How to Start a Bookkeeping Business in 8 Steps
The two careers are similar and accountants and bookkeepers often work side by side. These careers require many of the same skills and attributes. However, important differences exist in the nature of work conducted in each career and what is required to be successful. The following analysis compares the education requirements, skills needed, typical starting salaries and job outlooks for accounting and bookkeeping. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks work in offices.
They are there to promote local businesses and you offer a service that will help local businesses. Contact all local networking groups and attend their breakfast meetings. If you get the chance of a 5 minute speaking slot, grab it.
Lots of small businesses need help with payroll management and other bookkeeping duties but aren’t able to bring on a full-time employee. After you’ve worked as a bookkeeper for at least two years, you can become a Certified Bookkeeper through the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers. Knowing how to use programs like a pay stub generator is also helpful in making you a valuable bookkeeper.
Establish Your Business
I project I will reach my income goal within three months. A few months ago I was laid off from my work-from-home job. I quickly discovered that finding another telecommuting job was nearly impossible. I am a single mom of three boys, one of whom has special needs, so I really needed to find something that would afford me a lot of flexibility with a full-time income.
Any analyses done by someone above the level of bookkeeper are dependent on the accuracy of the data recorded by the bookkeeper. Given that there are substantial differences between the services offered by bookkeepers and accountants, it can be seen that both are important to the growth of your business. Instead of viewing them in a ‘bookkeepers vs accountants’ situation, it is important to understand that your accountant and bookkeeper work best together to serve the financial requirements of your business. This document summarizes your business’s assets, liabilities, and equity at a single period of time. Your total assets should equal the sum of all liabilities and equity accounts.
You also need 16 hours of continuing education each year to keep the QuickBooks license. Bookkeepers fulfill a vital role in maintaining the financial records of a business or organization. In a small business, they take care of the general ledger, deposits, payroll and billing, while in larger organizations, they usually specialize. Some bookkeepers only have a high school diploma, but many employers prefer those who have associate’s degrees.
The classes focus just as much on the business side of things as the bookkeeping knowledge. From day one I was learning both bookkeeping skills and how those skills translate into my new business. There’s no better time to check out Bookkeeper Launch and get started on your next successful career.
Set Up a Business Bank Account
We recently revised this page to include a few more bookkeeping tips. We also added an FAQ section to help explain why bookkeeping is so important for small businesses and when it’s time to hire a bookkeeper or accountant instead of going it alone. Some great tips in the article for getting started as a bookkeeper.
- Your accountant, on the other hand, will be the person who analyses the data produced by your bookkeeper, reports on it, and is best suited to give you financial advice.
- Occasionally they become overwhelmed, and their work may suffer.
- You need a person who can put their head down, do the math, and sort that bag of receipts into something meaningful.
- Purchase business cards and hand them out at functions and other social events.
- They may be in competition with you, but if they are overstretched, it may just help you get started.
- The classes focus just as much on the business side of things as the bookkeeping knowledge.
It is a cloud-based accounting software that has been giving QuickBooks Online a run for its money for the last few years. To achieve certification, you must complete a four-hour certification course.
Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks with similar occupations. I contacted them in regards to their certified bookkeeping license & they confirmed that you need to have your associates or bachelors OR complete their education alternative. However, you are required to have at least 1 year or 2,000 hours of bookkeeping or accounting experience. Unfortunately, you can’t be licensed by education only through NACPB.
For certification, candidates must have at least 2 years of full-time bookkeeping experience or equivalent part-time work, pass a four-part exam, and adhere to a code of ethics. Employers generally require bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks to have some postsecondary education, particularly coursework in accounting.
New software and other tools are always being developed to automate tasks. Allow your bookkeeper an opportunity to evaluate and choose what will best meet the company needs. If something new is selected, follow through with providing bookkeeping any needed training. In order to understand more comprehensively the benefits that both bookkeepers and accountants can offer to your business, it can be helpful to be aware of the tasks that each could be expected to undertake.
Bookkeepers use software to track these numbers, sometimes take in cash and checks, and record the transactions. Bookkeepers are often called upon to produce reports to help explain to management where company money is going and make sure that any discrepancies in the financial records are reconciled. Bookkeeping is not a career choice that requires extensive time spent gaining a college degree.
But to run a small business, you have to be at least a little skilled in the art of bookkeeping. We updated this page to include a few more links to articles we found helpful for our readers—most notably, a link to our piece on the best bookkeeping software for small businesses. Learn the basics of small-business accounting with this beginner’s guide. Hi…I’m the controller for a very busy business in Long Island and have been doing bookkeeping for 30 years. I’ve had some unfortunate events happen recently and am in need of a second job to help supplement my current income.
At specified intervals, they review and analyze the financial information recorded by bookkeepers and use it to conduct audits, generate financial statements and forecast future business needs. Speaking of number crunching, that job duty is actually more common to bookkeeping than to accounting. Companies task bookkeepers with tasks such as recording journal entries and conducting bank reconciliations.
Crystalynn is also a CPA, and Intuit ProAdvisor where Crystalynn specializes in QuickBooks consulting and training. Prior to joining Fit Small Business, Crystalynn was a Senior Learning Specialist at Intuit for three years and ran her own small QuickBooks consulting business. If you decide to go with QuickBooks, they offer a variety of payroll options to choose from. If you decide that you just don’t want the headache of dealing with payroll, check out our guide on 6 Payroll Competitors that beat ADP when it comes to price.
