Many of our clients use QuickBooks Online, Xero, A2X, Gusto, Fathom and more. Research the potential demand by visiting your local post office to find out what it would cost to mail a brochure or flyer to the businesses in your service area. Deb reached the 6-figure bookkeeping business mountaintop after years of struggling. You can’t figure out why your bookkeeping business hasn’t grown the way you thought it would. We’ve delivered this program to over 3,000 bookkeepers around the world, and we have continued to evolve the program to ensure the success of our clients.

• This is very inspirational right now, thank you for the information.
• By standardizing core processes, you’ll be able to better streamline your operations and ensure quality control when delivering client accounting services .
• If you are “winging it” with your bookkeeping business, don’t feel bad…you’re not alone.
• Annual profits of bookkeeping businesses vary, however, you can make anywhere from $10,000 to several million dollars a year.
• Marketing is one of the most difficult things for accountants and bookkeepers to master.
• Box can help you maintain your privacy when you are advertising your services.
• Once you feel confident, start your own threads by posing questions and posting your blogs.

When you get clients, over and above the accounting work that you’ll be delivering to them, they’ll also need help throughout the year for ad hoc questions. Dealing with these ad hoc questions would form part of the support that you’ll be expected to provide.

Stay Up To Date to Grow Your Business

If your clients will be sending you things such as receipts or statements, you might want to consider the tool that you’ll use to share files. A popular option is Dropbox, in which you can create a shared folder that both you and your clients have access to. A major part of registering your business and opening up shop is choosing a business entity.

In many cases, including mine, I don’t want to spend my time learning a bookkeeping program. Since I have an LLC, the revenue and expenses are reported to IRS on my tax return. With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a bookkeeping business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. With regards to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to confirm that your financials are reasonable.

Market Your Business

Certification is also available for specific types of bookkeeping software, such as QuickBooks or FreshBooks. Reviewing the basics of how to start a bookkeeping business online or in person helps you get all your ducks in a row before you work with your first client. Send your marketing materials to new businesses that are opening in your area. Many new business owners will soon find that the finances are a bit more than they can handle. Find these new businesses by joining your local Chamber of Commerce or by reading the newspaper for DBA listings. Most bookkeepers will have to meet with clients in their home office, but you don’t necessarily want to publish your address for just anyone. Box can help you maintain your privacy when you are advertising your services.

• As I mentioned, my virtual bookkeeping practice is supported by QuickBooks Online.
• This is crucial for taxes as well as personal liability protection.
• If you’re considering becoming a bookkeeper, read our guide to learn how to start a bookkeeping business in 2022.
• For instance, both the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers offer certification programs.
• Unfortunately, solely word-of-mouth advertising won’t do the trick.

On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through a bookkeeping plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Find your customers

Kelly is an SMB Editor specializing in starting and marketing new ventures. Before joining the team, she was a Content Producer at Fit Small Business where she served as an editor and strategist covering small business marketing content. She is a former Google Tech Entrepreneur and she holds an MSc in International Marketing from Edinburgh Napier University. Professional associations also offer certifications so that you can hone your skills and market yourself as a professional bookkeeper. For instance, both the American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers and the National Association of Certified Public Bookkeepers offer certification programs.

If you decide to go with QuickBooks, it offers a variety of payroll options from which to choose. If you don’t want the headache of dealing with payroll, check out our guide on the leading payroll services for small businesses. Businesses of all kinds will always need bookkeeping services. If you’re considering becoming a bookkeeper, read our guide to learn how to start a bookkeeping business in 2022.

If you are “winging it” with your bookkeeping business, don’t feel bad…you’re not alone. And, don’t forget that some of your income will be given over to taxes, so you’ll want to check in with your own state and the tax laws to know what you need to set aside for tax time. This helps business owners in the long run keep more of their income. If you don’t have an office just for business, then usually this isn’t something you would be able to write off, but it’s best to work with your accountant on this particular expense. I didn’t put that directly into the budget because it is more of a deduction than an expense.

If you’re not ready to go all-in as a full-time, self-employed bookkeeper, you can start slowly by taking one or two clients as a side hustle. That gives you the chance to make sure that bookkeeping is really for you before quitting your day job to hang out your shingle. Similarly, if you just want to work part-time hours, you can do that, too. If you plan to lease office space, then your mailing address will be wherever your office is located. However, if you plan to set up a home office, you’ll need to obtain a business mailing address so that you don’t have to use your home address. This will make your business appear more professional and maintain your privacy.