You can always start as a virtual bookkeeper and transition to a physical office as your business grows. Carefully assess your financial situation and choose the funding method that aligns with your business plan and goals. Keep in mind that securing financing is often easier when you have a well-thought-out business plan and a clear strategy how to thank nonprofit volunteers during national volunteer week for growth. You can adjust your rates as your experience grows and as you add new services to your portfolio.
Step 6: Make a List of the Tech Stack You’ll Need
- However, if your business grows to the point of hiring employees, you need to consider becoming an LLC or corporation.
- You will want to get some kind of insurance to protect you even further since you are in the service industry and working directly with clients.
- Drawing from their practical tips and suggestions, we created this helpful step-by-step checklist to get your bookkeeping venture up and running.
- Think about designating your services in different tiers and offering different pricing plans.
- Lessons learned on how top firms grow fast, build stronger teams, and increase profit while working less.
This might be one of the best decisions you ever make as you consider your own respectable, home-based business. You should be a member of at least one professional bookkeeper association, time to reverse impairment losses on non and the AIPB and the NACPB are the top two. Professional associations often promote or host seminars and training.
Unless they are a certified public accountant (CPA), bookkeepers should not prepare tax returns or sign the returns as a paid preparer. First, narrow down your target market and the types of clients you plan to serve. Doing so helps guide the rest of the setup process and how you plan to operate your business.
Create a Business Plan
And more importantly, there’s no need for physical backup because files are in the cloud. As a bookkeeper, you should have liability protection in case you get sued for a mistake on your client’s books. Insurance can cover both the cost of settling a lawsuit and the lawyer how to become a certified bookkeeper fees to defend against a lawsuit. Your name must convey your brand since that is what a potential customer will see before they sit down with you for that initial consultation. Ensure your business name says exactly what you do; this is not the time to be cute—unless you can also be clear about what it is that you do. The Zoho Books Consulting Partner program is free to join and gives you access to Zoho training resources and certifications.
The other part you need to have is a simple, repeatable sales process to land any new clients you’ve attracted. Without further ado, let’s get into the actionable steps to help you start your own business or practice the right way. You can check out our list of 20 best free and paid bookkeeping courses. When idealizing your brand, consider how you want your clients to perceive you. Do you want to be seen as a reliable, traditional bookkeeper, or a cutting-edge tech-savvy one? The answers to these questions will help shape your brand identity.
The cloud allows you to work remotely (and to offer that option to your new clients) and automate your workflows while keeping your data secure. This could be the easiest marketing strategy but also can be the most effective in getting your first few clients. If you want to get more insights and examples on how to create a website for your practice, feel free to check out my blog post about accounting websites. Technology is an integral part of your business structure if you want to serve clients as a bookkeeper.
Step 6: Create Your Website
It’ll also enable you to learn what the hottest trends in the industry are and what’s becoming obsolete. A document-sharing program will allow you to share information—such as bank statements, copies of receipts, invoices, and accounting files—with your clients no matter where you’re working. As a one-person operation, you may find it hard to get back to clients right away, especially during tax season. Sending prospective customers to voicemail when they need your services can cost you business. For our recommendations, see our top-recommended answering services.
Get your certification
You can also choose to become a certified public bookkeeper to market yourself better as a bookkeeping professional. An efficient system for handling business finances is at the heart of every successful business, whether it is an accounting firm or any other small company. Finance planning problems make up 66% of the most common reasons for start-up failure.
Did you know that bookkeeping is consistently named among the most profitable at-home businesses to start? The start-up costs are minimal, and the earning potential is high, which makes for a great side hustle or full-time career. Annual profits of bookkeeping businesses vary, however, you can make anywhere from $10,000 to several million dollars a year.