Do I Need to Be Good at Numbers to Become a Bookkeeper?

What Do “Numbers” Mean to You?

What does it mean to be a “numbers person?” Is that person a math whiz? Did they major in accounting or something else related to math and numbers in college? Can they solve equations that would make an ordinary person’s head spin?

If this is about being good at math, I have good news for you: you really don’t need to be a mathematical genius to be a good bookkeeper.

 Here’s the truth about bookkeeping: it’s mostly addition and subtraction. 

Most of our job is taking what happened in the bank and labeling it as money spent or money received. We’ll add those things up, and at the end of the day, we have a profit and loss statement that will calculate a very simple problem: income minus expense equals profit. That is subtraction. 

Now, at some point there will be some multiplication and division involved…but most of that is plugging the numbers into known formulas. For example, I came up with a formula to calculate tax savings. Are you able to take profit and multiply it by 25% to estimate tax savings? Then you’re probably capable of doing the math you need to do for this job. It’s all basic math and plugging numbers into formulas.

Wait…That Sounds Too Easy

Hold on…that’s starting to sound pretty easy, right? Maybe too easy. What happens if you get bored?

Oh, my friends. My dearest hope for you is that you end up getting bored.

 If you fear getting bored, that's a good sign to me, because it means that you can picture yourself with clients, and being able to picture yourself successful is such an important part of this process.

That means you look ahead and you don’t fear failure…you fear you’re not going to continue to be stimulated and excited by your business. But here’s what you need to realize:

Boredom is a beautiful milestone to reach.

I’m not going to lie: this business becomes very simple once we get the clients in the door.

Once we have our clients onboarded, the work you have to do in order  to keep them becomes a bundle of repeatable, recurring, almost brainless tasks.

And that is what you want.

You want work that is so steady, sustainable, and ease-filled that it begins to bore you. You want that kind of work, because it frees up so much of your brain and your time to engage in what truly matters: your real, actual life. 

Your family. Your friends. Your passions. All the things that used to have to take a backseat to the stressful, all-consuming work that consumed your time and energy.

If you believe boredom is something to worry about, I encourage you to flip that belief upside down and remind yourself that boredom actually translates to sustainability and ease…and what a beautiful thing that is to be able to achieve.

Where Do I Start?

However, before you can reach that goal, you need to learn the basics of accounting and how subtraction, addition, multiplication, and division are used to complete those tasks…and you can learn that inside my program for beginner bookkeepers, lovingly named BABs (or Become a Bookkeeper, if you’re not quite ready to be on a first-name basis!).

Become a Bookkeeper was created for people who worry they don’t have what it takes to be a bookkeeper, whether that’s the knowledge, the skills, or the real-life experience. BABs will give you all three…all with a much cheaper price tag than a college degree.

(Yes, that’s right—NO accounting degree necessary!)

BABs is your first step to achieving boredom. (Not the usual pitch you see from programs like this, but trust me–boredom means nothing but good things for you and your work-life balance!) You don’t even have to wait for it to open–you can apply right here, right now.

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Start your new year off right with the Intention Setting Workshop, my on-demand workshop all about preparing yourself to crush every goal you have for this upcoming year: https://www.katieferro.com/offers/mSzXz5cA/checkout 

Season 2 of Profits & Prosecco is HERE! Kick off your newest podcast addiction (or celebrate its return!) and listen to Episode 1 now: https://open.spotify.com/show/4dB0ZE8JaxqrkImm3Ifxrb 

Sick of imposter syndrome keeping you stuck? Join the new + improved BECOME A BOOKKEEPER now: https://www.katieferro.com/become 

Want a peek behind the curtain into LIBBY, my program all about what it really takes to have a simple and scalable (and successful) bookkeeping business? Get access to my free, on-demand four-part series, 6 Secrets to a Simple, Scalable Bookkeeping Business: www.katieferro.com/6-secrets

Learn how to take your bookkeeping skills and turn them into a business that allows you to replace (or surpass) your corporate salary, be present for your life, and profoundly impact your clients without selling your life in the process by joining Life by the Books (LIBBY).  

CONNECT WITH KATIE:

Website: https://www.katieferro.com/

For first dibs (and the best prices!) on new offers from me, follow me on Instagram, then subscribe to my email list: 

IG: www.instagram.com/orderlyaccountingbykatie 

Email Opt In: www.katieferro.com/email