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A laptop is useful as you can take it to customer meetings with all the correct information. If they have any queries, you will look the answers up, but this is not essential. MTD for VAT purposes applies to any business with a turnover above the VAT threshold. The scope of MTD will be extended to income tax from April 2023.
Unfortunately, some businesses do not take on a bookkeeper until their company is in trouble. They may already be having cash-flow problems, problems with the bank, or late filing of accounts. It typically takes 6-8 months https://www.good-name.org/how-accounting-services-can-help-real-estate-companies-optimize-their-finances/ from starting a bookkeeping business before you get to the point where you can expect to generate a reasonable income for yourself. Start Up Donut provides practical information to help your business succeed.
Design your business model
Even if you do not need an accountant for your accounts, it can be very beneficial to offer the services of an accountant. Being able to help a Limited company the opportunity to deal with all their year-end accounts and any queries that may arise will take the pressure off the client. Your clients are likely to consist for the most part of small and medium retail accounting size businesses. Although you might be prepared to service some clients by post and email or offer them an online service, most of your clients are likely to be local concerns. To learn more about the ins and outs of setting up your own business, check out our small business guide on how to start a business and our guide on starting a bookkeeping business.
When starting a bookkeeping business, the rate you can charge will depend on your experience and the services you can offer. You will be able to charge more if you can add value to a company. It can include advising how they can save money and complete their accounts, provide management reports and deal with year-end. If you are doing data input, you are not so likely to charge higher rates. Bookkeepers provide record keeping and management services to local businesses and sometimes to private individuals. Check out our practical guide for starting and running your own bookkeeping business.
Home Office Set Up:
In some cases, your clients may have their own accounting subscription, meaning they’ll just add you as a user so you can do the business bookkeeping. In other instances, your clients may expect you to do their bookkeeping on software that you pay for. That means you’ll need to have your own accounting software subscription with something Xero.