by James Sowers |
Last Updated: July 27, 2019 This post may be sponsored or may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission, at no additional cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link. Read the full disclosure.
If you’re looking to become a bookkeeper from home but don’t know how to go about it, then you’ve come to the right place.
That’s because I’ve put together this handy-dandy little guide for you that cuts all the nonsense and comes straight to the real talk of becoming a virtual bookkeeper.
The best part? You can do this even with no experience.
Be sure to stick till the end to read my interview with Karla who earns $6,000/month as a virtual bookkeeper.
Let’s dive right in.
Table of Contents
What Is Virtual Bookkeeping?
Just like a bookkeeper you see in every office, a virtual bookkeeper is someone who takes care of:
- Processing payroll
- Maintaining yearly budget
- Issuing invoices
- Complying with taxes
- etc.
The only difference is – a “virtual” bookkeeper works from home.
It is easy to confuse a bookkeeper with an accountant because of the similarities, but in reality they’re both very different.
To become an accountant, you would need a degree and certification. On the other hand, bookkeepers don’t have any strict educational requirements.
You don’t need anything apart from a computer/laptop and an internet connection to get started.
What Makes A Good Bookkeeper?
While bookkeeping doesn’t require much of requirements to get started as compared to an accountant, there are certain skills that you SHOULD master. Those are:
- You should be able to handle multiple projects at the same time
- You should be able to keep things in order. Be organized
- You should have a will to work hard and take your clients’ business as your own
- You should pay well attention to even minor details. Double-checking is the way to go
Where To Find Jobs As A Virtual Bookkeeper?
There are plenty of options when it comes to finding jobs as a virtual bookkeeper, but I’ve listed some of the best ones below:
1. FlexJobs
This is a job board that I will always put on top because it’s aimed at jobs that are flexible. Which means, easy working hours, work from home based, part-time/full-time options etc.
This place is great to start if you’re looking for a full-time work from home job opportunity. They offer great benefits for the full-time applicants so be sure to check them out.
3. HireAthena
Another great place to look for bookkeeping jobs. HireAthena is always on the lookout for virtual bookkeepers for their clients.
4. Indeed Jobs
There are several high-paying jobs posted here daily from companies looking to hire virtual bookkeepers. You don’t want to miss out on those!
5. Upwork
Upwork is mainly for freelancers but I’ve seen a consistent amount of jobs posted daily for various other options like bookkeeping, virtual assistants, accountants etc.
6. Facebook Groups
This is my secret sauce of finding jobs. Whenever I am desperately in need of clients, I manage to get them through Facebook groups. I absolutely love it!
Here’s a job posted not long ago on one of the groups I am part of:
If you’re not using Facebook groups to find jobs as a bookkeeper then you’re leaving a lot of money on the table.
The two of the best ones are Virtual Assistant Savvies and Virtual Assistant Tribe Job Board.
How To Become A Bookkeeper From Home?
Even though virtual bookkeeping is one of the most profitable jobs out there, you might still not earn as much money as you would expect to.
Why?
Because there’s a lot more to it than just knowing about what a bookkeeper does.
You might be making countless mistakes without even realizing. And that can cost you a lot of time and effort.
This is the reason Ben Robinson from Bookkeeper Business Launch has created a 100% FREE class that details what it takes to start your very own virtual bookkeeping business.
In this FREE class, Ben goes over some of the must-know basics of virtual bookkeeping, such as:
- An overview of the bookkeeping business so you can see if it is right for you.
- The tools you need to “wow” clients and get paid for your services
- How to create a steady stream of new clients without the need to “sell” yourself.
After finishing the class, you’ll have the option to enroll for the full-blown paid course which I highly recommend.
Taking this class will literally skip the entire trial and error and hopefully skip over all the frustrating mistakes that most beginners make when starting out as a virtual bookkeeper.
The best part of taking this free class is you’ll have a super-helpful support team by your side whenever you have any doubts or questions. They just won’t leave you halfway.
If you really want to learn how to become a bookkeeper from home, then make sure you enroll in this FREE class.
A Real-Life Story: How Karla Earns $6,000/month Bookkeeping From Home
I had the opportunity to interview Karla Navarro who is a mom of a 3-year old and one of the proud students of Bookkeeper Business Launch.
After being fed up of only getting low-paying clients, Karla decided to end the misery and enrolled in the course.
What happened after that is inspiring.
Read the interview to find out.
