How To Start A Bookkeeping Business

Starting a bookkeeping business is an exciting venture that can help you gain many people’s financial freedom and independence. As long as you have the right skills, it's fairly easy to start your own company in Australia. Read on for some tips on how to get started!

Do your research - if you don't know much about bookkeeping, take some time out of work or school to learn more about what goes into this job. You'll need at least five years' experience before opening up shop, but having done even one year will give you a leg up over other newbies who haven't worked with numbers in their past jobs.

The first step to starting a bookkeeping business is to decide on what kind of bookkeeping you'd like to do. There are many different types of businesses and people who need help keeping track of their finances, so make sure that you choose something that interests you. Once you've chosen the type of services that your company will provide, it's time to get started!

Starting a bookkeeping business can be difficult, but it's worth the effort. If you're looking for ways to start your own bookkeeping business, then keep reading! We've got some great tips that will help you get started with ease. After all, who doesn't want to have their own successful business? With these tips in mind, you'll be on your way to being an entrepreneur before you know it. So what are we waiting for? Let's get started!

How To Start A Bookkeeping Business

The benefits of starting a bookkeeping business are hard to deny. You can choose your own schedule, decide how much you get paid, and be selective about who you work with.

In addition, the process of setting it up is becoming less complicated thanks to advances in technology. Then why not just dive in? The following are seven suggestions for getting started in the bookkeeping company.

Create a Business Plan

It is crucial that you have a clear understanding of why you want to work as a bookkeeper and why you want to work with a small business. The structure of your business model will be built upon this foundation. Consider the following:

• Who is it that I wish to serve?
• What remedies am I going to offer?
• How will I present these solutions?

Think about where you want to be in the end: are you establishing a business to sell? How many staff members do you anticipate needing? Do you wish to expand your company into other countries?

When you first start making plans, it is helpful to have a general idea of where you want to end up eventually. It will direct how you do business, including whether or not you want to hire anyone, the types of customers you want to work with, and how aggressively you will pursue new business opportunities.

It is also beneficial to prepare a backup plan in the event that you are unable to do your regular job duties for an extended length of time. If you are unable to provide your customers with the service they have come to expect due to circumstances beyond your control, such as illness or a crisis in the family, it is in the best interest of your business to have an alternative option available to them.

Getting Ready

It is simple to collaborate with people located in any part of the world provided you have the appropriate hardware, software, and applications. It is not necessary to have a significant amount of infrastructure in order to get started. Obtain a mobile phone and a computer, and then go online.

Using online accounting software, you and your client will be able to view the client's accounts simultaneously. Because of this, you will be able to address their inquiries over the phone, so cutting down on the amount of in-person meetings you need to hold.

Accounting software that is up to date will also facilitate automatic data entry, payroll processing, and daily bank reconciliation.

Additionally, you ought to think about using practise management software. You'll be able to control workflows and get your company in order with the help of these tools. In addition, some accounting software bundles them for free, and they continue to improve in both functionality and intelligence.

When looking for software, it is important to shop around and not simply focus on the capabilities that are included in the programme. If the provider has a partner programme, joining it will be beneficial to the expansion of your company.

Narrow the Scope of Your Attention: Who Is Your Ideal Customer?

Who's going to take care of the accounts payable, the bank reconciliations, the inventory management, and the tax returns? What services are you planning to provide in the bookkeeping firm that you just launched?

Perhaps you'll zero in on a specific market segment, such as the construction or real estate industries. You will be able to focus your marketing efforts and speak directly to a certain demographic if you establish yourself as an authority in your field.

It is tempting to provide everything in an effort to entice potential customers, but resist the urge to do so. On the other hand, you run the risk of getting into difficulty if you make a promise but are unable to keep it. Therefore, begin on a small scale, and do not make promises that are outside of your capabilities.

After you have determined your ideal customer, you will be able to tailor your products and services to meet their unique needs.

