Hello everyone, first of all i am new to the forum and forums in general so you must excuse me if i have posted this in the wrong area!!! I have read several posts regarding starting up bookkeeping businesses but would be grateful for any advice relating to my situation. I currently help my husband run our catering company and I have just about completed the Open University Certificate in Accounting. My plan is to be able to do bookkeeping for small businesses from home. Do you think it is beneficial to join a professional body as I have had much conflicting advice. I am also concerned with the transition from studying from a book to actually having someones accounts in front of me to complete. although I have concerns I am a very dedicated and determined individual and after the hard work i have put into the course would like to put it into practice and achieve a new career for myself. Any advice/comments would be great. Thank you.
-- Edited by Julie Greve on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 10:48:13 AM
-- Edited by Julie Greve on Tuesday 7th of September 2010 10:49:15 AM
I would say join a professional body (but then I am bias ) You could probably get exemptions from ICB exams with the OU Certificate.
Maybe some pros and cons?
Cons:
Can't offer services you are not qualified for (personally I don't see this as a con as I have seen too many horror stories of people offering services before they have finished the course and making costly mistakes)
Membership fees (again these aren't that bad, if you are self employed you must have a license and from the HMRC this costs £120pa, ICB starts at £141pa so an extra £21 but you can save that on insurance and support alone)
Pros:
Support (unlimited telephone or email from the ICB within your membership, Mon-Fri 9-5)
Help with setting up your business, finding clients, advertising (ICB)
Networking (meet other bookkeepers in your area (ICB and AAT unsure of IAB)
Proffessional Recognision (not every business will know the bodies, but I would be supprised if accountants or banks didn't, and having letters after your name and a crest on your business card won't hurt)
Client referals (from ICB unsure of the others)
Listing in Members Directory (ICB coming soon, AAT and IAB already have one)
Discounted Insurance
Anti Money Launding Supervision (free from ICB with a Practice License)
Free MLR support line, manuals, forms etc (ICB)
Free legal advice for you and your clients (ICB)
Can use the logo or crest on your stationery or adverts
CPD
Newsletters
OK take the above with a pinch of salt but you get the idea.
Although these forums do provide a very good service, sometimes it is nice to be able to call someone and talk through your first client.
The fees can be saved quite easily, I know ICB and AAT offer discounted insurance and 3rd party discounts (I have saved £82 on my holiday from travel insurance and car hire).
welcome to the forum and congratulations on the OU accountancy (is that one the last sitting of the course as B680?).
You've got good exemptions from that one for most bodies so if you did decide to join up at least you won't have to worry about any more exams for a while.
What have you decided to go for? Bookkeeping or continue through into Accountancy? I ask that as if you join one of the accountancy bodies you will be severely restricted on the services that you are allowed to offer as a bookkeeper where if you stop at bookkeeping you will be able to offer more.
I know that sounds unfair as it seems that the more that you study the less that you are allowed to do!
Before you go into business for yourself you will need to have MLR cover which can be acquired either by joining a professional body or directly from HMRC.
Not having MLR cover carries severe penalties including unlimited fines and imprisonment so I can't emphasise enough how important that one is.
Its a good idea to have Professional Indemnity Insurance (PII) which even though you've been doing the books of 'im indoors may prove problematic to get at a reasonable price if your not a member of one of the professional bodies or have two years plus verifiable experience.
It is also advisory to have Public Liability insurance and also insurance for use of home as office. I find Direct line very reasonable for those.
The people on here, myself included are always happy to answer any specific questions that you may have and there's also a wealth of past answers to trawl through if you fancied getting bogged down in the finer points of VAT, PAYE, SAGE, etc.
Good luck with your new business,
Kind regards,
Shaun.
__________________
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.
you beat me to it. thirty years with a keyboard and I'm still only up to three fingers and a thumb for typing.
Nice to see the ICB sticking with the forum or is this just that you've become hooked personally? It really doesn't take long. I'm off with my bankers hat on again but I still can't resist keep coming back on here to check on the various threads and welcome in the newbies.
All the best,
Shaun.
__________________
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.
Welcome on board.I agree it is important to have a governing body behind you.
Also have a look at what systems you are going to use to provide your bookkeeping systems
(assess the price and user friendliness)
(1)Arithmo- which is us, an online multi-user system; so you can log on remotely and dont need a server. Click on http://arithmo.co.uk/for_the_accountant.phpfor free trial.
(2)VT- traditional on computer/server single user system.loads of VT fans out there on this board.(To all VT diehards, look into my eyes, .........).
(3)Sage (in my opinion; expensive for bookkeeping firms with client base made up of very small businesses)
Yes personally I am a little hooked I must admit. The ICB has mixed feelings about forums but I'm sticking to it as I think having a professional body here helps (sometimes if not always :) )
I believe that if you are also registered with a bookkeeping body the accounting body will be ok with you providing bookkeeping as long as it is clear which body is supporting which service.
