Bookkeeping Business Plan Template & Guide Updated 2023

Once you begin to hire additional staff, consider switching to an LLC or corporation model. In fact, you’re onto something that could turn out to be quite lucrative for you in the short and long term. Top individual full-time bookkeepers can make well over 6-figures. Even part-time bookkeepers stand to do well in today’s economy. He has covered financial topics as an editor for more than a decade. Before joining NerdWallet, he served as senior editorial manager of QuinStreet’s insurance sites and managing editor of Insure.com.

There are tons of bookkeeping and accounting software tools available. Look for licensing that will allow you to keep the books for multiple or unlimited companies and consider any needs specific to your industry niche. These tools enable you to manage workflows and get your business in order. They come free with some accounting software and are getting smarter all the time. Your website is where you can drive all your traffic from other marketing channels. It holds information about you, your business, and your services.

How to Start a Virtual Bookkeeping Business

Your efficiency will increase and you can focus on your core business and increasing profits. LastPass that allows your clients to securely share passwords with you and also gives you the ability to securely share those passwords with your team as your firm grows. Our software allows you to send an automated request to your clients, asking for essential information. It also makes it extremely easy for your clients to securely upload their information and get it to in minutes. The best part is that it will also send automated reminders to your clients until they complete the request so you don’t have to spend hours every week chasing them down. We put together the top solutions you need after working with thousands of bookkeeping firms.

But you may also think about forming a limited liability company or corporation. Naturally, getting paying customers is the most important part of starting any business, and this is also true for your own bookkeeping business. Getting your first client means you’ll have someone who can back your claims of offering high-quality and cost-effective services. You’ve decided to open a virtual bookkeeping business, but you might be wondering how to get started. In this article, we’ll outline the steps to build your business so you can get up and running and build a full client roster. A website isn’t a requirement, but it makes it easier for clients to find you and your contact information online.

Office phone and internet service

By doing so, you’ll start to get known in those social media circles and you’ll start to get people connecting with you. In the beginning, you should have enough time on your hands to head to several of these a week to get some word of mouth on the streets and to get to know local businesses in the area. 2) To get clients, showcase a simple “how it works” process so that visitors know the steps they’ll need to follow to reach the benefits and outcomes that you have listed above. They also include a big bright button on their home page as their CTA (Call-to-Action) as a tactic to convert visitors into potential clients. 2) Of critical importance, it will serve as a tool to turn visitors into potential clients to help you get bookkeeping clients. Think about what you want your bookkeeping business or CPA firm to achieve by that target date.

We recommend using LivePlan as the easiest way to create automatic financials for your own business plan. To get started with bookkeeping, the first step is to familiarize yourself with bookkeeping terms and phrases. (You can find a glossary of bookkeeping terms below.) In addition to reading this article , you can find resources online, including helpful blogs, webinars, and tutorials.

Accounting Software Certification

How to get more clients by following the tactics in our exclusive Sales and Marketing manual, which contains the Pure Bookkeeping 7×5 marketing plan. Too many bookkeepers simply don’t enjoy their businesses, and we’re committed to turning that around. …even if you’re just starting out with your business, and you’re feeling overwhelmed and confused. And starting off on the right foot (if you’re just starting out with your business).

If something goes wrong and you don’t have insurance, it’s devastating for a new business. If you call your local insurance company, tell them you want protection for your new business, and ask about your options, they’ll help you choose the right plan for your type and size of business. We’ll look at the process of starting your own bookkeeping business and go through all the steps one by one. That’s why we recommend a fixed rate, although it’s difficult to know how much to charge per month when you’re first starting because you don’t have a good grasp on how long certain tasks take. Now that we’ve gone through all the steps to start a bookkeeping business, let’s talk about how to learn bookkeeping.

Knowing where you eventually want to end up is helpful when you begin planning. It will guide how you do business, whether you want to hire anyone, what kind of clients you want to take on, and how hard you’ll chase new business. Plus, with smart technology, it’s getting easier to set up. The benefits of starting a bookkeeping business are hard to deny. You can choose your own schedule, decide how much you get paid, and be selective about who you work with. Bookmark these resources to keep learning about what’s new in the bookkeeping industry, best client practices, and how to grow your business.

Marketing is so important, no matter the type of business you own. The savviest small-business marketers are the ones who figure out exactly who their customers are and advertise directly to them. Remember that the amount that you charge should be contingent on your years of experience, specialization in industries, certifications you carry and your area. And, of course, your rate isn’t fixed — you can always change it if you feel like you’re not priced correctly.

Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

The best thing about bookkeeping is that there’s always a demand. As long as there are businesses, there will be a market for people who can help them track their money. Although technology has reduced the need for human attention to some bookkeeping tasks, it has increased the need for people to operate these new systems. Plus, there is always a need for smart people who can make connections across different business areas and find creative ways to save money.

• You don’t need a huge amount of infrastructure to get started.
• Prior to this, she was a VP at Fundera where she founded the Fundera Ledger.
• To get to know who’s out there, there’s no better way than attending local networking events to collect some business cards.

Your costs will increase considerably if you intend to hire an employee right away, but otherwise, you can expect to be up and running for around $1,500 to $2,000. Work on your target market at the same time as your niche and UVP. Your UVP should be informed by both your competitor research, your target client’s main needs, and your unique set of hard and soft skills.

truckers bookkeeping service forget that your website should also include your social media links to your Facebook business page, Linkedin business page, Instagram business page, Twitter business page, and others. Meaning, technology cannot be ignored if you want to get bookkeeping clients, or even land your first client. You will revisit your strategic plan every 90 days to update it and to reset your rocks. Look at the 3-7 goals you created in the 1-year plan and chunk those down into 3-7 specific, measurable & attainable priorities for you to attack in the next 90 days. By developing a clear target client market, you’ll be able to better focus your marketing activities which we’ll later discuss.

You could use your personal email at least at the beginning, but it is nice to separate business from personal at some point. Depending on what state you live in, the cost for a business license can vary. In Oregon, for example, it is $150 annually to file a business license, which budgets to $12.50 per month. A computer is a bookkeeper’s largest asset because you can do everything you need to from it. This is something I suggest you save money for each month in case you need to replace your old computer down the road.

We recommend a slew of software to run your virtual firm, so it only makes sense to show you exactly how to pull it all together to get the most out of it! In the interest of shortening the time it takes to get your business started, you also get thesebonus shortcuts… I’ve helped other accountants like you leave their corporate jobs and go out on their own.

You’ll also want to open a business credit card account soon. A business card will likely be the first form of financing you’ll qualify for, and it can be a great financial tool to help you with cash flow or necessary expenses early on in your business. It can also be a great way to track your business expenses easily—this will go a long way toward making tax time a breeze. My recommendation is that you use QuickBooks Online, which we rated as the overall best small business accounting software. As discussed earlier, you can get QuickBooks Online Accountant for free when you join the QuickBooks Online ProAdvisor program, which is also free. The specific amount you charge your clients for bookkeeping services will depend on your certifications, years of experience and familiarity with the client’s business.