How to Start a Bookkeeping Business Step-by-Step Guide

While the steps outlined below need to be completed at some point as you establish your business, getting your first virtual bookkeeping client should be the first thing you do. This way, you’ll be growing your reputation alongside building your business. You can make more when you do online bookkeeping than the average full-time bookkeeper. Providing the value your clients require is the key to charging a better charge.

I print checks to pay my clients’ bills, documents that I want to write on while working, and invoices to send to my clients. Use a laptop that you prefer and can afford, whether Mac or Windows. My Dell cost me maybe $500 and it’s still going strong after 5 years.

Are You Ready to Start a Virtual Bookkeeping Practice?

Because, without clients, you don’t have a bookkeeping business…you have a hobby. It takes care of the daily number crunching and data entry, but that’s ALL they do. Want to know the ins and outs of starting a bookkeeping business? This might be one of the best decisions you ever make as you consider your own respectable, home-based business.

They don’t have recurring payroll like ADP does (or at least they didn’t when we did the demo). I just added a subcontractor to my payroll runs, and that has been working pretty well so far. Overall, I’m very pleased I like that the cost is so much cheaper than ADP – but it still seems up to par with that technology. Cathy Iconis, CPA is the creator and facilitator of the weekly tweetchat #QBOchat and the website QBOchat.com – a community for QuickBooks Online Users. She is also the founder of Iconis Group, an Intuit Top 20 Firm of the Future, that supports small businesses all over the United States with their bookkeeping needs.

One option is to concentrate on a certain specialty that you can expand naturally. The best way to start with sales and marketing is to spread the word to your friends and family. If you are serious about this venture, post it all over your social media accounts, LinkedIn, and any other platform you engage in.

Acquire Certification in Bookkeeping

To succeed in a virtual bookkeeping or accounting practice, you need to embrace the online model. When launching a virtual bookkeeping business, you can either self-fund or take out a bank loan. Both options have unique advantages and disadvantages, but online bookkeepers should take the self-funding route if possible.

These days you can search for a Facebook group about everything from baking cakes to watching Game of Thrones. Searching for a bookkeeping professionals group on any social media – especially Facebook and LinkedIn – can be a great way to find other people working in the same industry. You’ll also find yourself having to prepare general ledgers, or a record of each transaction the company makes – including the date, description, quantity, and price. This is almost always done using online bookkeeping software to make it easier.

Steps to Start a Successful Virtual Bookkeeping Business

You’ll have access to a great community and advanced learning content. However, you’ll need to have at least five clients already to join it. As a result, a bookkeeping business offers the chance to help your clients grow their businesses by offering them advice as well as getting nerdy with the numbers. Take time to sit down and write out a business plan– a roadmap of what you’d like your business to look like.

It’s an investment at $20/mo per client, but I feel like I am saving at least that much of my time by utilizing their system. If I run across a client that utilizes a bank that doesn’t work on Hubdoc, then I simply don’t put them on it. Hubdoc is all about saving me time and increasing my gross margins. The term “Technology Stack” will be something you will hear a lot once you start a virtual bookkeeping business. This simply means what software are you utilizing in your bookkeeping business to run and operate your business. Before you take the leap out on your own, you need to prepare yourself and plan for the type of virtual bookkeeping business you want to create.

classified balance sheetting up your bookkeeping organization, getting your business license and paying some other well-used taxes (uh-hummmm). This can vary SIGNIFICANTLY from state-to-state and county-to-county. You could begin your business without setting up as a corporation or limited liability company .

Your business name is the first thing that lets customers, clients, competitors and others in the marketplace know about who you are and what you do. Now, just because we learn how to start a bookkeeping business using QuickBooks Online, your learning and development does not stop there. Above, in the “how much does it cost to start” section, we covered some of the specific pieces of technology and tools you need to start a bookkeeping business. If you can actually use your business plan as a roadmap to get started, then create one. However, most people create a business plan and put it on a shelf, never to look at it again. QuickBooks Online® (your go-to bookkeeping software) certification to show your clients you are a bookkeeper-bad-ass.

Skills

As someone involved in other people’s money, it’s important to behave in a trustworthy matter, but also protect yourself. There’s a chance you could make a mistake that costs your client money. Having a liability insurance policy in place will protect you and your business if that happens. As soon as your business bank account is set up, use it EXCLUSIVELY for business expenses. You can, and should, pay yourself from your business, but do that by transferring money to your personal account or writing a check.

• That said, with a good business setup and prime clients you can make over $50K annually.
• You do not need an expansive or expensive website to get started.
• Bookkeeping can be self-taught thanks to the sea of online courses available for you to choose from.
• Even if you’re meeting with clients every day, it can be isolating if there is no one there to share the burden of your business with.
• Project management software—such as Trello, Asana, Active Collab, and Slack—can help things from falling through the cracks.
• On average, a virtual bookkeeper earns over $42K per year and you can do that as well.

There’s little doubt that the world of online bookkeeping jobs offers an exciting and profitable opportunity. For many people, the idea of working on your own terms to your own schedule while helping clients and earning a great income sounds like a dream come true. The key to time management is creating an effortless bookkeeping accounting system. Accounting software providers on the market and is used by many small and large businesses alike.

You can easily use separate banks, just remember to account for delays in processing between banks. When you’re first starting out, you’ll probably only need to register with the state you live in. Basically, if you’re sued and lose, the plaintiff can only take your business assets and not your personal assets.

They both have cloud-based, mobile features available and are almost identical – you can manage invoices, projects, bank connections, inventories, expenses, bills, and more. The good news is that there aren’t many costs involved in starting a bookkeeping business. Assuming you already have a good laptop, you won’t need to buy much – you can do the work straight from your computer. When the financial year ends, and it’s time to submit taxes, all businesses need accurate records of their income and outgoings. 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.

Also, a quality video conferencing platform is a perfect way to conduct meetings and interviews. You discovered why starting a bookkeeping business could be one of the best decisions of your life. There is one accounting software that I am IN LOVE WITH. It’s the best accounting application in my experience hands down.