By Vlad Kaly on August 27, 2025
Chris Hopkins didn’t plan to become a business owner. She didn’t spend years sketching out ideas or waiting for the perfect time. She was faced with an unexpected fresh start and chose to create something steady and truly her own.
“I call this my fourth life stage,” she says with a warm laugh. “I had the working phase, the mom phase, the back-to-work phase… now, this is the ‘do-it-for-me’ phase.”
But stepping out on her own wasn’t easy.
“It was terrifying,” Chris admits. I didn’t expect things to shift when they did. I didn’t have a backup. But I knew I had something to offer, and I had to try.”
With over two decades of experience in finance and operations, Chris had the skills. What she needed was a new start. So she launched Accordance Bookkeeping Solutions, LLC in Algonquin, Illinois, offering small businesses what so many desperately need: clarity, consistency, and calm around their numbers.
“Some haven’t filed taxes in years,” Chris says. “Others are spending hours trying to do their own books, and still aren’t sure if they’re doing it right.”
She meets people deep in financial overwhelm. They’re stressed, embarrassed, and unsure who to trust. Chris helps them sort through the backlog, bring things current, and most importantly, understand what the numbers actually mean.
Her bread and butter is bookkeeping — the kind that’s reliable, affordable, and built for real life. Monthly reconciliations, expense tracking, reports, and all the details that too often get buried under everything else a business owner is trying to juggle.
“They’ll say, ‘I have money in the bank, but I don’t know if I can take a paycheck,’” she says. “That’s where I step in.”
Once the books are clean and current, many clients want more. That’s where Chris’s fractional CFO services come in. She helps business owners not just record their finances, but use them.
Most of my clients don’t have anyone helping them think strategically about their business,” she explains. “They’re just trying to stay afloat. I help them forecast, budget, plan, and grow, not just survive the month.
She builds cash flow models, identifies trends, and sets up systems that help small business owners make smarter choices. Whether they’re ready to expand, invest, or just figure out why they’re constantly scrambling, Chris is the strategic voice in their corner.
“They’ll ask, ‘Can I afford to hire someone?’ or ‘Should I take on that project?’ I help them answer those questions with data, not gut feelings.”
Chris didn’t launch this alone. Her daughter, a recent business graduate, supports some of the operational work while exploring her own path. For Chris, the chance to build something side by side with family is deeply meaningful.
“It’s a legacy in progress,” she says. “I don’t know where it’ll go, but we’re building it together.”
Chris has deep roots in the community. She and her husband make their home in Algonquin, and all four of their daughters live close by. She’s part of the Chamber, shows up to events, and keeps connecting with other small business owners face-to-face, even if she’s more at home behind the numbers.
“I’m not a natural salesperson,” she says. “But I believe if I keep showing up, people will see I’m the real deal.”
And they do. Because Chris meets them without judgment. Just help.
Chris isn’t chasing overnight success. She’s building a business that grows with her clients — one that stays small enough to care, but big enough to make an impact.
“If they grow, I grow. That’s the goal. I want to be the calm in the chaos.”
Some people build businesses to make noise. Chris Hopkins built hers to make sense.
Based in Algonquin, IL
Website: accordancebookkeeping.com
Follow on Facebook: facebook.com/accordancebookkeepingsolutions
Instagram: instagram.com/accordancebookkeepingsolutions
Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/accordancebookkeepingsolutions
Bookkeeping and Fractional CFO Services for Small Businesses
Email: chris.hopkins@accordancebookkeeping.com
Phone: 224-389-0805
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