How to Start Your Own Bookkeeping Startup

Need help with budgeting, KPI tracking, board decks, or fundraising? Stop worrying about tax prep, with expert support for federal and state income tax filings, 1099s, and Delaware Franchise Tax filing. Your marketing content should speak to the needs and pain points of the types of customers you’re most interested in attracting to your business. Some states may impose steep penalties against businesses that fail to obtain workers’ compensation insurance. Nick Charveron is a licensed tax practitioner, Co-Founder & Partner of Community Tax, LLC.

Before you can begin thinking about your business’s accounting practices, you’ll want to open a dedicated business bank account and/or credit card, if you don’t already have one. Once you connect your business bank accounts and credit cards to a software, financial transactions show up in a queue and are grouped into categories. Once you approve of the categories, transactions automatically settle in your financial statements. At FinancePal, we take pride in helping businesses like yours succeed with our advanced, customer-oriented, online startup accounting and bookkeeping services.

The Accounting Equation

If you’re new to the business world, building credit might seem complicated. So, your best bet as a small startup owner would be borrowing from a close circle of friends and family or investing your own money. If you are running a Shopify store, you can use Shopify’s integrated payment provider called Shopify Payments. Through our inbuilt tax calculation functions and easy-to-use dashboard, you’ll be making employee payrolls with your eyes shut. Since debits increase expenses, Rent Expense will be debited for $300. And since credits decrease assets, Cash will be credited for $300.

Someone who’s new to the profession, for example, may start their rates at $20 an hour, while someone with several years of experience may charge $35 an hour or more. Researching average bookkeeper salaries for your area can give you an idea of what your competitors may charge. Starting a bookkeeping business is something you might be interested in if you naturally love numbers and want to break free of the traditional nine to five. It’s possible to offer bookkeeping services to clients in person or remotely, which may be ideal if you’d prefer a work-at-home job.

Product & service classification

Entrepreneurs and industry leaders share their best advice on how to take your company to the next level. Starting your business at home is a great way to keep overhead low. You can deduct the portion of your home that’s used for business, as well as your home internet, cellphone, and transportation to and from work and for business errands. Start your free trial, then enjoy 3 months of Shopify for $1/month when you sign up for a monthly Basic or Starter plan. Websites, social media, and various other online presences are a great way to establish credibility in the market.

• Once you’ve gotten your idea off the ground, established the structure of your business, and figured out your basic logistics, you need to start thinking about accounting.
• With its bank reconciliation feature, you can link your bank accounts, PayPal accounts, and other data sources to see real-time business transactions.
• You don’t get any more revenue from that client for the rest of the year.
• As mentioned before, as a startup founder, you may not have the time or knowledge to handle it properly.

You can always switch tools of course, but that can be a timely process you want to avoid where possible. Many – if not most – firms will start as generalists and then slowly make their way a more niche practice. Others realize they have, say, many construction clients and then move to the particular niche. For the most part, a simple online presence is relatively easy to start with minimal start-up costs. And while an online presence won’t guarantee an increase in exposure, not having one can have a negative impact and can discredit you to a potential client.

SaaS Income Projection Model

If you’re still on the fence about handling basic bookkeeping or accounting for your business, you’re not alone. If the thought of doing your books is overwhelming, you have plenty of other options including enlisting the help of a CPA. You can also hire an experienced bookkeeper or accountant for your business, or just outsource the entire process. It’s just as important to reconcile your credit card statements as it is your bank statement. Credit card fraud is a real thing and can sneak up on you with a lot of small charges put through to see if you’re paying attention. Be sure you have a backup for every charge on your credit card statement.

• Raising capital or considering an acquisition means you’ll need skilled accounting practitioners to help you.
• If you need help with incorporating your business, I recommend you check out Incfile.
• Once your software and accounts are set up, you’ll need to continually monitor your finances and ensure that every transaction has been properly recorded and categorized.
• That in turn, allows you to analyze how well your startup performed during that time period.
• As a result, making sure your communication is direct, pleasing, and engaging is critical to your success.
• Credit is important for securing funding, as well as potentially financing large purchase orders in the future.

Having a degree or certification in either area could be an advantage, but it’s possible to acquire the skills you need to become a bookkeeper online. Likewise, you don’t need to have experience running a business, but that, too, could prove helpful. Opening a business bank account can make it easier to keep track of what funds go in and out.