I`m finally in a position to start and train to get qualified to be a book keeper, just wondering if there's a need any more or if you guys believe there are too many already?.
2. What your charge out rate will be. Will it be per hour or fixed fees.
3. How fast you are.
4. How experienced you are.
5. What the competition is like in your area. Google "bookkeeper then your town" and see what comes up.
With online packages and technology there is now more assistance than ever for small businesses to do their own books. But there will be always be those who are not interested in doing this and past it onto an expert as they dont want to mess it up or can earn more on their business than the saving that would be made from doing the books themselves.
Mmm, asking people in practice whether there is room for more people to share the work amongst seems a little like asking turkeys whether they think Christmas is a good idea.
Personally I would say that its a difficult market... Its been worse, but it's still difficult and there is a LOT of competition for every client.
Bookkeeping as a seperate profession from accountancy still exists but only just with most bookkeepers going well beyond trial balance (the end of bookkeeping) and into accountancy territory of accounts and tax returns.
I think that ICB realise this as their qualification goes up to producing accounts for small businesses but clients who come to us want us to save them tax and the bookkeeping qualifications fall short in that area meaning that many new bookkeepers have a bit of a shock and a steep learning curve when they move from study to practice.
Then again, didn't you say before that you were pursuing AAT? If so at level IV that has some tax modules which will put you in a good position.
All in all if you think that you can find a couple of clients and you do a really good job for them then its like a snowball rolling down and you will pick up more, faster as you progress.... Well, unless you hit a tree on the way down.
Whilst there are many who try to enter this profession who never even make back the cost of their training there are some who go on to be very successful. Which category you fall into is partly down to luck but certainly the more you know the luckier you are likely to become.
So, thats an answer without actually giving an answer.
Good luck with your studies,
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.
Thanks for your prompt replys, mark n shamus,
Did a search and comes up with 15...... glup!
wasn`t that many only a few months ago,
i was considering aat shamus but i have two peps that want me already.... but have to get qualified first..
so was rethinking icb first then retrain later if pays to do so... dip my toe so to speak.
I think Mark it it on the head it depends what part of the country you are in. Personally I have more work than I can handle and am now wondering who I am going to say no to!
I have stopped advertising due to too much and still the phone calls are coming in. Problem is I hate saying no to people so now I am weighing up which are best and the ones I make the most money out of etc.
I have plenty of competition in my area, but we all seem to be busy which is good.
Lastly as Rob said on here many moons ago, networking is the answer, I took his advise and have never looked back. I have some good contacts with Accountants which is certainly paying off hence no more paying out for advertising, but it works both ways so I give work to them also. All the accountants I do work with, I invoice their clients direct as this is the way they want it done. This works for me and helps build a good valuable relationship with the client.
It does take a while to build a good business so it will take time.
Going back to the original question, I would say there is not a need for more bookkeepers but there is room for good bookkeepers. It's how you go about getting the business that is key. Amanda has just mentioned networking and I have just come back from a networking meeting and made some new contacts and hopefully I will see them again and at some point I may do some work for them and vice versa. If you are everyones second favourite bookkeeper/accountant then you are first in line when they ditch the current one! I think you have to have a point of difference, so whether that is being a whiz on Xero and going for that market or specialising in dog walkers and really being focussed on marketing to that sector, you will have more chance of standing out.
