How To Start A Bookkeeping Business From Home?

Do you have a strong interest in bookkeeping and accounting? Are you looking for a business idea that you can start from home? If so, starting your own bookkeeping business may be the perfect option for you. In this article, we’ll provide tips on how to get started with your own bookkeeping business. We’ll also discuss the benefits of running this type of business.

Starting your own bookkeeping business from home is a great way to be self-employed and control your income.

But it can be tough to get started if you don’t know where to begin. This guide will walk you through the steps necessary to start a successful bookkeeping business from home.

First, decide what services you want to offer and create a pricing plan. Next, set up your business legally and get the necessary licenses and insurance.

Finally, market your business and start booking clients! With hard work and dedication, you can make your dream of owning a bookkeeping business a reality.

If you’re looking for a way to start your own business from home, bookkeeping may be a great option.

This type of business can be very lucrative, and it’s perfect for people who are good with numbers and have strong attention to detail.

But starting a bookkeeping business isn’t as easy as just putting up a sign and waiting for customers to come knocking. You’ll need to take certain steps to get your business off the ground.

In this post, we’ll outline some of the basic steps you need to take when starting a bookkeeping business from home. So whether you’re just getting started or looking for ways to improve your business, keep reading!

Let’s get started!

It sounds like there is a lot of work involved in starting your own accounting business. Therefore, why would I want to launch my own accounting company?

Beginning any kind of small business, even an accounting firm, involves a significant amount of legwork on the front end.

On the other hand, industry experts and consultants agree that starting an accounting firm right now is likely to be one of the single most profitable small enterprises a person can launch.

When beginning a business, the following are some questions to ask yourself:

Do you want to be a cog in the machine or own a firm? To tell you the truth, there is no such thing as an incorrect response to this question; rather, it is a matter of personal preference. There is, however, a huge upside to striking out on your own, and that is the fact that you will share in the profits of the business in addition to your income. Because of this, you will transition from being an employee to an owner.

What’s my business purpose? Defining the objective of your company is an essential step, even though it may seem a little abstract at first. What is the point of this? What am I hoping to accomplish by doing this? This is not merely an intellectual activity on its own. If you are beginning a company for the purpose of assisting small businesses, the real estate industry, or any other service area, knowing why you are doing so might assist you in defining your target market.

Do you want to be nimble and cutting edge? Small businesses have a greater propensity to be much more nimble and to have a greater capacity to experiment with new things. When you operate your own company, you get to select everything that goes into making it lucrative and distinctive. This includes anything from embracing new technology to finding and putting into action new software and other tools that increase productivity.

Should you start a legal entity? For some people, operating their business as a sole proprietorship rather than incorporating is sufficient, particularly if their labour consists of less complicated activities such as basic tax preparation.

Becoming a limited liability company (LLC), on the other hand, provides some liability safeguards, including the limitation of risk for your business. Your company will eventually acquire ownership of the assets, which differentiates them from your personal holdings. When a company is not established, it is more difficult to establish clear boundaries, and the entire operation is put at greater danger as a result.

Recognise What A Bookkeeper Does

There are responsibilities beyond just tracking money transactions that come with the job. You will be required to, as the owner of the company:

Maintain punctuality when making payments on behalf of the organisation you are employed by.
Maintain an accurate record of the money coming into and going out of the company.
Make certain that the financial records of the organisation are correct and up to date at all times.
Ensure that everyone is paid on a consistent basis.
Carry out the necessary bank reconciliations.
Put together some financial reports.
Print cheques.
Prepare bills for payment.
Perform duties involving a variety of accounting and payroll systems.
Ensure that records of the inventory are kept.
Spread the word about your company on the internet.

Study Bookkeeping Techniques

The following abilities are necessary for a career as a bookkeeper:

Powerful abilities in both analysis and finding solutions to problems.
Precision in the use of numbers and hard work.
Data entry skills.
Effective and clear communication.
Good organisation skills.
Attention to detail.
Maintain your self-control, be patient, and give your all.
Possess the ability to operate well both independently and as part of a group.
Taking a course in bookkeeping will teach you the skills necessary to keep accurate books.

Learn The Benefits And Drawbacks Of Being A Bookkeeper

You can better prepare yourself for the highs and lows that come with having a bookkeeping firm by familiarising yourself with its benefits and drawbacks.

Benefits

You can set your schedule.
You may determine how much you are paid.
You have some say in who you collaborate with.
You have the opportunity to collaborate with folks from all over the world.

