I am on Maternity Leave at the moment and due to go back to my Finance job in April, but the company has been taken over. I have been thinking about starting my own bookkeeping business. I am fully AAT qualified and have quite a lot of experience from my job, however, I am unsure how to go about starting up my business.
Similar questions are asked on a regular basis. If you have a search through the forum you'll finds loads of info and suggestions as have been given out before. Have a read and them come back to us if you have any specific questions.
Enjoy Maternity Leave!
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Jenny
Responses are my opinion based on the information provided. All information should be thoroughly checked before being relied on.
I just saw you post here and thought this blog I did about Andrea Dobson might help ...
http://www.cheapaccounting.co.uk/blog/?p=864
She is a qualified accountant and took time off for her family but didn't want to give up on all of the hard work that she did to get the qualifications.
So she took the self employed route and it is going great for her.
I am in a similar position as you, I was made redundant 8 weeks before I was due to go on maternity leave. 4 weeks have now passed, and after the initial panick, I have come to terms with what has happened. I am an ACCA PQ and am thinking of doing just a few peoples books for now as I know I won't have much time when the baby is born, and then hopefully increase the number of clients as time goes on.
I would love to know how things are going for you, as I too don't really know where to start.
I'm also ACCA PQ and have had to give up the bookkeeping side of my business as the restrictions placed on us are quite Draconian whereas ICB, IAB, AAT and CIMA qualified bookkeepers / accountants have much more scope in the services that they can offer.
Unless your work is signed off by a fully qualified accountant you will only be permitted by your ACCA status to do books to trial balance, payroll and VAT.
Don't forget that you will also need to have MLR in place. Some people join another supervisory body as well as the ACCA for that but you could go directly to HMRC for cover.
Worth noting if you do go to another body the ICB doesn't recognise the ACCA qualification for exemptions if your paper F3 (or 1.1 in my case) is over 2 years old. That one grates with me but rules are rules and once I'd thrown my toys out of the pram a couple of times I accepted it.
Also if you did join the ICB I think that you might be restricted on the Payroll front until you've passed their exam but you would need to talk to someone such as James to confirm that.
Good luck with negotiating your way through the minefield of rules that need to be adhered to. Anytime you fancy a chat there's always someone on here with a freindly well intentioned bit of advice.
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.
Whilst we would stress from the start that we do not offer any promises in respect of winning new client fees, we are currently undergoing a big UK wide drive for new partners.
AccessFP is looking for qualified and ambitious bookkeepers looking for a new opportunity, the chance to become their own boss and join a solid network of finance professionals working alongside small and fast-growth business owners.
If you seek independence and the chance to build, or extend your own client portfolio then please do get in touch!
I'm currently on mat leave too and dream of starting my own bookkeeping business. I'm AAT qualified, CIMA studier and working as mgt accountant for a large pharma. I'm really interested to find out how you've been getting on...
I am at the moment working for a small company, part time, doing bookkeeping. I am saving up to work for myself. I want to make sure all areas are covered (insurance, marketing, software etc) before I commit to working from home.
I am hoping that by the end of summer I will have enough funds to get me started.
Good Luck for whatever choices you make in your career!!
