Hi All Can anyone give me any advice - I am currently employed as an assistant accountant with full AAT membership and part CIMA qualified potenionally on the verge of being made redundant. My dream would be to work from home doing small business accounts. I do have experience of small businesses as my mam and dad have ran many different kinds of businesses for years. My concerns are - Can i do it and be successful at it - I'm worried about getting clients and taking the plunge as I have a family. How do I start? Many thanks Allison
it sounds as though you come with an excellent pedigree. You may however want to check with CIMA what restrictions they place on you. I know that they are not as Draconian as the ACCA restrictions but still worth confirming to ensure that any work that you do remains within what you are allowed to perform on a freelance basis (The restriction will be with whichever body has the most restrictive rules).
Going freelance you will need to have MLR cover. If you do that through your body they are likely to demand that you also have PII cover.
Even if you go directly to HMRC for your MLR cover I would still strongly advise you to have PII (and PLI).
For home as business insurance I find Direct line pretty good. If you get PII via the AAT then the cheaper insurance through Trafalgar should be available but if not, More than and Hiscox both have good policies which will be open to someone with your experience.
With a family to feed I would advise that you start by temping whilst building up your business. In that way you have some steady income during the first year which is always notoriously difficult.
Clients will want you to almost be an accountant in order to employ you as a bookkeeper so you need to be carful not to give advice beyond what your PII insurance will cover you for.
Avoid giving tax advice even where you know the answers as that's all too often the one that trips people up.
There's no simple answer to whether you can or cannot make a living out of it as luck of finding the right clients often plays as much of a part as skill. However, I'm sure that everyone on here will join me in wishing you the very best of luck in your new venture and we hope to hear lots from you in the coming months.
good luck and 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.
The move from employment to having your own business is really daunting as you lose a lot of the security that employment provides. However, the freedom of having your own business and running things the way you want brings it's own rewards.
We have written a blog for people in exactly your situation who are looking at starting a bookkeeping or an accounting business. Have a read of it and I hope it helps you focus things in your mind.
I would advise that you join a network group. find a local one close by. A good idea is to look on the www.thebestof.co.uk for your local area. Look at the Federation of small business's too.
they normally have some form a networking group on there. Networking is a very good way of getting clients, especially if they dont have a bookkeeper in the group. they only tend to stick to one person from one trade so look at joining a 2-3 if you can.
Also the best of site will advertise and market you business for about 30-40 quid a month and I know loads of people who get good business and very good feedback on there.
In addition to thebestof, get yourself on freecycle.co.uk and any other free business directory.
just google "bookkeeper in (your local area)" and see what comes up and sign up to as many of the business directory site you can on the 1st page.
Also get a google account and do a google maps for your business. Google maps always appear on the 1st page.
