Hello fellow bookkeepers... i am new to this forum and so far think its great!
My 1st querie is about Manual Bookkeeping. I have just finished a practical bookkeeping course with the home learning college and will be taking my exams soon,i have allready passed level 1 with flying colours. I want to be a freelance bookkeeper working from home and going to clients offices but am unsure of a few things...
1. how to start i.e get clients 2. any insurance i will need 3. whether i need to do a course in sage or will excell or old fashioned way be appropriate (i have learnt old fashioned way)
do you have any other bookkeeping or accounting experience?
Finding your first client is always difficult especially as they always seem to demand far more than you're training has prepared you for!
As you mention HLC I am assuming that you are enrolled with the ICB? The rest of the answer assumes that.
As you have only passed the level 1 exam so far you will not yet be able to get a practice certificate which requires that you pass both the level II manual and computerised.
Once you have the level II exams you can get a practicing certificate which will cover you for Money Laundering.
Cover for money laundering is essential as to practice without it carries a two year prison sentence and unlimited fine.
The ICB will not issue a practice certificate unless you also have Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII). You will be able to get that at a very reasonable price from Trafalgar Insurance once you have passed your level II exams.
another insurance that you may want to have as a self employed bookkeeper are Public Liability Insurance. Often this comes bundled with Employers Liability insurance for no extra cost. When you get to that stage Direct Line are worth a call as I've found them to be pretty good but please shop around efore purchasing as I may not have settled on the best deal.
If you can you may find it helpful to your self employed career to do some temp work in Sales and Purchase ledger. It will only be minimum wage type work but the experience can be invaluable to you.
Good luck with your studies and keep us all informed as to your progress won't you.
Kind regards,
Shaun.
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Shaun
Responses are not meant as a substitute for professional advice. Answers are intended as outline only the advice of a qualified professional with access to all relevant information should be sought before acting on any response given.
Shaun...thankyou very much for your reply you were very helpfull and explained exactly what i wanted to know...yes i am with the ICB. i have just finished the manual course but havnt taken exams yet...i will be doing Sage in college too which is only a 10week course...do you know how many levels of Sage i should do??? also it is very hard to get a job in sales/purchases as i dont have experience...catch 22!!! I have allready had opportunities to get my own clients from cutomers in the pub where i work so dont think i will have much trouble there!