Create packages consisting of relevant services and then offer them to your customer in this format. This gives them the ability to select the general service level that best suits their needs. You will then be able to collaborate in order to tailor the offer to their individual requirements.

Make the presentations either in person or over the phone so that you may lead your customers through the various packages. When you have settled on a certain package of services, it is time to determine the associated costs. Do not publicise your pricing structure on your website; keep in mind that you are charging for the client, not the service.

Provide your customers with a number of handy payment alternatives, such as credit card, Stripe, and electronic transfer, and increase your chances of getting paid.

Create An Online Presence

Consider your website and other aspects of your digital presence to be your storefront. It needs to make it very apparent who you are and what it is that you do.

Your website need to be easy to navigate, free of clutter, and informative. Consider the kinds of details that would be most helpful to you, as well as the aspects of the topic that you would exclude.

Put some personality into your webpage. Exhibit your interests and your own personality. Try to see things from the perspective of a potential customer. Why would they choose to get in touch with you rather than another bookkeeper?

It is just as crucial to have a strong presence on social media as it is to have a decent website. You can approach prospective customers through social media platforms like as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Create a Facebook business page for your company and be sure to detail all of the services you provide on that page.

How Important Networks Are

When you work for yourself as a lone practitioner in your bookkeeping business, you may feel a bit isolated. Get in touch with your contemporaries.

Opportunities to network can be found through a variety of social media channels as well as industry organisations. Through online networking, for instance, it is possible to locate bookkeepers with similar interests and practises who make use of the same software, provide their services to the same businesses, or are employed in the same geographic region.

Visit the Xero Discussions group on LinkedIn or the Xero Partners Group on Facebook if you are a user of the accounting software Xero. They are wonderful venues to meet other professionals with similar interests and to exchange information, ideas, and sometimes even clients.

Think Highly of Yourself

When people are just getting started, one of the most significant problems that they confront is maintaining their confidence and staying motivated.

You may instil confidence in yourself and your abilities by serving as your own greatest customer. Keep your books up-to-date and in order. It will give you a positive outlook on the work that you do.

Maintain your drive by constantly referring back to your plan. What are some of your objectives? What is it that motivates you? Keep these things in mind when you are faced with decisions such as whether or not to take on an additional client, whether or not to raise your prices, or whether or not to hire your first staff.

Keep an Open Mind

You will put yourself in a position to be successful, but you must be willing to acknowledge when things move in the wrong direction. The next step is to draw lessons from your past errors, modify your plans as necessary, and improve upon them overall.

Be open to new methods of doing things in the workplace as well. Utilize mobile applications that are able to:

• add some edge to your practise
• simplify transactions for your clientele.

Utilize classes and training to broaden your service offering and acquire new abilities. However, when your capabilities advance, don't be scared to raise prices.

Beginning a New Business in Bookkeeping

You are prepared and excited to take the next step and launch your own bookkeeping firm, but you are unsure of where to turn or what steps to do next. And, what is of the utmost importance, how? We are confident that you will find the material that is provided below to be helpful in assisting anyone who is considering beginning their own bookkeeping firm and in assisting in the process of helping the pieces fall into place.

How to Become an Accredited Bookkeeper

Structure

• Make a decision regarding the identity of the company and its trading name (may trade under your own name initially) - Prepare a Business Plan
• Create a Business Name Account and Register with ASIC
• Create an ABN and a GST account - ABN Essentials, GST Registration
• Think about a business structure where the company has a discretionary trust or not
• Recognise and take into account the ATO's perspective on launching a new firm - ATO checklist for new businesses
• Recognise and take into account the ATO GST Checklist for Small Businesses - ATO GST Checklist for Small Business
• Choose whether to charge based on results or on time - Charge Rate Calculators

