How to Make a Living as a Bookkeeper
Like many professions out there, getting a job as a bookkeeper can be difficult. Even with a good education and years of experience, there is plenty of competition with the same skills as you, if not better. Additionally, many smaller companies no longer hire their own bookkeepers to have on staff and contract out for them when they need help. Setting up your own bookkeeping business, even if it only includes yourself, is the key to making a living as a bookkeeper.
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Instructions
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Get a business degree from an accredited business school or university. Having a legitimate degree goes a long way to creating customer confidence and will help you get clients.
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Create your business. Set up a limited liability company (LLC) through an attorney or an online legal website. Forming an LLC will help keep any debts incurred by your business separate from your personal accounts. Set up a bank account that is tied directly to your LLC.
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Set up an office. Choose to work out of your home or, if you have plans to hire additional workers, rent office space. Set up your office with a computer, phone lines (at least two), printer, fax machine, adding machine and all other tools of the trade.
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Launch an online presence. Hire a webmaster to create a website for you or use an online program to create your site. Include a home page and a contact page (with mailing address, business phone number, and business fax number). Set up a page that lists your hourly and project rates and a page that lists your experience; as you develop customer contacts, you may want to add a testimonial page as well.
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Create or purchase advertising materials such as stationery, fliers and business cards. Hang fliers and leave business cards in places that could net you potential bookkeeping clients, such as grocery stores, office supply stores or coffee-shop bulletin boards.
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Place advertisements in local publications, such as the newspaper or the telephone directory, listing yourself as being available for bookkeeping work. Advertise on local websites that feature jobs and job seekers.
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Search for freelance opportunities online. There are a number of websites that list jobs available for bookkeepers. Create a resume that includes your school information and any jobs related to bookkeeping. Apply for jobs that fall within your skill set; in many instances, you will be asked to list a salary request, either hourly or by project. Make a salary request you can live with but is still low enough for you to be competitive with other job seekers.
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