How to Start a Bookkeeping Business: 5 Insights From an Expert
Candlefox
Bookkeeping is an excellent career choice for many reasons. It can be the perfect job for those who love organisation and precision. But, it also offers a great deal of professional reward for those who crave the more human side of business like financial advice, goal setting and streamlining.
Bookkeepers are often a small business’s best friend. With many choosing to outsource their books (often afraid to make mistakes or simply time-poor), it is a career avenue that will be around for a very long time.
It is also a career that lends itself well to being a successful small business. With minimal overheads, extremely accessible online accounting software programs and the ability to work from any place, anytime, you could easily make this business fit in with your lifestyle.
Like any business, delving into your bookkeeping venture can be a leap of faith. You want to make sure you have your best foot forward and are best placed to make a real, solid go at it.
Nothing beats real advice from people who have had actual experience. So we spoke to someone in the know, who’s insights will make the transition to your own bookkeeping business that little bit easier.
Meet Stacey Price
mum, wife, travel fiend and food lover, Stacey’s colourful resume also includes ‘dedicated bookkeeping business owner’. She runs Healthy Business Finances – a provider of outstanding bookkeeping services – from the beautiful Victorian town of Ballarat
“Once our children were school age, we decided to move to Ballarat for a somewhat more balanced lifestyle,” Stacey explains.
Stacey hasn’t always been a bookkeeper. With her father an accountant and with no real idea of what she wanted to do after school, Stacy decided to study accounting at university.
She eventually found herself in corporate roles within accounting firms. After a subsequent 4-year stint in London, she made her way back to Australia, where she continued her career in management accounting.
Stacey would eventually go on to build a thriving bookkeeping business, with three employees and a turnover of over $200k a year.
Here, she shares her insights on what she’s learned along the way.
A small business can be born from absolutely anything
During her years in accounting, Stacey was made redundant twice during separate maternity leave periods. Leaving Stacey feeling cheated and vulnerable, the second redundancy spurred her business plan into action, creating it all from scratch.
“The second time around, I was far more aware and could see it coming, so I made a start on my business idea. The logo, business name and website were up and running within a week.
“I had no clients and really no experience at all in running my own business, but I figured I wouldn’t make myself redundant, so surely that was going to work in my favour!” Stacey explains.
Truly starting from the ground, Stacey reached out on Facebook to anyone in her social network or family that might need help with their books. With this small step, along with attending networking events and meeting more people in the industry, the bookkeeping work started to build.
Stacey goes on to say, “The first year, for me, was about determining if the business idea was working (thankfully it was) and streamlining how and what we do.”
You may have more experience than you think
Stacey doesn’t feel that accounting knowledge is necessary to venture into a bookkeeping business. She explains that the workflow and running of a bookkeeping business require a totally different skillset from what an accounting degree at uni offers.
“Whilst having an accounting background was beneficial in some ways, it was also detrimental in others. The way an accountant approaches their work versus the way a bookkeeper does is totally different,” she says.
“A professional bookkeeper is so much more in the nitty-gritty, day-to-day space.”
Stacey Price
Stacey explains that anyone who has worked as part of a small business and has a basic understanding of the running of one could pivot into bookkeeping.
For instance, if you have skills in:
- Paying suppliers
- General accounts skills
- Administrative skills
All these things count as bookkeeping skills and are a strong foundation for anyone who might choose to go down this career path.
Although you do not need a degree to work as a bookkeeper, most people opt for a certificate in bookkeeping. There are several flexible courses available to fit any lifestyle or study preference.
There are also some fantastic training courses specifically aimed at those who want to upskill in a business administration or business ownership capacity.
Stacey says that she needed to fill in some gaps. “I had to go back to study online for my BAS licence so that I could work as a registered BAS agent.”
You need to know what you need to know
“Understanding the basics right from the start is important when it comes to the tax practitioners board’s requirements. They are the regulatory body that determines what work we can and can’t legally do. You have just got to know that inside out,” Stacey says.
Two key things that are critical for any bookkeeper are:
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Researching and making sure you have met all of the requirements set by the Tax Practitioner Board.
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Staying across updates and changes to any processes that may effect your client. For example, when Covid19 hit, business owners had to know if they needed to and how to access JobKeeper.
She explains that your client looks to you to know the answers to any questions and, although mistakes happen in any job, financial ones can be a headache to rectify.
Another step Stacey took as she started her business was to attend as many webinars as she could and go to networking events. Being amongst people in the same space and making connections is highly worthwhile.
Stacey explains, “A lot of people don’t see the benefit of going to a networking event and meet a bunch of other bookkeepers, because they aren’t going to be new clients. But they are the best people to surround yourself with at the start because they have already made mistakes that you can learn from.”
On navigating the tipping point
In her second year of business, Stacey’s hard work and expertise was paying off. She was in demand and increasing her client base. But, while being in demand is the goal for any small business owner, there is a point where the workload can quickly become unmanageable.
“I thought to myself, ‘I am a slave to my business. I have created a monster.’” Stacey says. She knew she had to find a way to scale her business up.
“I was constantly on my laptop or phone. I wasn’t seeing my kids, and my husband and I were miserable. I realised I either had to start turning clients away or hire staff to help.”
This was when Stacey took on her first employee. One would eventually become three reliable, remote, right-hand women.
“One of the best things I did when I had my first client was to spend time developing procedures and ‘how-to’ guides. I just knew that one day it would come in handy.
Stacey Price
So when I hired my first employee for a whopping 3 hours per week, she could hit the ground running.”
She explains that your client looks to you to know the answers to any questions and, although mistakes happen in any job, financial ones can be a headache to rectify.
Another step Stacey took as she started her business was to attend as many webinars as she could and go to networking events. Being amongst people in the same space and making connections is highly worthwhile.
Stacey explains, “A lot of people don’t see the benefit of going to a networking event and meet a bunch of other bookkeepers, because they aren’t going to be new clients. But they are the best people to surround yourself with at the start because they have already made mistakes that you can learn from.”
Hard graft and the emotional toll
When it comes to things Stacey wishes she’d known or been more prepared for when embarking on her startup journey, her insight is surprising. But so important.
“You can take so many events or circumstances personally in business, but it just takes up too much mental space for no result. Keep moving, keep pushing ahead and be ok that some things will not go the way you had hoped.”
“As someone who takes heart in all that I do, I still struggle with this, but I am getting better.”
Stacey believes that having a robust and loving network outside of work that you can call on when things get tough for emotional support is essential.
A final word from Stacey
“Expect the unexpected. Business is never dull, that’s for sure. We are still so surprised with some of the conversations we have with clients over the most random things,” Stacey says as we wrap up our chat.
In interviewing several business owners, something we have picked up is that no one has it all sorted all of the time.
Often decisions to start businesses are out of necessity or the need for more control over time. They usually start very small and gradually grow to a point where they need to scale up. When problems arise, they get dealt with, and when circumstances change, they adapt – there is no handbook for any new business.
The difference between a successful business and those that aren’t is the care and attention provided by individuals who take a real interest in other people’s lives.
Ready to take the next step and start your bookkeeping business?