Education

• Read a few things beforehand - Bookkeeping for Dummies, Bookkeeping education reference material
• Choose and become familiar with the software platforms you will use, such as MYOB, Xero, Reckon, and Saasu
• Ask the software companies for some introductory training
• Get your Certificate IV in Bookkeeping, including the BAS Agent skill set, by following the steps outlined in the article
• Get a hold of an ICB Student Membership (ICB Student Membership), which should be supplied by your ICB Certificate IV Accredited Training Provider or RTO - ICB Accredited Training Providers
• Be certified by ICB through ICB's Practical Bookkeeping Assessments

Beginning Business - May Occur While the Foregoing Is Being Performed

• Register Your Company
• Obtain Professional Indemnity (PI) Insurance
• Submit an application for suitable level ICB membership - ICB Membership levels explained, Apply online for ICB Membership
• After gaining expertise in bookkeeping for at least a year, get an ICB practising certificate
• You are required to register as a BAS Agent if you are going to provide a BAS service to customers - What is a BAS Service, What can a bookkeeper do? What can a BAS Agent do?
• Understand and consider the "How to Engage with a Client" from ICB

Maintaining Certification

• Maintain the aforementioned insurance and registrations
• Undertake the required CPE (Continuing Professional Education) each year
• Undertake the ICB Annual Skill Review assessment

Where to Locate Customers

After receiving the Practising Certificate from the Institute, there are a variety of ways in which you can begin to attract clients; however, it is important to note that none of these methods are guaranteed to be successful. Your level of success will be determined by a number of factors, including the location in which you live, the kinds of businesses that are active in your area, and the average hourly rates for work of this kind. If you take all of these aspects into account, you should be able to achieve a certain level of success.

The first step is, without a doubt, to spread advertising. Have a look in the classified ads section of the newspapers in your area. You are going to need to investigate whether or not any other bookkeepers consistently advertise their services. If so, you might discover that there is increased rivalry for your business. This is not necessarily a negative development; it just indicates that you will need to market yourself and your level of professionalism in a more convincing manner than the other individuals.

You can get a general notion of the kinds of services that rival businesses provide and even the "going rate" for your region by perusing the advertisements of such businesses. On the other hand, undercutting is not always successful. After all, businesses require accurate bookkeeping in order to function successfully.

How Much Should You Ask for?

The most challenging aspect of beginning any kind of business is coming up with an appropriate pricing structure. This is dependent on a variety of things, including the expertise you have, the location you live in, the amount of other bookkeepers that are available in your area, and the present financial situation of your client. For the majority of your bookkeeping services, we recommend that you begin by setting your hourly rate anywhere between $45 and $55 dollars.

It can be challenging to earn $30 per hour in certain parts of the country, and some customers have the expectation that they will pay no more than $25. However, keep in mind that you are providing a professional service, which means that you should be compensated appropriately. There are a variety of services, including consultation, problem resolution, and troubleshooting, that should charge up to $100 per hour.

Employing the Coat of Arms of the Institute

You have the right as a practising member to display the Institute's crest on all of your stationery, business cards, pamphlets, and advertising; don't forget to include your website in this category as well. If you use the crest on your website, it should connect to the website of the Institute; if you require assistance with this, please contact us here at the Institute.

It has been brought to our attention that the Institute's permission is required for any usage of the crest prior to its publication or transmission. In every instance where the crest is used, your membership number needs to be displayed just below it. It is important that you do not place the crest in the upper right-hand corner of your letterheads since doing so can lead to confusion; it is possible that your letterheads will appear to be too similar to those used by the Institute.

Top Advice For Starting A Bookkeeping Business That Will Be Successful

Are you prepared to launch your own bookkeeping company and make your mark in the industry? The following is what you are need to perform.

