Start Your Own In-Home Bookkeeping Business

*Accounting software
*Business license
*Business phone line
*Business cards
*Office space

Follow these steps:

Step 1:
Decide what you want your bookkeeping business to be called and get your business license. You will also need to register with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to get a tax number so that you can submit your taxes quarterly.

Step 2:
Set aside a room in your house to be used as an office. Make sure that your children and pets do not have access to this room since the documents that will be in there will belong to your clients.

Step 3:
Set up a computer with bookkeeping software, such as Quicken. You will need this software to keep track of your clients' books. Make sure that you are capable of using the software before you take on any clients.

Step 4:
Make up some business cards. You can buy pre-made cards at Staples that you can just print your own information on or you can order some from a site like Vista Print. See the Resources section for a link. Vista Print charges only for the shipping on basic business cards.

Step 5:
Call the phone company and have a business phone line installed. You don't want your clients constantly calling your home. That would tie up the line when you may be waiting for a call from your child, wife, husband or other family member.

Step 6:
Set your office hours and stick to them. Don't answer your business phone after hours. You must be able to separate work time and family time so that you can keep a good balance in your home.

Step 7:
Hire an employee if you start getting more customers than you can handle. You can pay your employee by the hour. If you charge $20 per hour for all of your bookkeeping jobs, you can pay your employee $10 per hour to do the extra work and keep the difference.

Tips & Warnings
*If you are going to have more than two employees then you will want to rent an office space instead of working out of your home.

*Keep informed of all new tax laws. It will help to subscribe to some websites and magazines that have current laws and newsfeeds so that you can stay on top of things.

*Don't start out with high rates. High rates come with experience and trust. You must spend the time to gain the experience and the trust of your clients.
*You can also deduct some of your home expenses on your taxes when you create an office space in your house. Here are some helpful guidelines.