Bainbridge Bookkeeper Guides Small Businesses to Solid Ground
COURTESY OF PIER 52 BOOKKEEPING
By QUINN PROPST
Ward Media Staff Reporter
Running a small business can feel like walking on water—each step a test of balance, belief, and resilience. For Shannon Raymond-Becker, founder of Pier 52 Bookkeeping, her mission is simple: be the pier that helps other entrepreneurs find solid footing.
Based on Bainbridge Island, Pier 52 is more than a bookkeeping firm—it’s a lifeline for small business owners navigating the tides of growth, taxes, payroll, and profit margins. And at its core is Raymond-Becker, who brings a blend of practical financial knowledge, lived experience, and deep empathy to every client relationship.
“I run a bookkeeping firm, and we take care of the financials for businesses,” she said. “We track their income and their expenses, and we run payroll and we do sales tax filings.”
Pier 52 also offers 1099 filings and clean-up services, meaning Raymond-Becker and her team will get a business’s books up to date.
But what sets Pier 52 apart isn’t just the technical work—it’s the human connection. Each client meets regularly with a member of Raymond-Becker’s all-female team to review their financial reports. These meetings are where transformation happens.
“We show them their profit and loss and their balance sheet, and we discuss this is how your business is doing,” she said. “Some businesses, they have a ton of income, and they think they’re doing great, but they have more expenses than they have income, and they don’t even realize. Or sometimes it’s the opposite.”
Those check-ins aren’t just bookkeeping—they’re mentorship, strategy sessions, and sometimes therapy.
“We end up getting to know them really well, which is one of my favorite parts—the relationship you build,” Raymond-Becker said. “Owning a business or being an entrepreneur is really lonely. You have to make all these big decisions by yourself, and the weight of your entire business is on you.”
For many of her clients, Pier 52 becomes a trusted partner—someone who sees the full picture and helps turn challenges into choices.
“We have such a unique angle, because we see their finances in a way that nobody else does,” she said.
A Business Born From Necessity
Raymond-Becker’s journey to bookkeeping started not in a classroom, but in the chaos of tax season.
“My husband started a business, and he could not keep track of his expenses, and tax time was terrible,” she said. “We couldn’t figure out what we were spending or what we were making in his business. So I decided to go to school and learn how to do bookkeeping.”
She had originally planned to become a dental hygienist but changed paths after shadowing one and realizing it wasn’t for her. Around the same time, her husband’s business bookkeeping had become so tangled their CPA dropped them.
“So I was like, well, I already have the credits lined up for school,” she said. “I just switched them all to business, taxation, accounting… it kind of was serendipitous how it all came together.”
When her husband had to close his business due to unforeseen circumstances, Raymond-Becker became the family’s sole provider. In September 2019, she launched Pier 52 Bookkeeping—just six months before giving birth to her son.
“One of the reasons I started this business is because I wanted to work for myself so that I could choose my hours and be there for my son,” she said. “I wanted to show up to every T-ball game, every soccer game. I wanted to be there for all of it.”
As her son grew more independent, so did her business. Today, Pier 52 is staffed by a close-knit team of women who handle clients in the Bainbridge area.
“I just got to take two weeks off, and they were able to handle it all and take care of things,” she said. “I mean, they’re just phenomenal.”
Why “Pier 52”?
Originally named Seaside Bookkeeping, Raymond-Becker quickly found that her dream name wasn’t so unique—five other businesses shared it, which would muddy her marketing efforts. So she rebranded, choosing a name with deep personal and regional meaning: Pier 52, the Seattle-side dock of the Bainbridge Island ferry.
“Pier 52 is such a monumental piece of the community,” she said. “When you’re making a leap from one place to the next, that’s where you land. And I feel like bookkeeping is similar—when you’re trying to make a leap in your business, you need help landing it with your finances.”
“When you’re running a business, it feels like you’re walking on water, and it feels impossible at times, and you feel like you’re sinking and drowning, and a pier is something that allows you to walk on water,” she said.
Pier 52 is also important to Raymond-Becker because it is home.
“I grew up in a military family and never felt like I had a place that was my home,” she said. “And then I moved to Bainbridge Island in 2013 and I never left. It’s the first place in my life that has felt like home.”
Relationships First
Raymond-Becker lights up when talking about the relationships she’s built through her work.
“I have some clients, and I want to get them a shirt that says ‘my bookkeeper is my best friend,’” she laughed. “I had a client who sent me a text and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to miss my monthly meeting—I’m in the hospital.’ I was like, well, we can skip the meeting, but I am coming to the hospital.”
That level of care and connection is foundational to Pier 52’s approach.
“We just care about our clients so much,” she said. “We form a relationship and care about their success. I feel like we put a lot of heart into what we do.”
Her team also prides themselves on responsiveness—something she says clients notice immediately.
“We respond to people within one business day,” she said. “That’s a big thing.”
Confidentiality is another pillar of their values.
“What happens with the bookkeeper stays with the bookkeeper,” she added. “We don’t tell anybody who our clients are. We don’t share anyone’s information.”
Advice to Fellow Entrepreneurs
Raymond-Becker’s biggest piece of advice to other entrepreneurs? Find your people.
“Seek a community of other entrepreneurs,” she said. “The more people you have in your corner to share how difficult it is, the less alone you feel.”
She has a group of friends that meet regularly to talk business—and sometimes vent.
“We talk about our ‘burn-it-down’ days,” she said, “when you just want to walk away. It gets really challenging. But it’s important to have people in your corner to remind you that there were days you didn’t want to burn it down—and to show you how far you’ve come.”
Looking Ahead
As Pier 52 continues to grow, Raymond-Becker is learning how to let go—slowly. More client meetings are being handed off to her team, though there are still a few she can’t bring herself to give up.
“I just love the people that I work with,” she said. “I love these relationships.”
And for the small business owners lucky enough to have Pier 52 on their side, the feeling is mutual.
“I think one of the most heartwarming things I hear is when our clients tell us that we feel like they’re business partners,” she said. “That we’re in it with them. That has felt so good.”
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