Starting Book keeping Business

[FinanceAngels]

Hello,

I am new here and I would really appreciate your help and advice.

I've taken AAT NVQ level 2 and 3 in accounting, passed both. My last being in Aug 2007. I have since then been looking for a position as a finance assistant yet remained unsuccessful due to the downfall of the ecomony.

I was once told that I was over qualified for the position as my supervisor was not even as qualified as me.

I have now become fed up with wasting my qualifications just waiting for that job and decided that it would suite me much better to become self employed. I am hard working and dedicated. I work much better solo and feel that this is what I would love to do.

I want to offer admin services (Virtual assistant) within my book keeping, as I handily have a Post box right outside my home. I am very good at writing letters and communicating with clients.

How do I start? Where do I go from here? Do I set up a website?

I seem to have it all in my head but I am very nervous about actually doing it....I think the fear of doing the accounts wrong.

Please help.

Dawn xxx

[PromoAde]

Hi!
I would start out be finding one company that needs some help with their book-keeping. Do you have any family members that might need someone?
Do a trial run with them, it will help with the experience... and the nerves! You won't do it wrong, you passed all those nvq's right?

[FinanceAngels]

yes I did pass them, I just feel that because I don't have any actual work experience in finance I'm at a disadvantage.

Although our lecturer did keep reminding us that those simulations we did were based around actual work......

My family is rather small and i'm not actually required for book keeping.

[DFL]

To be honest, there are so many considerations in starting up that a post on here wouldnt do it justice, if you want to chat then feel free to give me a call and I can talk you through most of them.

Feel free to PM me for contact details or through the website.

(Gratis naturally).

[Dillan1601]

Hi Dawn
DFL is right there is so much to consider when starting up. I started my own bookkeeping business last August and have never looked back. I am employed FT and do my bookkeeping PT however as I am expecting my first baby in September my aim is to build up my business so that i can work from home permanently in the future.
I attended HMRC and local enterprise start up courses and these gave a useful insight into how to register as self employed, marketing your services, pricing etc. Feel free to PM me if i can be of any assistance.

Angie

[stewartsetter]

This is only relevant of you have not worked in the industry, but if I were you, I would get myself into a practice for a few years. Doing the AAT's are great but they only tell you what accounts are, they don't tell you how business works, and every business works slightly different. You can only get this from experience.

I speak from experience, I studied AAT when I was working in sales. Once I passed those, I changed my job and worked in various accounts departments until I felt that I was ready to take the next step. Those last few years was extremely valuable.

If you are absolute in your desire to set up, drop me a line and I'll help you forward.

[Fernhurst Solutions Ltd]

Hiya Dawn

Welcome to the forums ... there have been loads of threads like this over the past year or so - if fact IIRC you are the first this week ;). Use the search facility and you could probably spend the best part of a morning going through them.

I would also suggest you give Jason (DFL) a call, he has a service set up just for people in your situation - although be warned there is probably a lot more competition out there than you think, and working for yourself isn't always a bed of roses as I'm sure people on here would testify. Having said that, good luck with it all and if it is what you really want to do then give it 100% and the rest!

Andy
:D

[Alison Jones]

HI Finance Angels

If you have no experience then my advise is to get a trainee position in an accountants firm - you gain experience in many different industries rather then just one in commercial firms, this does really help if you want to set up bookkeeping business. I spent the first 3 years in my career as a trainee accountant then moved to commercial companies for another 11 years for many different types of industries as many temporary positions - maternity cover positions etc.

I set up my own bookkeeping business in August 2006 when I was made redundant. I had never took any qualifications and so at first was only getting 50% of potential new clients because 50% of them cared about qualifications over experience, studied with ICB and then after that gained more new clients.

I would say it is not best time to set up own bookkeeping firm as so many people doing it now. Those lucky enough to have set up bookkeeping firm few years ago and got their clients are ok, but not sure if it is just me being unlucky or other bookkeepers have noticed recently that it is so much harder to get new clients now - there are so many bookkeepers offering their services at very low pay (some when you take into account paying tax and national insurance contributions as self employed equate to less then the NMW).

Alison