1. Get trained
To become an independent
bookkeeper, you will need some accounting skills and knowledge. This could be
acquired by enrolling for accounting courses online or at a local community
college in your area.
While it is not necessary to take
professional courses and become a chartered accountant before you can start,
having such a degree would boost your profile and encourage business owners to
hire you because they would be convinced that you are a skilled professional
whom they can trust with their business.
2. Register your business
This step is also optional but
advisable. Bookkeeping involves people revealing their financial details to you
and a lot of people would find it easier to trust you if your business is duly
registered with the government.
3. Create your office space
If you have enough money, you can
go all out and rent an office space but if you do not have that much to spare,
you can create a space in your home for your business. But make sure your
working space is quiet, neat and free from intrusion. You must also ensure that
you keep details of your client’s finances from unauthorized persons.
4. Create a website
If you are targeting online
clients, you will do well to create a business website for your business so
that people who need bookkeeping services can search on the internet and find
you through your website.
5. Set up social media accounts-: Social
media helps you reach out to more clients. Set up a Facebook page for your
bookkeeping business and discuss interesting and engaging accounting topics on
your page.
6. Register on Freelance
websites-: When you register on freelance websites, you will have access to
hundreds of clients who are looking for freelancers to handle their bookkeeping
services.
Equipments You Need to Start your
Bookkeeping Business
Here is a list of tools and
equipment you will need to start your bookkeeping business-:
A computer
Bookkeeping Software
Calculators
Business Cards
Internet Subscription
Photocopier, Fax machine and
Scanner.
A business Telephone
Paper, pens and other office
supplies
8 Skills You Need to Succeed in
your Bookkeeping Business
Bookkeeping goes beyond tracking
income and expenses or keeping records of liabilities and assets. You would be
saddled with a whole lot of other responsibilities such as tracking debtors and
creditors or filing tax returns in some cases. Due to the technicalities involved
in the business, you are expected to possess some skills-:
Accuracy-: Your duty would involve
recording financial data which would be used to generate further information.
Therefore, you must be accurate with your records and avoid mistakes as much as
possible.
You Must Pay attention to
details-: You must be someone who pays great attention to details and would
easily detect any errors or misrepresentations.
Mathematical skills-: You must be
very good with figures to succeed as a bookkeeper. You must be able to handle
arithmetic calculations without software.
Computer Skills-: You must know
how to operate a computer. You must also know how to use accounting software
packages such as PeachTree, QuickBooks, etc.
Analytical skills- Part of your
duty as a bookkeeper is to give financial advice to your clients on the
performance of their business based on financial records. You must be able to
notice and quickly alert your client when you notice an unusual pattern that
may hurt their business in the future
You Must Be a Fast learner-: You
will be required to work with different people and different business
structures and you must be able to quickly learn how each business operates.
You Must Have Knowledge of
Accounting Principles-: You must understand accounting principles and know how
to apply them.
Conclusively, a bookkeeper must know how to
use a spreadsheet as most clients would require that you know how to use it.
