The Top 5 Barriers to Starting Your Bookkeeping Business and How to Overcome Them

If there is one lesson that I have learned well as a bookkeeper it is this: in order to launch a successful bookkeeping business there are some initial barriers that must be overcome.

Barrier #1:

The first barrier is setting up your pricing. You don't want to charge more than other bookkeepers in your area, so you must contact your competitors.

To do this, simply call them and ask them what they charge per hour. Also ask them if they prefer to charge a flat monthly fee once they get a feel for the books they're doing. The answers may surprise you and will help you determine your rate system.

Barrier #2:

The second barrier you must overcome is actually landing clients. This is a major barrier for most new solo bookkeepers.

There are many ways to get clients including referrals from other bookkeepers and accountants, advertising in your local newspapers, and sending out sales letters.

Barrier #3:

Once your phone starts ringing, another barrier is where to meet with your client. If you're comfortable with allowing a stranger into your home, then by all means invite them over for the initial meeting.

Many bookkeepers prefer meeting clients in a public place such as a restaurant where they can sit at a table and chat comfortably with the potential client.

Barrier #4:

You'll find as your bookkeeping business grows, that some clients are just harder to work with than others. They don't bring their paperwork in on time or they can be hard to track down when you need a check signed and their government remittance is due. Some people can even be outright rude and unprofessional. So what should you do?

Always remember that as a self-employed professional you have the last say in who you want to work and do business with. That's why you decided to go out on your own, right?

So if someone is being constantly unreasonable, your first choice is to raise your rates with this client. If this doesn't have the intended effect of scaring them off, you can simply inform them that you don't have time to do their books anymore and terminate your relationship with them.

Although as a professional courtesy you may want to recommend another bookkeeping service to them.

Barrier #5:

You'll come across this sooner or later in your bookkeeping practice: the difficult bookkeeping job.

You know the one... the papers are a complete mess and are all thrown together into a box. There's no guarantee that all the paperwork is even there. You could be missing bank statements, invoices and heaven knows what else. It'll take days and days to sort through it all. Should you do it?

I always suggest that if you're new and have the time: give it a shot. It is a good challenge after all and will help you develop more skills.

But if you don't have the time or patience to handle this job, I suggest requesting that the client sort it out before bringing it back to you for processing. Alternatively you could pass it off to another bookkeeper.

Keywords: