Start a Home-Based Accounting / Bookkeeping Service
As a home-based business, bookkeeping is exceptionally attractive to many due to its very low start-up costs and relatively good income potential. Additionally, other than the normal business licenses required in any jurisdiction, there are no professional licenses actually required to enter the field. You will, however, need to either have or acquire a certain level of accounting and math skills but this is readily available locally through any local college and most trade schools.
In fact, for self starters, most of the knowledge you will need can be found on training guides available from any book store. Because this is a very easy business to enter on a part time basis, it will allow you to maintain a regular day job while slowly transition from the role of poorly compensated employee to the much more attractive role of well compensated entrepreneur / mobile creative.
What You Will Need to Launch This Business
This is a business, of course, where dependability and accuracy is imperative and you will need to be skilled on the use of accounting software such as QuickBooks. As a bookkeeper, you will probably find just modest competition from accountants and CPA’s and if you provide quality service, your more reasonable pricing will make you much more attractive to small business owners. In fact, once you have established some references, you can probably count on it.
Because you will likely gain access to personal financial information of your clients, honesty and integrity are an essential component of this enterprise. To get started, you will need some home office essentials such as a computer and printer and file cabinet storage space. You will also need to invest in small business accounting software and perhaps Excel. If you have already done some bookkeeping for an employer you are probably ready to launch. If not, most community colleges offer very affordable training in this area. If you need a little brush up on your math skills, some excellent free tutorials are available through Khan Academy.
Income and Earnings Potential
On average, you will typically spend about 8-12 hours per month doing the books for each small business bookkeeping client you have. That 8 to 12 hours spent will generate a monthly income of $300 – $400 at a rate of $30 to $40 per hour. As you develop your practice and client relationships, you can adjust how much time you’re required to spend fulfilling the needs of your clients and modify your rates accordingly. With 20 average small business clients, this home-based business can generate a $60,000 annual income or more.
Become a QuickBooks Pro Advisor
A powerful alternative and upgrade when considering a home-based bookkeeping business is to train and become a certified QuickBooks Pro Advisor. All of the training necessary for this designation is available from QuickBooks including over 70 online training courses. Once certified, the Pro Advisor logo can be added to your website and you will be listed on the “Find a Pro Advisor” directory at the Quickbooks website.
Adding Small Business Finance Consulting to Your Services
One of the surest methods of separating yourself from the pack when it comes to launching a bookkeeping business is to add consulting in small business finance to your list of services. This powerful supplemental service (called commercial finance consulting) includes:
- Factoring: The financing of accounts receivable
- Asset-Based Lending: Financing accounts and inventories
- Purchase Order Finance: Financing for the manufacture of goods for delivery against valid purchase orders
Commissions earned from this area of consulting are exceptional with those from factoring being both residual and for the life of the account. To learn more about commercial finance consulting on the IACFB’s Commercial Finance Consulting Magazine.