How To Start A Bookkeeping Business

A bookkeeper who’s involved in our Bookkeepers Marketing Program did some bookkeeping work for one of our clients, and sent us an invoice accordingly

If your personal bookkeeping looks shabby to your clients, what impression does that give them?

We were surprised and somewhat disappointed to discover that this MYOB bookkeeper was using excel spreadsheets to generate her invoices.

Her response was:

I do not have many clients to use account receivable neither double handling

Ummmhh …..

Just a thought:
If you’re still raising invoices on excel, then is it too hard to print them to a pdf file and email them to your clients, rather then sending them the excel spreadsheet?

At least that way your new book-keeping clients can’t make any changes to the invoice, and your invoice for bookkeeping services may look a little more professional

After all, if your personal bookkeeping looks shabby to your clients, what impression does that give them of how you approach their bookkeeping?

When you start your bookkeeping business, why is it so hard to set up a new MYOB Company file, just as you would with your clients, and invoice them in a professional manner.

When starting your bookeeping business, maybe you are working as a home based business with off-site clients.

“Is it true that any bookkeeping client is better than no client?”

Or perhaps you are happy to go to the client’s premises to start your bookkeeping business

“Any bookkeping client is better than no bookeeping client”

We’ve heard that many times – but is it true? That’s your choice, because it’s your business. The reality is that some clients are better off with another bookkeeper.

After all, why do you need the hassle and aggrevation of a difficult client? Now you’re asking:”How do I know this will be a difficult client?”

We’ve just turned away a prospective client, because she didn’t know how to do the bookkeeping but insisted that she had a system in place and wanted the new bookkeeper to follow that system, and oversee the existing admin person who was doing the books

That’s fine, she’s got a bookkeeping system that she’s happy with. Furthermore she wanted to tell us how much we should be charging. That’s OK too. If you’re desperate for work, you may take anything.

Soon, you’ll find yourself with a full calender, plenty of agrevation, and no room for good, happy, and profitable bookkeeping clients.

Instead you have to turn those profitable book-keeping clients away, and leave them to bookkeepers such as ourselves, because we’ve only got room for good profitable clients.

We leave those troublesome clients alone as we understand that some bookkeepers are desperate they’ll take on difficult clients.

That way, everybody wins.

You want to know how to find bookkeeping clients in Ipswich, QLD?

Business owners in Ipswich, Queensland often contact us looking for experienced MYOB and QuickBooks bookkeepers

We offer bookkeepers a program whereby we will find them bookkeeping clients for their bookkeeping business.

Right now we are looking for Quickbooks and MYOB bookeepers in the Ipswich area of South East Queensland, so if you are starting out, or need more bookkeping clients and feel that you have sufficient experience as a freelance bookkeeper*, then contact us today.

We talk about finding bookkeeping clients, and the sort of experience that you need to start your own bookkeeping business in our EBook How To Find Bookkeeping Clients

Every bookkeepers dream seems to be starting their bookeeping business with off-site clients.

Is it possible? Yes – anything seems to be possible these days.

Does it limit your choice of new bookkeeping clients? Yes – because many small business owners want their bookkeeper to work on-site.

Our experience has been that most off-site clients are those that need our services around BAS reporting time (i.e quarterly). So there’s a flood of work for a few weeks each quarter, but hardly enough to make a decent annual income.

Do you have a bookkeeping business around Stirling, northern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia?

If you qualify as an experienced freelance bookkeeper, and you need more clients around Stirling and Warwick, Western Australia, then we may be able to help you and your business

We’ve successfully helped a bookkeeper start basically from scratch. She wasn’t sure how much to charge, or how to speak to clients, and generally struggled to get the business happening. Now that she’s reached full capacity, we’re getting enquiries from clients wanting experienced MYOB and QuickBooks bookkeepers

We offer bookkeepers a program whereby we will find them bookkeeping clients for their bookkeeping business.

Right now we are looking for Quickbooks and MYOB bookeepers in Stirling and Warwick, Western Australia, so if you are starting out, or need more bookkeping clients and feel that you have sufficient experience as a freelance bookkeeper*, then contact us today.

We talk about finding bookkeeping clients, and the sort of *experience that you need to start your own bookkeeping business in our EBook Secrets To Finding Bookkeeping Clients

Question: Can you start a bookkeeping business just by getting some MYOB training?
“Can you train me to use MYOB?” – we were asked by a lady phoning from Melbourne, Tullamarine

Photo – Right, Reads:
“For your safety
Please use lifts for strollers, Prams and Trolleys
No Motorised Scooters or Wheelchairs”

Are people that dumb that the shopping centre management had to place this sign at the bottom of the escalators?

Certainly we can train people to use MYOB – but for what purpose?

