You can always start as a virtual bookkeeper and transition to a physical office as your business grows. You can adjust your rates as your experience grows and as you add new services to your portfolio. Be transparent with clients about your pricing structure and any changes that may occur. Our software allows you to send an automated request to your clients, asking for essential information.

You need to take an objective look at the market you’re proposing to be in. Will you be in the same neighborhood as some of the bigger companies like H&R Block? Find out if there’s a demand for your service by calculating the number of small businesses in the area. With all these insights into the bookkeeping industry, it’s time for you to put them into action and turn your dreams into a successful reality. The ideal funding option should match your business goals, providing a stable financial base for your bookkeeping firm’s growth and success.

Step 3: Take Bookkeeping Certification Courses

However, it can be easy to underestimate the work involved, which leads to undercharging due to misquoting. Prepaid time blocks are a combination of hourly and flat rate pricing. This fee structure is simple to quote and gives you the benefit of working off of a retainer. However, it can be hard to estimate the number of hours needed so you may end up needing to refund some of the client’s money. There are many bookkeeping and accounting packages, such as QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks, so you will need to research the best option for you, personally.

As we mentioned above, you don’t technically need to be certified to run a bookkeeping business. For every new small business, it might not make sense to hire startup bookkeeping a bookkeeper straight away. But as soon as you see growth in your company, it will soon be essential to have a highly detailed, consistent bookkeeping approach.

Ask current clients to refer you

Investing the time to attend a conference will give you those continuing education credits you need to keep your bookkeeper or CPA certification. It’ll also enable you to learn what the hottest trends in the industry are and what’s becoming obsolete. A great conference to attend is QuickBooks Connect, which is hosted by Intuit. As a bookkeeper, you should have liability protection in case you get sued for a mistake on your client’s books.

• If that’s the case you need to understand best practices for  billing.
• If you are just getting started, we recommend SquareSpace because it is easy to use and they have pre-made templates that you can use to build your website.
• Business owners alike know that the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.
• If you sell inventory for $100 on credit, you debit accounts receivable (asset) and credit revenue (equity) by $100 each.
• A well-prepared bookkeeping business plan should cover every aspect of your business, including your service offerings, pricing models, marketing strategy, and financial projections.

Making sure transactions are properly assigned to accounts gives you the best view of your business and helps you extract the most helpful reports from your bookkeeping software. The key to time management is creating an effortless bookkeeping accounting system. Perhaps you’ve worked as a bookkeeper for a larger company or firm and you’d like to branch out and start your own business. You may be ready to be your own boss, work virtually,  make your own hours, and build your own accounting software program.

Cash-Based Accounting

For one-time clients, you may decide to charge more since you know they may not return and have last-minute requests and needs. Consider how frequently you provide services to a client when making up your mind about what to charge. Some clients will be a one-time deal, while others may need you regularly.