Starting a bookkeeping business may sound like a daunting task at first glance. You need to know the positive and negative aspects before you begin.
My father was a bookkeeper and he worked most of his life for shipping companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. He liked to have the stability of a steady paycheck. The negative side is that when you work for someone else you are always at their mercy. When you have your own business you are your own boss and that means no one can ever fire you. You make your own hours and you set your own rates. If you are really good at marketing yourself you can end up making more than you could working for someone else.
Getting the business off the ground can be expensive however and you should have some money set aside for things like software, desks, office supplies, copiers, etc. Just the software alone, like Quickbooks or Quicken can cost a pretty penny. You can check online for deals or go to places like Best Buy or Target where they usually have great deals on software.
Starting a bookkeeping business can involve getting your own office and that can require some research and legwork to boot. First you have to decide what kind of business you are going to have. Are you going to work from home? Are you going to have an office? Some people like to work in their pajamas all day. Some people only take business if it comes over the internet, so they would have to have a great home page that draws customers.
Think about all of the different types of accounting services that you can offer when starting a bookkeeping business and you will see that they can be quite varied. You can do payroll, payroll taxes, or even income tax preparation. If you can get a good loyal clientele you will be assured of steady work each and every year because once people hire a tax accountant they usually keep going back to that person, especially if you save them money and give them prudent advice. You become their financial advisor and once you can get that level of trust they will refer their friends and family to you.
So you can see that starting a bookkeeping business is not for everyone, but that should not stop you. Do the research and create a solid business plan first. Make sure you state your Mission Statement so that you have concrete goals and processes in place before you begin. You cant get somewhere if you dont know where you are going.
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