Starting your Part Time Accounting Practice

Without the overhead of employees and a commercial lease, it is easy for you to start your business and work part-time. This allows you to continue to receive the income from your current job as you begin to grow your business.

Even before you begin to earn a profit, you may still take the deductions for your business expenses. These deductions reduce the taxable income that comes from your current job if you file a Schedule C form for your business. This alone might pay for your training.

The great thing about starting your own accounting practice is you can keep your day job while building a clientele that will support a full-time venture, lessening your risk. A bookkeeping business requires little startup costs and you can easily work from your home. You can grow your business until it can sustain you full-time, enabling you to quit that day job to focus all your efforts on your new and profitable venture. Consider the following 5 tips in making that part-time transition to full-time self-employment:

1. Research the market.
Take the time to study your competition. Are you filling a void or will you be entering a competitive market? What types of services do other local accountants offer and how could you tip the scales in your favor? How much do they charge for their services and what means do they use to market them? Whatever the situation may be you should be well informed and prepared to deal with it.

2. Create a business plan.
We won’t tell you that writing a business plan is quick and easy. It requires study and thought; but all that will pay off in the end when you find that you have a solid business plan to lead you through the difficulties and unexpected surprises of starting a new business.

3. Set a date
Consider how long it might take you to grow your business to the point where you would feel comfortable quitting your job. 3 months? 6 months? One year? And don’t work blindly towards that deadline. Determine “readiness indicators,” or symptoms that your business is healthy enough to go full-time. Will you need at least 10 clients? 15? 20?

4. Get the word out.
Face it. In order to grow your business to full-time status, you need to get clients. And in order to get clients you need to let people know you are open for business. Once you have set a date, you need to let your current clients know that you are moving from part-time to full-time status, and ask them to tell their friends and family about your services. Pass out your business card, tell your own friends and family about your plans; take advantage of every opportunity to let people know about your business.

5. Get some training.
In most professions, employers invest in their employees by sending them to conferences, paying for continuing education, or encouraging special training. Invest in yourself by finding those resources that will help you advance in your field. If you’re starting an accounting practice, you’ll want certification to illustrate your expertise and put clients at ease.

The Professional Bookkeeper Program

Universal Accounting Center offers the best accounting and bookkeeping training available. As you start your business you want to edge out your competition by offering valuable services to potential clients. Most of your competitors don’t offer specialized small business accounting services. But you can. And when you effectively market those services you have an advantage that will only gain momentum as your business grows.

Enroll in the Professional Bookkeeper Program