Bookkeeping Tips to Earn $60/Hr
Here's how to become a bookkeeper working from home (you could receive $60 / hr!)
You 're not a numbers geek. It's just that in a spreadsheet of formulas and even cell spacing, everything makes more sense.
Your nerdy — ahem, precise — tendencies might make you the perfect match for a virtual bookkeeping job.
And no, you don't need a Certified Public Accountant, or CPA, to succeed. What you really need is good programming skills, and a desire to help business owners solve real-world issues.
Anyhow better? Ben Robinson, a certified US public accountant and company owner, who trains others to become virtual bookkeepers, says you can earn up to $60 an hour.
Since 1999 he has been a CPA, and owned two accounting companies. Robinson's discovery of competition for successful bookkeepers was through the companies.
"Many — actually most — business owners fail to keep bookkeeping records correct and up-to - date," Robinson said. "What I soon learned was that there's hard to find great bookkeepers. And when I met a successful bookkeeper who owned their own company, they got filled with clients and had a waiting list of business owners who wanted to do their accounts.
How to become a virtual librarian
Robinson launched learningtobeabookkeeper.com after he sold his company in January 2015 to teach not just the technical side of bookkeeping but also the techniques to start your own business.
We spoke to Robinson about what it takes to become a virtual bookkeeper, as well as tips and suggestions to get you to work on this career route.
What credentials do you need to be a bookkeeper?
While the job https://www.washingtonpost.com/newssearch/?query=bookkeeping description could lead you to believe that you're going to get holed up alone with your machine and dusty ledgers (wait, do those still exist?), Robinson said real-world skills are also important because you're going to work with customers on a daily basis.
"When I went to school and had my accounting degree I said, 'Yeah! I will conquer the universe,"' said Robinson. "I might work out earnings per share, but I couldn't, like reconciling a bank account, do basic tasks that business owners need.
"For the business owners they deal for, the best bookkeepers will solve such real-world challenges," said Robinson, who added that technical and communication skills are also important.
You got ta get a CPA, then?
The simple response, Robinson believes: No.
"None of the great bookkeepers I educated were even accountants, much less Certified Public Accountants," said Robinson. "If I had the option to train a CPA or someone with no experience to become a better bookkeeper, I would have preferred the novice candidate any day."
Benefits of a virtual accountancy job
In addition to the high demand, Robinson said one of the great advantages of becoming a virtual bookkeeper is the ability to choose where you work, when you work and who you work with.
And then, there's the pay scale of $60 an hour.
According to state estimates, the median full-time bookkeeper receives approximately $45,000 a year how to bookkeep ($22 an hour). But Robinson pointed out that you can potentially earn a higher hourly wage as a freelancer or contractor, while working less hours.
"I tell my bookkeepers that as their aim they should be targeting at least $60 an hour," Robinson said. "You have to learn how to give real value to consumers — the real-world problem-solving we talked about — to order that kind of profit."
What you need to start a virtual accounts company
Your first investment will be decent computer and high speed internet access. Yet, according to Robinson, accounting software, such as Quickbooks Online, is at the core of a virtual bookkeeper 's toolbox, which helps to keep startup costs down.
"The bulk of the project, startup as well as ongoing, is in you: learning," Robinson said. "I have been doing this for over 16 years and I devote at least 40 hours a year learning new skills and strengthening existing ones."
Keen to take up a career as a bookkeeper? Check out online courses or college in your neighbourhood to continue, ahem, find out your future.