Accounting Home Based Business
An accounting home based business or one which specializes in bookkeeping has a high chance of being successful.
Tax preparation, bookkeeping and accounting services are amongst the most popular home-based businesses in America. This is also true of many other countries in the world.
There are also opportunities to provide tax assistance, accounts receivable, accounts payable, payroll and inventory services.
If you are comfortable working with numbers, good with detail and very well organised its likely you have the attributes required to make a good go of it.
Costs can be kept pretty low. You will probably need a fax machine, computer with spreadsheet, word processing software along with familiarity with some of the more popular accounting packages (like MYOB, Quickbooks, Quicken, Peachtree Accounting) which are easy to learn.
If your already an accounting professional or studying to be one then this is a good way to make a little extra income. It is possible that this side income can turn into a full time undertaking and be the genesis of your own firm.
It’s increasingly popular for smaller businesses to outsource their book-keeping work, only sending their accounts to an Accountant at the end of the year. This has spawned a good market for those with sufficient skills to do this work from their own home.
If you have no background in book-keeping but an interest in beginning this home business, there are usually short courses which can be taken at the local school or technical institute. If you live away from an educational facility then a correspondence course is not out of the question.
In a 2002 study by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the average income for home Accountants was $14,000 compared to all home based businesses reported.
Some Resources to get you started:
WorldWideLearn Accounting and Finance Courses
Filed under: Opportunities
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My cousin just happened to get a job being an accountants office assistant, after a while she learned the routine and little by little she was doing accounting work. After a few years she now works out of her house and takes care of her daughter. she loves it!
The advice given in this article is good – you can make money by doing bookkeeping from home. The only extra bit of advice I would add is to make sure you track how long a job takes so that the next time you charge an appropriate amount. It’s easy to end up working long hours for a proportionally low hourly rate.
Bookkeeping and accounting can indeed turn out to me rather profitable but Sue is right it’s really important to have good idea how long it takes to do certain job or you can easily end up working very long hours for small fee.
At home accounting is getting bigger and bigger to the point that quite a few businesses outsource their accounting to professionals in different countries.
I didn’t know you could actually do bookkeeping with just doing some short courses. I thought you needed to have a degree or CPA certification, but obviously that isn’t the case.
I am a finance major, so bookkeeping for a business isn’t too difficult. Quickbooks is always a good program for a small business.
This means that if the accountant screws up, the person would have to sue the company, not the accountant. Basically, the accountant couldn’t lose his home, car, or anything like that.
As a owner of two businesses (and small amount of freelance) the first thing you learn is to get an accountant to do your books. In my view even if you have a small turnover just leave the bookwork to your accountant to free up your time to work on your business.
And of cource like all trades, and I think of accountancy as a trade, there will always be a need as long as people start new business which is booming! Partly to do with t’internet.
James
People can always use more accountants. I know I hate doing my accounting myself and that’s what I went to school for lol. If it’s something you enjoy it seems like a great job where you can essentially set your own hours and work from home. Would be a great way to supplement an online income.
Accounting is a great profession to go in because like other people here said, there will be demand for it. You could always stick in the corporate route until times get rough and then start your own business.
I would worry about liability, though.
I really think accounting is an industry that will not die. People always need their taxes done and are looking for better accountants. A great way to supplement an online income.
Accounting is a business always in demand, but for those who want something seasonal, Tax Preparation is excellent! Good demand for your services, limited length of season, make it good as a supplemental business that can be run from home.
This is a good home based job if you have the skill and knowledge to do it. Most small businesses prefer to hire freelance accountant rather than professional accountant to do their account. They can save their cost and the freelancer can earn their money. This benefits both parties.
My girlfriend does this for a few small businesses. You need to be the right type person to do this job IMO. Can be very financially rewarding if you can get the right jobs.
Hmm.. But how credible is a freelance accountant? Who would be confident enough to hire a accountant that is home based =) Anyone is a freelance acc. here care to share?
To answer Zohai’s question (albeit from a UK perspective) : there are many, many small business owners who would be very comfortable with a home based bookkeeper.
Bookkeeping (using MYOB, QuickBooks, etc.) is pretty straightforward but time consuming and many owner managed businesses just don’t want to spend the time on it. They know many bookkeepers work from home, so it is a viable business.
The only extra bit of advice I would add is to make sure you track how long a job takes so that the next time you charge an appropriate amount. It’s easy to end up working long hours for a proportionally low hourly rate.
Funny, I was just thinking about hiring a local accountant. It is definitely a successful business model.
Accounting and bookkeeping seem a nice type of work that you can do at home. Where exactly can we get our clients for this kind of gig?
I have always worked in accounts and I am still working part time as an accountant for a Social club, but I have never thought considered working from home doing just that. Maybe i’ll think about it now.
Barb.
Working from home can be rather profitable business or nice addition to supplement funds if your full time job doesn’t cover all the expenses and such and seems that it’s getting more and more popular. Accounting seems to be especially high in demand. Only one thing to watch out for(apart from scams of course) is as some of the readers already mentioned is to double check how much time it actually takes to finish job so you don’t end working for close to nothing.
A lot of home businesses fail because they lack the necessary financial system to track down the flow of their money. More often than not, home based business owners are not really very keen at keeping their books of accounts, thinking that as long as money keeps coming in, they will be alright. Unfortunately, things are not really that simply when you are engaged in business.
It may make you some money but it is labor intensive. I’d rather work at home as a webmaster, work hard for a while then reap my rewards..
Great summary of working as a home based bookkeeper. I think there are many viable opportunities like this, if you learn the necessary skills and market yourself well.
Professional services (like accountants and lawyers) are based on trust. There’s no inherent reason why your clients won’t trust you, if you work out of your home. But you still have to build that trust.
The home based work is great, but it`s not for everyone. Can you imagine what will be do if everyone work at home? This will be disaster! Home based work is for people who can`t move or young mother with babies or student`s who haven`t got time to go to work. This is great article and I want to tell you thanks for posting it.
Accounting not sure how easy it can be. However if ur actually looking for a simple option then how about Writng or Typing jobs.
I agree with you. I have always worked in accounts and I really enjoy doing it as it helps me to earn my daily income.
So very true, I have started my own tax and bookkeeping business for only $8. Since then I haven’t put a dollar in my business. Although, I probably spent more time on marketing than others since I use free marketing tactics. It hasn’t got me rich, but it has definitely been worth it!
I’ve actually considered going back to school so that I have this option when I start a family. I would really love the flexability to work out of my home at least part time.
Thanks for the advice. I have been thinking about starting my own accounting business…I don’t really like the office politics, etc. and the company I work for now.
thanks for the resources. I think, if you have good knowledge and skills, and above all, sincereity, getting a home based jobs is not so difficult and Accounting industry is in great demand now a days.
Accountants are always needed, especially by business owners. Therefore, there’s always a demand. I guess word-of-mouth plays an important role in this on getting new clients.
Great advice for anyone looking to be become a freelance bookkeeper. I decieded to take become a “stay at home” bookkeeper 15 years ago now, through connections & meeting some very helpfull people I eventually set up my own accountantcy firm.
In my professional opinnion working for yourself is the only way to make real money in this life.
Nice post, great advice, thank you