Hi Emma,

sounds as though you are doing all of the right things in prep for starting your business.

Management accounting can be different things to different people. For some it's financial accounting in a corporate environment. For others it's closer to data analysis. It could just be that the sort of MA that you have been involved with didn't suit you rather than writing off that side of the fence all together as having a foot in corporate helps to keep funds rolling in whilst you attempt to build your business.

Good luck with the final leg of your AAT. Might be an idea to complete that before starting your business especially the two optional AAT tax papers which you will find invaluable.

Once complete it may be a good idea to hold off moving up to MAAT until you are also in a position to move up to MIP.

With the AAT you can offer bookkeeping services pre MIP provided that you make no mention of any association with the AAT. However, as soon as you move up to MAAT the services that you can offer become a lot more restricted until you are also a MIP.

Gain as sound a grounding in tax as you can before starting your business as you will quickly find that tax compliance is the primary reason that people use us rather than attempting to do the bookkeeping themselves.

Remember that you will need to register with HMRC for Money Laundering if you are not in a position to register through your own professional body. AAT only cover you once you have moved up to MIP.

You may find that in your first year or so finding clients is a lot slower than you expect it to be. A lot of small business owners attempt to do the books themselves and you will find that by the time that they realise that they cannot they have completed a complete mess... Although they often don't appreciate exactly how much of a mess and invariably one of the first words that they utter will be "just" implying that it's only a small job....and they will be expecting to pay you on that basis.

Don't be rushed into a quote. Ensure that you look under the bonnet before accepting the gig and be up front withthe client giving some indication to them of the time and cost sorting them out will take.

Ensure that you have a letter of engagement that protects you contractually (People seldom share their LOE's as they are legal documents so if someone has a mistake in theirs they do not want to burden someone else with that. Your professional body has a basic LOE which you should amend to the needs of your business.

Try to guide clients towards the software that you prefer unless they are paying for the software themselves.

Several people on here, (myself included) use VT Transaction+ as you can have unlimited clients. Same with Quickbooks desktop version although that seems to be slowly disappearing now. Software like Sage 50 and the clud offerings you have to pay per client and that can end up seriously eating into your bottom line.

For payroll the favourites on here are 12pay and Moneysoft Payroll. Both very sound products that are a lot cheaper than the more recognised names.

For advertising a website is good but people seldom come to you from the website. Rather it seems that it's the place that people go when they have already met you at networking events.

Your number one sales channel are your existing clients which is why starting up feels like rolling a snowball down a hill. The more clients that you get the more people that they will introduce to you. The real issue is getting those first few in a very competitive market that often feels as though there are more bookkeepers than businesses for them to service.

The main concern that you have as hinted at above is a very real one in that it may take a long time before you are making anywhere near as much from bookkeeping as you currently are from management accounting.

If at all possible, until you have some good clients it may be best that you consider bookkeeping as a weekend / evening job.

Besides completing the AAT qualification a very good book for tax is Taxation by Alan Melville. UNfortunately being tax it's an Annual so you have to buy the latest edition each year which is generally over £40 although very occassionally it does drop a little on Amazon so a good idea to keep the latest edition in your save for later list and hope to get a good price.

Don't buy that now as the new edition comes out in August for FA2016.

On the getting you name out there front there is no replacement for good old face to face networking. The problem with that though is that many networking groups restrict their membership to one representative per industry so if a group already has a bookkeeper then you may not get in. Also, the accountants at these groups will try to find what services that you offer and if you go past trial balance then they too may block your membership of the group.

Accountants are however also a source of work so make sure that you introduce yourself to as many local accountants as you can... Although with some you may find it difficult to get to talk to an accountant as they field such approaches all of the time so again really you need to chat to them at networking or social events if you can get in and get introduced.

Hope that some of the above helps for starters

Good luck with the new venture,

kindest regards,

Shaun.

Hi Emma
Not much I can add to what the other two have said as they have really covered all the angles, so instead of I will mostly just say welcome to the forum.

On the back of the yellow pages comment - dont let Yell.com anywhere near, will empty your purse for nothing! I dont have a website yet Im pretty much at capacity with clients and this despite my son working for me on a part time basis. Networking can work, just takes a lot of time. Most of my clients are on the back of recommendations, even my very first, so if you have some intros already start with them and in a few months dont be afraid to ask if they can recommend you to anyone. I would say, as Shaun did - dont give up the day job and that steady income just yet, work your new clients round that job until you get to the point where you dont have enough hours in the day to do so, then give up.

Is there a chance you can get to MAAT MIP where you are working/with existing contacts? If so - thats another reason for sticking it out a bit longer perhaps. Without that as indicated you cannot mention any affiliation to the AAT.

Software for new bookkeepers/Accountants is a big issue these days with the cost of some desktop software being potentially prohibitive versus have cloudy rubbish so be careful with that one - there are loads of posts on here about the merits of different types of software which Im sure you may have seen already. Im a Sage fan personally (desktop only, Sageone is garbage), but do have access to Quickbooks (dont use except for local Scout group) and I am just starting on VT. Must say VT doesnt look all pretty like the others, but from the small amount Ive used it, its great! I will be using more of this and certainly for clients who dont have their own software and are not prepared to pay me for extra sage licences. There are a few on here who use it and more are being converted and I cant blame them.

Good luck with it and looking forward to seeing some more posts from you in the future.

Morning John
Not seen you much over the last few days, seems everyone one here is ultra busy at the mo. No idea why, bad timing or something in the water!! Hope you were pampered loads yesterday