ICBUK wrote:.....The ICB has mixed feelings about forums .....
Hi James
Having just received this months Invoice I would say that is a bit of an understatement!!
However I am quite pleased there is an ICB presence on this forum. Perhaps the ICB should have one too (If you can't beat 'em, join 'em). It might encourage the feed back that isn't being communicated directly.
Bill
Edit: Just thought I would add that GC's sidebar made interesting reading but I cannot (totally) agree with his comments regarding forums and am pretty sure that if any of those cases had been discussed on here, those involved would have certainly been made aware of their obligations and limits
-- Edited by Wella on Wednesday 8th of September 2010 10:27:13 AM
Well since James has been posting on here, a lot of misunderstandings I had about ICB have been cleared up and though studying AAT, I plan to still sit the ICB exams and use them as my preferred professional body when I set up my own bookkeeping practice.
Yep, just read Invoice myself and he was quite blunt!!
And the audit threshold is wrong also....
But personally I like the ICB for what it stands for and what it looks like etc etc and its stance against being like all the others in their qualification regime etc etc
P
-- Edited by BackOfficeGroup on Wednesday 8th of September 2010 10:43:20 AM
Glad you guys find me useful, maybe your comments will encourage more ICB involvement with forums, or set up their own as Bill suggests.
The Audit threshold for turnover is £5.6 million, but there are variables to be taken into account, I think Garry was just giving the basic intro with a link to Companies House for more information.
The ICB is in a bit of a catch 22, in that if it tells people not to do things they are not qualified to do, some people take offence. Yet others claim not to have noticed the information and offer services they are not covered for. If they make a mistake then the ICB gets involved as one of its members has made a costly error due to being under qualified. This can damage the name of the ICB, and sometimes the ICB is looked into to prove this member had reasonable information to know the limits of their membership.
Luckily this is rare, expecially considering the number of members out there. Also the ICB is a professional witness now for bookkeeping errors/crimes in court and so that is getting the name out there in a very positive way.
The ICB is in a bit of a catch 22, in that if it tells people not to do things they are not qualified to do, some people take offence. Yet others claim not to have noticed the information and offer services they are not covered for. If they make a mistake then the ICB gets involved as one of its members has made a costly error due to being under qualified.
I think some people, especially those who complain, don't understand the difference between a profession and a career and what it means to be a member of a professional body that sets standards of practice.
-- Edited by Scotchpie on Wednesday 8th of September 2010 01:27:39 PM
I read that rant as well. Certainly seems that forums are not the favourite thing in the ICB. Then again I've had just as much poor advice from government agencies like HMRC and ICO.
The views expressed in this post are my own personal (HRA protected) views, and are not representative of any organisation I have any involvement with.
kjmcculloch wrote:Certainly seems that forums are not the favourite thing in the ICB.
The ICB is made up of all kinds of age groups, and some of the members of council don't see the point in getting involved in forums when the ICB is taking around 300 support queries per day.
However, there have been some very positive posts lately, so this is slowly bringing people round.
I think the future of the ICB on here and other forums is not a technical one, but more general advice and answering questions posted directly at the ICB.
I can see why there's a dilemma for the ICB, and any other institutes, to be fair. On one hand, you can appreciate the fact the ICB has to regulate it's members and one way is to try and get them to act in a uniform way i.e. by acting on official advice (if you see what I mean)
But the fact that the ICB takes 300 support calls a day, and there's still an active and helpful forum must also say something. Those of us who use forums, know the benefits of having 24/7 advice from the very knowledgable and helpful posters here. ICB members or otherwise. On a "human" level it's comforting to know that you can ask quesstions of people who have experienced similar situations - good and bad.
Imho, forums work best when there's a sense of community, you're never going to get that from an Institute and I actually don't think you should.
I'm guessing it's outside your direct remit James, but an ICB presence on the site can only be a good thing and I know I've appreciated many of your posts.
all imho of course.
-- Edited by ADAS on Wednesday 8th of September 2010 05:24:34 PM
-- Edited by ADAS on Wednesday 8th of September 2010 05:25:19 PM
-- Edited by ADAS on Wednesday 8th of September 2010 05:27:03 PM
__________________
Tony
Responses are intended as outline only. Formal advice should be sort from your Institutes Technical Department or a suitably qualified Accountant.
The beauty of a forum is that one person can ask a question, one or more can answer, but EVERYBODY gets to read it. It makes support much easier. Of course it doesn't stop the same question being asked over and over again, but it will certainly be asked a lot less if it is made public, like it is here :)
) You could probably get exemptions from ICB exams with the OU Certificate.
but you get the idea. 
.........). 
