Who Can Start a Bookkeeping Business?

QuickBooks ProAdvisor ≠ Accounting Expertise

Bookkeeping is not an especially regulated industry. You don't need an actual certificate or a degree. Your clients are rarely going to ask you for that.

So in reality, just about anybody could start a bookkeeping business, but that doesn't mean that you should.

The people that should start a bookkeeping business are people who deeply understand what they're doing, will do the work ethically, and will do the work well.

Notice I didn’t say anything about a degree. You don't need a degree—as long as you are really clear and confident in your skills, as long as you are truly good at what you do, that is enough for you to be a good bookkeeper.

However, you do need to understand that you can't just hop online and become an accounting expert in a day or two if you’re starting from zero. For example, if you're trying to go through a QuickBooks ProAdvisor course and think that’s going to get you where you need to be…it’s not going to be enough to teach you how to run your business or teach you accounting.

The point of a QuickBooks ProAdvisor course is to get you competent in QuickBooks. They're expecting that you already understand accounting. It's not an accounting course.

So if you’re someone who thinks that now that you’ve gone through that course, you’re set to start a bookkeeping business…you should not be starting a bookkeeping business.

What Do I Need, Then?

To have a bookkeeping business, the biggest thing you need is to understand the ins and outs of accounting.

You need to understand debits, credits, financial statements, the concept of journal entries, how you're recording revenue, how to identify whether an item is an expense or an asset, how you're treating the ownership portion when your clients are paying for personal items through the business, not to mention a working understanding of tax.

Now, you need to have all of that in order to do a good job. To get hired, you don't really need any of that, and that’s where people fall into dangerous territory.

There are plenty of poor bookkeepers out there, but they’re not going to retain clients. They’re not going to be profitable. Even people with the best of intentions will struggle if they don’t have the knowledge, because they’ll constantly be terrified of making a mistake—and when they do (because they absolutely will) they won’t know what to do to fix it.

This creates an opportunity for those who do bookkeeping well. You want to be in that camp, because when you’re good at what you do, you’ll be able to differentiate yourself.

When you take over a client’s books, you’ll be able to identify what other bookkeepers have done wrong, correct that, and actually help your clients—and the difference in their experience with you will blow them away.

Plus, when you come in and do a good set of books, your clients’ CPAs are going to take note of that. And when your clients’ CPAs like you, they become a fantastic source of client referrals.

All that to say, knowing what you're doing is the most essential piece. It's what allows you to do a good job. It's what helps you sleep at night. It's what sets you apart, it's what gets clients to refer you, and it's what makes your business sustainable.

What About a CPA License?

Just to address directly, the other question that I get a lot is, “Do I need to have a CPA license in order to be a bookkeeper?”

The answer to that is “Definitely not.”

You definitely don't need to have a CPA license to be a bookkeeper. In fact, it makes you overqualified to be a bookkeeper.

That said, it will never hurt you. I am A CPA. I keep my license active because…well, it was hard to get, and it opens up possibilities for me. Why would I get rid of it?

I will say that when you have that CPA designation, it really boosts your confidence. It’s a lot easier to fend off worries of underqualification and imposter syndrome with CPA listed by your name. But confidence can be found outside of a CPA license, let alone an accounting degree or bookkeeping certificate.

You truly don't need any of those things. You will very rarely be asked by potential clients. Nobody’s asking for those credentials. As far as they’re concerned, you are an independent business owner, especially when you are marketing and pulling clients in.

If you're going and looking at jobs, you might be seeing that in-house bookkeeper positions require degrees or have “CPA preferred” listed. But chances are, if you're even looking at jobs, they're just pulling that from some other place. As an independent bookkeeper, you're not being asked those things.

Bookkeeping Can Be Learned—Without a Degree

If you’re feeling discouraged because you don’t understand some of the things I listed off…I want you to know that these things can be learned, and relatively quickly, without going to college or getting any kind of license.

I teach you all of these things inside Become a Bookkeeper, a robust program I designed that teaches you how to…well, become a bookkeeper!

This program has existed for years, and I have seen so many students go on to start their own successful bookkeeping businesses—some who had prior accounting experience and plenty who didn’t.

I know it can be taught. It just has to be taught comprehensively, be tested, and include the opportunity for you to work with some real-world examples of what you’ll be dealing with.

BABs is a standalone program that teaches the technical skills you need to know, including the tax portion. After that, you’ll take your bookkeeping knowledge and move on to turning that into a business.

If you need more support through that, I also have a program called Life by the Books that teaches you how to start your bookkeeping business, how to find sign clients, how to work within your softwares to keep yourself on track, how to grow a team, and all the other “soft skills” (see last week’s episode for more on that!) that you need to make your bookkeeping business successful!

No college tuition. No licenses. No “fake it til you make it.” It’s as simple as that.

Ready to get started? Scroll down to see which of my programs is the right one for you!

EPISODE RESOURCES:

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).  

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