subject: How To Start A Bookkeeping Business, At Home Bookkeeping Business [print this page] If you are in the process of starting a bookkeeping business, you might consider working at home. Many bookkeepers want to work from home at some stage. Some people set their business up in the beginning to only service clients off site, not at the client premises. There is a market for this type of service in Australia with many small and micro businesses having small offices or home offices.
You may decide to offer this service as the clients come along, or your whole focus might be this market, either way you will need to ensure you have the correct systems set up so you can service you client just as effectively as if you were in their office.
There are many ways to work off site with ease of record and data file transportation. The main things to consider when working off site are;
The integrity of client data.
You want to make sure your system is in place so that you do not end up with multiple data files or that someone else does not do data entry if you have a copy of the data file.
The security of client source documentation.
You will need to ensure the client source records are always secure. This might mean you will collect the paper work from the client, or they may drop it off to you. You can investigate a courier service or the costs of registered mail. The priority is to ensure the client records are kept securely but your administrative costs are minimized.
Electronic transfer.
Some clients may have their records set up electronically. I know of some clients who scan all their paperwork and keep electronic files. It is possible to receive all information electronically without having any pieces of paper leave the clients premises. This is not always practical for many clients, but depending on the client and their business, it may be suitable.
Additional costs.
Working at your site, not the client may suit you, but if there are any additional costs for you to work at home you will need to factor it into your charge out rate. For example, you might need to visit the client for a meeting and to collect paper work, then take it back to your office, do the work and take the paper work back to the client. The additional time taken to go to clients twice needs to be factored into your rates. Like wise, if you pay for couriers or registered post, make sure you include these costs.
Unless your situation prevents you from attending a client site to work, you might find it is easier to get the clients, work for them for a while and then look at whether it is feasible to do their work from home. Most clients work can be done off site, but sometimes it comes down to the relationship you have built up with the client and the trust you have with that person. Clients who would not consider an off site service may be happy for you to do their books off site after a few months.
by: Julia Nitschke
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