Bookkeeper

Most small businesses simply don’t have the time, resources or skills to handle their own books. Independent bookkeepers are in demand all over the world and handle everything from deposits and preparing financial reports to payroll and reconciling bank statements. If you are an organized person, with a head for numbers and a passion for problem solving this could be your next home business. Bookkeeping is an engaging and recession proof business that can produce a solid income from a modest investment.

Before The Start-Up, Let’s Not Get Ahead Of Ourselves

Depending on where you live in the world you’ll most likely need a basic qualification or diploma before you get started. Even if it isn’t compulsory to get qualified, if you have no previous experience in the field, we recommend this as a good starting point. Besides qualifications you’ll need to have an eye for detail, computer skills, and the ability to communicate well with clients.

The Start-Up

To get started you’ll need a workspace, computer, accounting software and a financial calculator. Do research online before purchasing accounting software. There are a number of options out there; it’s best to download the trial version before making a final decision.

Most bookkeepers charge between $25 and $30 (USD) per hour, however this is only a rule of thumb. Do research online and in your local area to find out how other bookkeepers structure their price packages. Besides charging per hour you could consider offering a monthly retainer or charging a fixed fee per financial statement.

Making It Work

Clients place a great deal of trust in their bookkeepers, as a result the reputation of your business is very important in this industry. Build your brand by getting a professional logo designed and using it on all your business stationary.

Back up your trustworthy brand by maintaining excellent attention to detail, no matter how small the client is. Mistakes, especially with regards to tax can be very costly for both you and your client.

Marketing

The small business world is well…small. Once you’ve been operating for a while word of mouth will spread within your business community and you should have no problem filling your schedule. Until that time you’ll need to do some traditional advertising. Advertise your services in local trade publications, the Yellow Pages (if you can afford it) and perhaps in local newspaper classifieds. Actively seek to create a business network with accountants in your area. Accountants are frequently asked to recommend bookkeepers, as are bookkeepers frequently asked to recommend accountants.

Finally, consider getting a small website developed. For a business of this size we’d recommend getting a one to four page website built. Drive traffic to your website with a pay per click service like Google Adwords. Adwords can be geo targeted to a very small area making it very cost effective for businesses of all sizes. If you plan on running your own Adwords campaign we recommend The Definitive Guide to Google Adwords to get started.

Don’t Forget

Tax laws and accounting regulations are constantly changing; it’s important that you constantly stay up to date with these changes. Becoming a member of an industry organization and subscribing to relevant publications might be a good way to go about this.