Drawbacks

There is a possibility of substantial liability concerns.
You are required to take precautions in order to guarantee the safety of all customer information.
Purchasing and keeping several accounting programmes up to date can be an expensive endeavour.

Know Your Legal Obligations When Working As A Bookkeeper

Your primary responsibility as a bookkeeper will be to document all of a firm’s financial dealings in order to assist that company in compiling their Business Activity Statement (BAS). During the course of the year, businesses are required to provide the Australian Taxation Office with a report known as the BAS.

You are required to register with the Tax Practitioners Board as a BAS Agent in order to be able to charge customers for your Business Activity Statement (BAS) services. The following are some of the qualifications necessary to become a registered BAS Agent:

Professional Indemnity Insurance that is comprised of independently creditable policies.
a qualification in bookkeeping equivalent to at least the Certificate IV level, such as the ICI Diploma in Bookkeeping.
A total of 1,400 hours of work experience, all of which must have been overseen by a BAS Agent.
Annually, you must complete fifteen hours of continuing education.

Create a Business Plan

Gaining an understanding of the reasons behind your want to become a bookkeeper and the reasons behind your desire to work with a small business.

The structure of your business model will be built upon this foundation. Consider the following:

Who is it that I wish to serve?
What kinds of answers can I supply to your questions?
What is the best way for me to present these solutions?

Think about where you want to be in the end: are you establishing a business to sell? How many staff members do you anticipate needing? Do you wish to expand your company into other countries?

When you first start making plans, it is helpful to have a general idea of where you want to end up eventually.

It will direct how you do business, including whether or not you want to hire anyone, the types of customers you want to work with, and how aggressively you will pursue new business opportunities.

business-concept-young-business-man-woking-financial-plan-strategy-analysis

When establishing your company’s business strategy, you will need to give consideration to a variety of factors.

To begin, you will need to pick who you want to be your clients and what regions you want to service, whether they be local, national, or international. You can choose any of these three options.

After you have completed this step, you will be able to decide the solutions you will provide to these clients and how you will supply these solutions to these customers.

It would be helpful if you also considered whether or not you want to hire anyone else to work with you on your business or whether or not you would be running it by yourself.

It is also beneficial to prepare a backup plan in the event that you are unable to perform your job.

Whether this is due to an illness or a family matter, it is extremely beneficial for your brand to be able to provide your customers an appropriate alternative in the event that you are unable to serve them.

Get Insurance

The purchase of Professional Indemnity Insurance, also known as PII, provides professional bookkeepers with a “safety net” in the event that errors are made.

This insurance protects bookkeepers from financial losses that their clients or other third parties may have sustained as a result of the bookkeeper’s negligence, blunders, errors, or failures in their work.

According to the information provided on the website of the Tax Practitioners Board, the PII is “a consumer protection tool.” It will pay compensation for clients in the event that they incur any losses as a consequence of a “act, error, or omission as a result of the BAS services” given by a BAS agent.

This provision is in place to protect clients from the possibility of incurring such losses. Additionally, it covers the expenses incurred in defending a client’s legal case brought against you and your company in court.

Every registered BAS agent is expected to have a PII and keep it up to date; in addition, the PII itself must be compliant with the rules established by the TPB.

Because of this, failing to maintain one will result in the cancellation of your BAS agent registration.

Putting the Pieces in Place

To begin started, you won’t require a lot of different stuff. The three most important items you will require are a computer, a cell phone, and a connection to the Internet.

Then, in conjunction with the appropriate software and apps, you are able to collaborate with people from all over the world regardless of where you are.

As a bookkeeper, you will require two different types of software. The first option is accounting software that can be accessed online.

You and your client will be able to view the accounts at the same time, which will enable you to hold conversations over the phone and cut down on the number of in-person meetings you need to attend.

In addition, the software enables automatic data entry as well as bank reconciliation and payroll processing. The practise management software is the second piece of software to be discussed.

You will be able to manage workflows and get your business in order as a result of using this.

It is simple to collaborate with other individuals regardless of where you are if you have the appropriate tools and apps.

It is not necessary to have a significant amount of infrastructure in order to get started. Obtain a mobile phone and a computer, and then go online.

Using online bookkeeping software will enable you to view your client’s accounts at the same time as they do. Because of this, you will be able to address their inquiries over the phone, so cutting down on the amount of in-person meetings.

Accounting software that is up to date will also facilitate automatic data entry, payroll processing, and daily bank reconciliation.

Additionally, giving some thought to the use of practise management software would be beneficial. You’ll be able to manage workflows and get your company in order with the help of these tools.