1. Hi Karla, when and how did you start learning to become a virtual bookkeeper?
Hi Adnan! I’ve known about bookkeeping for many years. Virtual is a whole different story.
I was introduced to cloud-base software about the same time I started my business. I felt in love with it and I decided that’s what I want to do.
I read about Bookkeeper Business Launch a couple of times in a few Facebook groups and I only read great things about it. Still it took me a long time to decide.
I thought, as an experienced bookkeeper what can this course provide me that I don’t already know?
2 years later I decided to take it because I was in a position that I was only able to get clients for my super low prices while working about 10 hours a day.
That is not the life I was looking for.
The course has reinforce the knowledge I had and gave me so many tools to be more efficient and feel confident about my work and how awesome I am at what I do, and I deserve to be well paid for it.
2. Tell us a bit about the course. How did it help you and were you able to learn new skills you didn’t know about? Was it worth it?
It is super worth it.
I think is goes into great detail on everything and I was not expecting it.
For me, it was a pleasant surprise to see how complete it is. It takes you from 0 to 100. I wish I had this tool since day 1 of my business.
I was able to do it by myself but it was hard. If I knew back then what I know now it would have been so much easier.
Also, I would have started with better tools to price my work better and get better clients.
3. After completing the course, how long did it take you to make money? And where do you stand today in terms of monthly income as a virtual bookkeeper?
I haven’t completed the course yet.
There is so much information and when I started I already had clients, so I don’t have a lot of free time.
Also, I wanted to do the whole course even when I already know bookkeeping. There is so much great information in it that I don’t want to miss anything.
I learn something from every video and when I’m done I want to watch the whole thing again. It is full of tips and tricks!
My monthly income right now is about $6,000 and now I’m being more selective about my clients and I’m quoting what I’m worth.
4. What was your life like before becoming a virtual bookkeeper and how has it helped you?
My previous job was also virtual so I was already enjoying the benefits of working from home and having my own schedule.
The issue was I was working for somebody else and the pay wasn’t great.
Now I feel more in control, I get to choose who I want to work with, how many hours I want to work on any day, and have the time to enjoy my family.
5. Does bookkeeping take a lot of your time in a day? How do you manage to juggle between family and work?
It does. But that is because I started my business with the wrong foot.
I didn’t have the tools I have now so my goal is to be able to get better clients to free up a little bit of my time.
Also, I’m in the process of training my first employee and I want to put as much time into that as necessary so I’m sure she feels comfortable to handle my clients by herself.
That will provide me with more time to develop additional skills to provide more of those advisory services that are better paid.
6. According to you, how much can a new virtual bookkeeper expect to earn in their first 6 months?
I think after going through the Bookkeeper Business Launch course, a total newbie could expect to get at least 1 client a month.
So depending upon the pay of the client, in 6 months he/she should be able to earn at least $2,500/month.
7. What are some necessary skills one should have to become a virtual bookkeeper? Also, can someone with zero experience do this?
I think anybody can get the skills to be a virtual bookkeeper.
As any other job if you like what you do and you enjoy it, you will probably be successful.
If you are going to be virtual I think it is necessary that you are organized with your time. It is easy to waste your time doing something else because nobody is checking on you to see if you are working or not.
It is important to have a schedule and follow it.
8. What kind of tasks one has to perform for clients as a virtual bookkeeper?
- You will be assigning each transaction from the bank accounts to the correct account on the chart of accounts.
- Reconcile all bank accounts, credit cards, loan accounts, etc.
- Depreciate assets, record journal entries, etc.
- Just make sure the books are clean, reconcile, and all transactions that belong to the business are in there and the ones that belong to the owners don’t show up on the P&L.
9. What are some best ways to find clients as a virtual bookkeeper?
For me, the ProAdvisor page from QBO has been successful.
I really don’t do any other type of marketing. I get clients because of that page or referrals. I want to start my marketing to start getting better quality of clients.
10. Wrapping up, what advice would you give to someone looking to become a virtual bookkeeper?
That’s easy. Take the FREE Bookkeeper Business Launch Class.
It has all the tools you need from scratch to make you successful.
Besides, the support and the Facebook group is an awesome community.
Over to you
Now that you know how to become a bookkeeper from home, there’s just one thing left for you to do: Take action.
So start now and you’ll be glad you did.
What did you like the most about this guide?
Do you have any questions you want to ask me like ANYHOW?
Let me know in the comments. 🙂
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