Carry out some research, then jot down some ideas for a business plan

It is essential to conduct research before beginning the process of establishing your bookkeeping firm. The following are some questions to ask:

• Who are going to be your customers? Maybe we're talking about sole proprietorships, small enterprises (those with 50 employees or fewer), or micro-businesses (those with nine employees or fewer).
• How do you plan on attracting customers to use your bookkeeping services? Friends and family, your prior place of employment, local advertising, marketing on your website and social media platforms, and word-of-mouth are all potential examples.
• What kinds of services will you be providing for your customers? The recording of cash receipts, the making of bank deposits, the settling of supplier bills, the maintenance of a yearly budget, the management of payroll, and so on might all be included. The requirements of your customers should heavily influence the kinds of services you provide.
• How will you interact with the customers? Are you going to provide a bookkeeeping service on a one-time basis or will it be an ongoing contract?
• Your bookkeeping business plan should take into account all of these different aspects as part of the overall picture.

Do you have plans for the next year, three years, or even five years for your company? What are your goals for your accounting firm in terms of the number of people you employ, the amount of money you make, and overall success?

Before getting started, it is vital to do some research so that you can get a good idea of the direction you want to go in and the objectives you want to accomplish.

The Internet Advertising Bureau is the greatest place to start if you want further information about the aforementioned topics as well as others.

More than 150,000 people are students or members of the organisation. On its website, you will find a wealth of information pertaining to the accounting and bookkeeping professions. For instance, in order to become a qualified bookkeeper, one must first pass the necessary professional tests and acquire the necessary qualifications.

These qualifications are recognised across the industry and cover a wide range of topics, including credit control management, recording ledger accounts, creating trial balances and other statements, as well as interpreting company documentation, keeping books, and posting and making entries.

Considerations regarding prerequisites

If you haven't already done so, it's in your best interest to get some training and educate yourself about the necessary aspects of the market before you start your own accounting business.

There are a multitude of bookkeeping courses that can be found online, and you may even obtain a qualification from one of the organisations that specialise in accounting or bookkeeping:

• Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT)
• Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• International Association of Bookkeepers (IAB).

The Institute of Accredited Bookkeepers (IAB) and a number of other organisations, such as the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT), provide a variety of accounting courses that are geared to work around your schedule.

Its programmes are overseen by Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation), QiW (Qualifications in Wales), and CCEA (the Council for the Curriculum and Examinations in England and Wales) (Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment). From one to three, there are three different degrees of qualifications.

The Level 1 Award in Bookkeeping, the Award in Computerised Bookkeeping, and the Award in Computerized Accounting for Business are a few examples. On the IAB website, you may get more information on this.

Before opening their own bookkeeping business, the vast majority of bookkeepers earn their Level 1 and Level 2 certifications, and they continue their education and earn further certifications as they advance in their bookkeeping careers.

Pyman earned his certification as a bookkeeper by completing the required coursework at the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB). According to her, "They [the ICB] supply you with your practise licence as well as your membership number and educate you on what other requirements there are to set up a practise."

This includes anti-money laundering measures, rules and procedures, insurance, logos, and template documents.

When I originally started out, I worked out of my house and found my first clients through local networking groups and accounting connections I had made while working in commercial banking. I am currently in possession of an office as well as a small team of administrative assistants.

Pyman not only has a Level 1 and Level 2 certification in manual and computerised bookkeeping, but he is also a qualified Associate of The Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) and has this credential.

If becoming a certified bookkeeper is something you've always wanted to do – and if achieving that goal is your ultimate objective – you can explore your options to do so by enrolling in the appropriate certificate and diploma programmes offered by approved providers like the ICB. However, in order to work as a bookkeeper, certification is not required.

According to Adams, who works with Papertrail Bookkeeping, "Becoming a certified bookkeeper demonstrates that you have trained and obtained the proper qualifications to demonstrate your skills."

Following successful completion of the examinations, you will be eligible to submit an application for a practising licence through organisations such as the ICB. You are required to have insurance in place and check that your business practises are in line with the most recent anti-money laundering rules.

"I am aware that regulations are being made more stringent, therefore it is possible that in the not too distant future you may be required to have completed the credentials in order to run your own firm."

The Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) also offers a variety of bookkeeping certifications, the highest of which enables one to become an AAT licenced bookkeeper. After your name, you will be able to use the initials AATQB if you have the highest certificate (this is because you are a member of the AA Bookkeeping).