How To Start a Bookkeeping Business: A Step-by-Step Guide

If possible, plan to meet your clients at their offices or virtually. I don’t recommend inviting clients to your home office unless you know them very well and have a private room where you can work. Read our home office setup ideas to learn about the must-haves and productivity hacks.

• Then, take this guide and create a weekly to-do list based on the steps we have shared with you.
• The right workflow management system can save you hours and allow you to monitor your team without micromanaging it.
• You may also want to learn how to create and manage a website to help attract clients online.

On the other hand, direct mail is likely a better option if your niche is the automotive industry. Pay.com offers all of the above, making it simple for your clients to pay for your services. In just a few clicks, you can set up your payment system via the Pay Dashboard – no technical experience required. Your payment system should make it easy for your clients to pay you – you never want to lose a sale because of a poor user experience.

Chapter 5 – Setup Your Technology

Next, showcases your core offerings that were created in Chapter 2. 1) Outline some benefits that small businesses can expect from your solution. Feel free to add and/or remove pages as you see fit if you think it will help you find clients.

As a separate entity, the business also has multiple tax election options. For example, both LLCs and corporations can choose to be taxed as S-corps if they meet the requirements. However, the limitations and risks of these business structures quickly become more apparent as your business grows. In both of these business types, you are your business, legally speaking. Your company’s legal business name is YOUR name—so you’ll need a DBA to operate under any other name. Then there are the practical aspects to consider, including buying a computer or laptop, purchasing accounting software, business stationery, and setting up a business bank account.

How to Run & Operate a Grooming Business

When things slip through the cracks, your clients lose money and their trust in you. You may need to access your client’s apps and bank accounts to get work done. Out of all the things you’ve done so far to get your bookkeeping business off the ground, the most important thing when it comes to marketing is your website. Make sure your website is helpful and streamlined, giving potential clients all https://www.bookstime.com/articles/double-declining-balance-method the useful info they need to know without being over-cluttered. Bookkeepers often utilize business accounting software to help businesses with payroll, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and other important reports. While a specific certification isn’t necessary to set up a bookkeeping business, it can help validate your business and your qualifications to do the work of your business.

Be prepared to hit the streets to mingle with new business owners to acquire your first few clients and build professional network. When you get clients, over and above the accounting work that you’ll be delivering to them, they’ll how to start a bookkeeping business also need help throughout the year for ad hoc questions. Dealing with these ad hoc questions would form part of the support that you’ll be expected to provide. 3) They’re a great way to determine your baseline service level.

an LLC or Corporation today.

Virtual bookkeeping firms can’t rely on physical files to track their to-do lists. If your team is in different locations, you won’t always be able to see what they’re working on, so a to-do list won’t cut it. To preserve your time for expanding your business, think about how to outsource tasks to other team members. Outsourcing tasks might cost some money upfront but frees up time for running your business, working with your clients, and acquiring new ones. For firms planning on holding virtual meetings with clients, you will want to invest in a Zoom Pro subscription to schedule longer meeting times with larger groups of attendees.

• Not all can afford a professional financial facility or planner.
• I know this was information overload, but I wanted to create an ultimate guide for you as you start your online bookkeeping business.
• As your business grows and you hire employees, you can consider whether to rent office space or keep working remotely.
• After you file your Articles of Organization, it’s time to get your business license, which lets you practice in your county, city, or state.
• Entry-level bookkeepers without any prior work experience work at an average of $15.50 an hour.

When you leave a comment on this article, please note that if approved, it will be publicly available and visible at the bottom of the article on this blog. For more information on how Sage uses and looks after your personal data and the data protection rights you have, please read our Privacy Policy. After passing your exams,  buying insurance and observing all the rules and regulations, you’re now ready to start up your own bookkeeping business. All these considerations are part of the bigger picture of your bookkeeping business plan.

How to Start a Bookkeeping Business – Other Software

Maybe you decide to take one class per year at $300, which would break down to $25 a month. As a bookkeeper, unless you are trained as an accountant as well, you will want to hire an accountant to do your own taxes each year. You’ll be looking at roughly $300 a year, which, broken down, is $25 a month. Bookkeepers need quality internet connection, and once again, you’ll most likely be using it for both personal and business, so I estimated about $30 a month for business purposes. The work is broken down into about 20 hours of billable time each week or 80 hours per month.

Most bookkeepers use Quickbooks Online—the accountant version. The second-most-popular software option for bookkeepers is Xero. Next, you will want to choose a bookkeeping software and learn how to use it properly. Overall, bookkeeping is more straightforward than accounting and is mostly about keeping track of the money in day-to-day transactions. You want to have the proper software to keep up with separate clients and track your work to bill accordingly. Security is important, so make sure you have security software with additional protection for the computer you use to protect from hacks and viruses.

Here are the 12 Steps to Start a Bookkeeping Business

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 should first decide whether your target market will be limited to your surrounding area, or if you’ll offer online services. While it’s tempting to offer your services online to a worldwide audience, it adds a lot of complexity to your operations.