Bill Pearsall, Founder, Transition360, Exit Planning & Business Brokerage, Bellevue, WA

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"Being new to owning a restaurant and feeling overwhelmed at all that needed to be learned, Jean was like a savior to us. She left no stone unturned and went through every aspect of owning a restaurant with our family. She taught us how to manage our financials, operate QuickBooks, as well as effectively manage our employees and operational systems. With Jean's financial background and past restaurant experience, she was able to advise us on changes she thought we needed to make and also utilize her resources and contacts in the business to help our restaurant improve. Jean was very approachable and we were so comfortable working with her. We are very grateful for her assistance in getting our restaurant going in the right direction and for all that she has taught us. We would not hesitate to recommend her services to anyone in the restaurant business."
Lauren Bonjrada and family, Queen Margherita Pizzeria, Seattle, WA

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"I chose Jean Klein to set-up and guide me through the accounting for my start-up food truck business, ORO Food Truck LLC, because she is a Quickbooks recommended small restaurant specialist. She is very accessible and a strong communicator, which I very much appreciate. She customized my accounting system specifically for my type of business and led me through the process, clean and easy. Jean made me feel supported."
Catherine Usibelli, Owner, ORO Food Truck LLC

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"I worked with Jean in the sale of a restaurant where financials and accounting issues were critical. The clear and understandable financial statements and explanations that Jean prepared smoothed the way to a successful closing of the restaurant sale."
Michael A. Larson, Attorney at Law, Seattle, WA

"Having known Jean for many years, first as a practicing CPA, then as a restaurant owner/operator and lastly as a restaurant consultant, I’m acutely aware of the tremendous strengths she brings to her clients.  Jean has always applied her advanced formal training, common sense, and street smarts to solve clients’ problems. I have seen her excellent output when I work with her clients doing their tax work. On a personal level, I know this work makes her very happy when she helps hard working restaurant owners and managers succeed in this tough business."
Alen Berg, CPA, Berg CPA Firm, Renton, WA

"Food Network should model a new reality series featuring Jean Klein – Restaurant Revival! As a CPA, working collaboratively with Jean has enhanced profitable growth and the customer experience for the clientele we jointly serve. Timely, accurate information and industry insight is essential to advise restaurant entrepreneurs to make informed decisions to drive enterprise value. I wish more small business owners and their CPAs could benefit from the experience I have had working with Jean."
Bill Mills, CPA and Partner, Anderson ZurMuehlen, Bozeman, MT

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"Let me say a big thank you and congratulations for getting our books in order! It has been like a blessing that you came along to set us straight. The amount of work that you did on our account and the seriousness with which you applied yourself was above and beyond my expectations. Rarely, if ever, do I have the pleasure of expressing such appreciation for a service. "   
Josh Gibson, Owner, Blackbird, Bozeman, MT

We contacted Jean one year after starting our restaurant and our only regret is that we hadn’t used her services from the very beginning. She went back to the beginning of our records and completely cleaned everything up. Then she set up systems for me to follow and taught me how to correctly enter all of our financial data. She is extremely detail oriented and always takes the time to do things correctly and explain why. She was happy to answer questions and explore any details of our business or accounting that I wanted. I am so grateful to have worked with Jean because now I feel confident that I am moving forward correctly with our restaurant accounting. Thanks Jean!
Lauren Reich, Little Star Diner, Bozeman, MT

In one word, Jean was awesome! Being a popular and busy dining establishment for years, we didn’t have time to keep our financial data and back office records optimally. We had gotten into a place where we were wondering how we would ever get things on the right track. It was our lucky day when we met Jean. She worked with us for several months to get things squared away and set up easy to follow procedures for us going forward. We have a much improved bottom line and much less stress as a result of working with her. We recommend her wholeheartedly!
John and Pam Flach, By Word of Mouth, Big Sky, MT

With dozens of years under her belt, both as an accountant and a successful restaurateur, you can be assured that Jean will take care of your accounting needs.  She'll set you on the right course, with patience, diligence, fairness, and professionalism. As a former client, I saw it as a privilege to work with her as she guided me through all of my concerns and allayed my fears with clarity and guidance. Thank you Jean!
Kris C, Owner, HodgePodge Café, Kenmore, WA