In addition, they are becoming more intelligent and are provided for free with certain accounting software.

When looking for software, it is important to shop around and not simply focus on the capabilities that are included in the programme. If the provider has a partner programme, joining it will be beneficial to the expansion of your company.

Starting Your Bookkeeping Business With Accounting Software, Add-Ons and Integrations

When you start a bookkeeping business, even if you just work for yourself a few hours a week, your clients will want you to be able to offer software to them and help them use it for their businesses.

This is true even if you are only working for yourself a few hours a week.

Your customers are becoming more knowledgeable about receipt scanning, automated data capture, and coding software such as Receipt Bank and bank feeds, which can assist them in lowering the costs associated with bookkeeping and improving the accuracy of their records.

As a result, it is essential to have a solid understanding of these applications.

A portion of the time that you would ordinarily charge for can be replaced by receipt capture software, which will not only be appreciated by your customers but will also free you up to focus on more vital responsibilities for your customers.

It is also a smart move to use software designed for practise management to automate the processes involved in running your own company.

The provision of written quotes to customers will be facilitated in a manner that is more expedient and straightforward thanks to the software in question, which will also make it possible for customers to electronically accept quotations and subsequently set up payment processing.

The operation of your company will become more efficient and less stressful as a direct result of taking these actions, in particular the process of pursuing payment for the services you provided.

MYOB AccountRight, MYOB Essentials & Xero

Since MYOB is used by a large number of established companies, having understanding of this accounting software can be extremely useful for assisting established companies with their bookkeeping requirements.

MYOB has released a new cloud accounting programme under the name MYOB Essentials.

This programme is excellent for smaller businesses or for people who wish to stay with MYOB but want the freedom of being able to handle their accounting from anywhere in the cloud.

Cloud accounting software, such as Xero, is used by a lot of companies since it enables users to access their financial data from any location. You can have numerous users working on the same file at the same time, and they will all have their changes backed up automatically.

Intuit QuickBooks Online

QuickBooks Online, which is produced by Intuit, is the other well-known cloud accounting programme. This company is big all over the world, and its software is popular in Australia as well; as a result, it is an excellent and more affordable alternative to Xero.

Establish Your Market

Do you plan to provide your services to construction businesses or real estate companies? By specialising in a certain field, you can limit the people to whom you offer your products or services.

When you have a clear picture of your ideal customer, you will be able to tailor your offerings to meet their unique needs. For instance, you may put together relevant services into bundles and offer such bundles to your customer, giving them the option to select the amount of service they desire. After that, you and them can collaborate to tailor the offer to better meet their requirements.

Who’s going to take care of the accounts payable, the bank reconciliations, the inventory management, and the tax returns? In the recently launched bookkeeping business that you have, what services do you intend to provide?

Perhaps you’ll zero in on a specific market segment, such as the construction or real estate industries. You will be able to focus your marketing efforts and speak directly to a certain demographic if you establish yourself as an authority in your field.

It is tempting to provide everything in an effort to entice potential customers, but resist the urge to do so. On the other hand, you run the risk of getting into trouble if you make a promise and then fail to keep it.

Therefore, begin on a small scale, and do not make promises that you cannot keep.

When you have determined your ideal customer, you will be able to tailor your offerings to meet their unique needs.

Create packages consisting of relevant services and then offer them to your customer in this format. This gives them the ability to select the general service level that best suits their needs.

You will then be able to collaborate in order to tailor the offer to their individual requirements.

Make the presentations either in person or over the phone so that you may lead your customers through the various packages. When you have settled on a certain package of services, it is time to determine the associated costs.

Do not publicise your pricing structure on your website; keep in mind that you are charging for the client, not the service.

Provide your customers with a variety of simple payment alternatives, such as credit card, GoCardless, Stripe, or electronic transfer, and increase your chances of getting paid.

Create An Online Presence

The majority of companies will conduct their search for a bookkeeper online.

However, even if you want to attend networking events and develop a referral network, the people you meet will expect to be able to discover more about you online, making it essential for you to have a website.

Consider your website and other aspects of your digital presence to be your storefront. It needs to make it very apparent who you are and what it is that you do.

You can make a website that looks professionally designed using one of the thousands of themes that are available for WordPress (like templates). Additionally, it makes it simple for you to create web pages and to make changes to those pages whenever you see fit.

Your website for bookkeeping should have a personable tone and display information that is important to your customers, such as your credentials and experience, the services you offer, and your contact information.

It is not difficult to add pictures or even YouTube videos, and you can also include links to your social media sites so that people may view what you have been up to recently.

