After some good advice on this forum I decided to go for the AAT bookkeeping course. It should be arriving this week. My plan is to hopefully sit the exam in June 2009.
After that do you think I would be ready and capable to set up a small bookkeeping business?
I would like to do higher courses after this but I would like to study them while i'm setting a business up.
I don't think any course/qualification on its own will be enough to enable someone to provide bookkeeping as a professional service without some sort of practical experience to go alongside it.
That's not to say you wouldn't be able to do something with it and start preparing a business (there can be a lot involved).
Without any experience I'd recommend firstly getting some, preferrably in a bookkeeping or accountancy practice but otherwise just step-by-step with businesses that understand your situation, such as family/friends that are willing to be guinea pigs a little whilst you get a feel for the real world.
You may be fortunate to find someone that will 'hold your hand' whilst starting out, where you can turn to for advice when you need it.