“I want to help a friend out, so I want to learn MYOB!” she replied. That’s great, but what does she know about bookkeeping?

“Oh, I’m not a bookkeeper, I just want to help my friend with MYOB, I don’t want to do bookkeeping – I just want to use MYOB!”, was her response.

It’s because of people like her that has led the government to introduce legislation to tighten up the bookkeeping profession.

That’s not the first time we’ve had an enquiry like that. Why do people think that by learning to use an accounting software program, they suddenly become bookkeepers?

Are we reaching the stage where MYOB should place a warning on the box that users of the software will not automatically become bookkeepers?

The tradegy of this situation is that the friend now believes that they have a competant bookkeeper doing the bookwork for their business.

Really, that’s like you saying that you can run a restaurant because you ‘ve cooked breakfast for the family at home.

We’ve seen the devastation caused by wanna-be bookkeepers “helping out a mate”and actually causing more harm than good in recording their financial affairs

There’s a whole lot more to being a bookkeeper than using MYOB software. So if you think you can start a bookkeeping business just by getting some MYOB training, then think again.

You want to know how to find bookkeeping clients in Pascoe Vale, Victoria?

For a while we’ve been working with a bookkeeper in Pascoe Vale, on the northside of Melbourne. She was looking for more clients and having trouble getting started.

This bookeeper wasn’t sure how much to charge, or how to speak to clients, and generally struggled to get the business happening. Now that she’s reached full capacity, we’re getting enquiries from clients wanting experienced MYOB and QuickBooks bookkeepers

We offer bookkeepers a program whereby we will find them bookkeeping clients for their bookkeeping business.

Right now we are looking for Quickbooks and MYOB bookeepers in the Pascoe Vale, on the northside of Melbourne, so if you are starting out, or need more bookkeping clients and feel that you have sufficient experience as a freelance bookkeeper*, then contact us today.

We talk about finding bookkeeping clients, and the sort of *experience that you need to start your own bookkeeping business in our EBook How To Find Bookkeeping Clients

You’ve taken the huge step of starting your own bookkeeping business, and you’ve gone about finding clients, so does that mean you are in business?

Starting your own bookkeeping business can become quite a challenge for many people – there are so many unknowns, and many fears pop-up from nowhere. Working from home with your first few bookkeeping clients sounds like a dream come true.

Then you realise that you have no boss to be accountable to you. If you decide that you need to go and do some shopping, or catch up on the laundry – or iron the kids clothes for school, there’s no one to stop you.

Working from home as a freelance bookkeeper takes some discipline. It also takes a change in perspective.

How you view your own bookkeeping business is crucial. For many work-from-home-bookkeepers they treat their business as some kind of hobby. They “fit in the clients bookwork” when it’s convenient for them so to do.

Step back from your business and have a look from an outsider’s viewpoint. Are you playing at bookkeeping like a hobby, or does finding bookkeeping clients mean you are in business?

Robyn contacted us wanting some help starting her bookeeping business. “I feel ready to start my own bookkeeping business, but it all seems rather scary and somewhat overwhelming”, she told us

The most common question is “How Do I find Bookkeeping Clients?”

Robyn, you are not alone in feeling that way. We know, because we’ve worked with many bookkeepers to get their new bookkeeping business up and running. There’s so many questions, like what to do when different clients have different versions of accounting softare packages.

The most common question is “How Do I find Bookkeeping Clients?”

It’s a very good question, because no matter how skilled you are in bookkeeping, no matter how many qualifications you’ve got, or how many bookkeeping organisations that you belong to, or how much bookeeping experience you have, without clients you are not really in business

After answering the same questions over and over about starting a book-keeping business, we compiled a book that answers many of the questions you have about getting started, finding bookeeping clients etc

There’s also answers to questions that you haven’t even thought of yet

As you read this book you will learn of some innovative strategies to help your business move forward, and gain an understanding of what’s involved.

You’ll also get an understanding of how we think and our approach as a start to help you with your bookkeeping business

Details about the book can be found at HERE

Regards

Jenny Newgate
BookkeepingTeam Pty Ltd

I have just finished reading the book, and I love it

It gave me a lot to think about, like how much to charge

Your example about the restaurant was great. It is true, that you can order the same meal in 2 different restaurants and get the same food, but pay different prices due to tablecloths etc

I liked the box at the end that lists different trades and businesses

I would have liked to have seen more checklist-style pages e.g what to tell a client in an initial conversation

Something that could be printed and run through whilst on the phone to the client or eve ticked off in a face-to-face interview

I think that is where I am more hesitant, the idea of selling myself

I have the ambition, the knowledge, the resources, but the unknown of how other people conduct their first meetings is a bit daunting

If I could see one or two, I would probably think “That is how I would of done it” or “I will use that tip”