You can promote your company by starting a website and accounts on various social media platforms. They need to make it very obvious who you are and what it is that you do.

In order to attract potential customers, the content of your website needs to convey your interests and personality, in addition to containing the information you want others to know. In addition, you need to get prospective customers to call you rather than another bookkeeper so they can work with you.

On the other hand, social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn can also assist you in reaching out to prospective customers. In addition to that, they should concisely describe the services that you provide.

Your website needs to be easy to navigate, free of clutter, and informative. Consider the kinds of details that would be most helpful to you, as well as the aspects of the topic that you would exclude.

Put some personality into your webpage. Exhibit your interests and your own personality. Try to see things from the perspective of a potential customer. Why would they choose to get in touch with you rather than another bookkeeper?

It is just as crucial to have a strong presence on social media as it is to have a decent website. You can approach prospective customers through social media platforms like as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Create a Facebook business page for your company and be sure to detail all of the services you provide on that page.

Networking and Referrals

If you are interested in learning how to start a bookkeeping firm, one of the first things you should do is be ready to hit the pavement to find your first clients.

Attending local networking events is the best approach to accomplish this goal, as there is no other way.

Finding the events where your ideal customers congregate and attending those events with some business cards in hand is all that is required of you.

Meeting other professionals in your industry and constructing a referral network through networking is one of the most cost-effective ways to do so. However, you will need to have patience and realise that everyone who attends these events is seeking new customers; therefore, you should make it a point to meet a variety of people and enquire about their requirements.

You will need business cards, and you will need to make sure that you gather those business cards from the people that you meet so that you can introduce yourself to them via email after the event.

In the beginning, you need to have sufficient time on your hands to go to a few of these per week.

Gather the business cards of everyone you come in contact with. The following day, log on to LinkedIn, send a personalised message to everyone you met the day before, and connect with them all.

You are now beginning to expand your network, and it is certain that some of the contacts you make will eventually become clients.

Decide Who Your Ideal Client Is

Do you plan to provide your services to construction businesses or real estate companies? By specialising in a certain field, you can limit the people to whom you offer your products or services.

When you have a clear picture of your ideal customer, you will be able to tailor your offerings to meet their unique needs.

For instance, you may put together relevant services into bundles and offer such bundles to your customer, giving them the option to select the amount of service they desire.

After that, you and them can collaborate to tailor the offer to better meet their requirements.

Establish Your Company

To begin, you won’t require a lot of different stuff. The three most important items you will require are a computer, a cell phone, and a connection to the Internet.

Then, in conjunction with the appropriate software and apps, you are able to collaborate with people from all over the world regardless of where you are.

close-up-detail-professional-serious-accountant-sitting-light-office-checking-company-finance-profits-calculator

As a bookkeeper, you will require two different types of software. The first option is accounting software that can be accessed online.

You and your client will be able to view the accounts at the same time, which will enable you to hold conversations over the phone and cut down on the number of in-person meetings you need to attend.

In addition, the software enables automatic data entry as well as bank reconciliation and payroll processing. The practise management software is the second piece of software to be discussed. You will be able to manage workflows and get your business in order as a result of using this.

Promote Your Company

You can promote your company by starting a website and accounts on various social media platforms. They need to make it very obvious who you are and what it is that you do.

Do I Need To Be A Certified Public Accountant In Order To Start An Accounting Firm Even If I Don’t Have That Title Myself?

It depends.

However, not all accountants are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs), even though all CPAs are accountants.

There are distinctions between the two, some of which include education level, years of experience, and opportunities available.

Having said that, the response must go back to the original question, which is, “What services do you want to offer?”

A CPA firm can perform practically all of the same tasks as an accounting firm, with the exception of auditing and assurance services. Consequently, if attaining that status is one of your goals or if that demographic makes up a portion of your target market, then it is generally a good idea to give some consideration to the procedures required to become a CPA.

On the other hand, if you want to concentrate on one of the many other services that accounting companies offer, getting this certificate probably isn’t necessary to get started.

And despite the fact that the laws governing what a certified public accountant may and cannot do vary from state to state, meeting those requirements is not a prerequisite for launching an accounting business.

You will, however, require a CPA in order to be able to refer to your business as a “CPA firm.”

Now Is The Time To Begin Your Career As A Bookkeeper

The first thing you should do to ensure the success of your bookkeeping firm is to make sure you have the appropriate education in bookkeeping.

Then, once you’ve gotten your company up and running, investing a lot of effort and hard work into it can boost the likelihood of its becoming successful.