For instance, both the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB) and the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers (NACPB) offer certification programs. To understand what might work for you check out this helpful post about best business structure from FitSmallBusiness.com. Our comprehensive bookkeeping business course, Bookkeeper Launch, is designed to be completed in ten (10) weeks. Some students even get their first client while still in the course!
- You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed, Glassdoor, or ZipRecruiter.
- Starting your own business today may be the best thing you ever do for yourself.
- This can be as creative as you’d like, and include short-term and long-term goals that you have for your bookkeeping business.
- You can also look into specific accounting practice management software, some of which integrate directly into software such as QuickBooks Online.
Launching and Growing Your Bookkeeping Business
It’s been used by more than 17,000 other women and men to start a bookkeeping business. A bookkeeper’s work is applicable across many different types of industries — after all, every business needs to track and optimize its finances. However, to help market your business and set it apart amongst the competition, https://vamosacambiarelmundo.org/data-center-consolidation/ you may decide to specialize in a specific industry. Once your bookkeeping business is underway, you will have to trust that your system will draw clients to you. Time management, experience, and consistent energy will all be factors in your business success.
Understand your funding options
Even if you don’t have formal education in accounting or bookkeeping, you can become a certified bookkeeper before starting your own bookkeeping business. Unlike CPAs, these certifications aren’t regulated by the state, so be sure to choose a large, reputable organization so that the certification is meaningful and respected. You can launch an online bookkeeping business using the same process above, though naturally, you’ll need to place greater emphasis on your web presence and your file-sharing tools. But you’ll also be able to reach a wider market than if you only focused on your local area, reaching prospective clients from across the US. Some CRM systems even offer a customer portal to make it easier for you and your clients to communicate.
Join a Professional Bookkeeper Association
If you’ve had college accounting courses, you might be able to substitute them for required courses, but you’ll still need to pass each exam. Define your service packages and pricing structure so that you can easily communicate this information to your clients. Create tiered service packages with increasing levels of complexity and features. You’ll want to use bookkeeping software, such as Sage, synder, or Xero. You could also check this SBA guide for your state’s requirements, but we recommend using MyCorporation’s Business License Compliance Package. They will research the exact forms you need for your business and state and provide them to ensure you’re fully compliant.
How a Bookkeeper Is Different Than an Accountant
PayScale, a site that tracks salaries and rates, puts the average hourly rate for a bookkeeper around $17 per hour ($10 on the low end and $24 on the high end). You might also want to look into freelance and for-hire contractor sites, such as UpWork or Fiverr, where people list their rates. Find bookkeepers that are similar in your skill set and experience to help gauge what you should be charging. Many clients will look for your website to find out about you and your experience. If you’re specifically running a totally virtual business, a website is extra important since it can demonstrate to clients your skills. And luckily, there are plenty of website builders to make creating your website a breeze.
Fast-growing businesses may also turn to you, as their bookkeeper, to manage payroll and payroll taxes too. So it’s important you make timeliness and accuracy a critical part of your business. Some clients will do work at their site, like entering bills, writing checks, sending invoices, and more. In this case, you’ll be responsible for ensuring they make proper entries, reconcile accounts and bank statements, get financial documents, and more. Danielle Bauter has 25 years of experience as a Full-Charge Bookkeeper and https://informatic74.ru/html/1_8.htm has owned her own bookkeeping and payroll service for over two decades, working with various accounting software.
Tax Preparation Software
You can find information about international and national associations, publications, blogs and more. Small business owners don’t have a way to determine if you’re credible or not. Active podcast listeners are surging in the U.S., so nows a smart time to jump on board. https://focusandleap.com/2025/01/27/building-a-thriving-coaching-business-a-comprehensive-guide/ If you’re reading this and feel like it’s something you can do, do it. Many virtual bookkeepers start with zero experience and continue to earn up to $80/hr and more.
Getting a unique phone number for your business is incredibly easy and often free. You can get a free Google Voice number, which includes a local area code, voicemail, texts, and unlimited calling. Non-accounting degree holders who would like to pursue a bookkeeping career can take bookkeeping courses online.
This can cover a DIY website and subscription to a bookkeeping software like QuickBooks. Alright, we know you may be a little tired — but we promise you can get started on your virtual bookkeeping practice in eight steps. So you set the number of clients, hours, and the amount of time you want to work each week. A virtual bookkeeper’s job will include some data entry and receipt tracking. You are responsible for categorizing expenses, indicating who and how much was paid, and keeping track of receipts.