12 Effective Ways To Become An Online Bookkeeper

The first step to becoming a certified bookkeeper is ensuring you’ve met all professional and educational requirements. Regardless of whether you are pursuing credentials through AIPB or NACPB, your supervisor or a former employer must validate your experience hours. You do not need a formal education to go through the AIPB’s certification process. However, NACPB recommends a bachelor’s degree in accounting, finance or a related industry to earn the CPB license. A bookkeeping certification not only adds value to your skill set but also helps you stay on top of the latest trends and technological advances in the industry.

• Accounting software know-how can make you an even more valuable asset to clients.
• Obviously, this is why people outsource this work; they simply cannot do it themselves.
• As an online bookkeeper, your primary responsibility will be to record and maintain financial transactions for businesses.
• While having a college degree to become an online bookkeeper is unnecessary, having an educational background in finance or accounting can be beneficial.
• Social selling is an efficient technique to advertise your services.
• You can also choose to become a certified public bookkeeper to market yourself better as a bookkeeping professional.

Another difference to note between the CBP and CB credentials is cost. You must pay for each part of the required exam, along with any preparation courses you may take. As noted above, NACPB and AIPB both require annual fees as well to keep members’ credentials current. Requirements for CB certification are more extensive, as they ask for at least 3,000 hours of experience or two years of bookkeeping or accounting experience. CPB licensure lasts one year, after which you must demonstrate that you completed all necessary continuing education credits and pay an annual membership fee.

What is the difference between bookkeeping and accounting?

The cost of bookkeeping services can vary depending on the size of your business and the features you need. Some bookkeeping services charge a monthly fee while others charge by the hour. You can find services for as little as $20 per month while others run thousands per month. Bookkeeper360 is best for businesses that occasionally need bookkeeping services as well as those that want integrations with third-party tools. Once you’ve met all of your chosen credential’s requirements and completed your preparatory courses, it’s time to take the exams. Established in 2008, BIDaWIZ is an online platform that gives you the best of both worlds when it comes to working as an employed or freelance bookkeeper.

Skilled bookkeepers provide a valuable service to large and small organizations by keeping meticulous records of all financial transactions. This is because accounting requires more education and expensive certifications. If you like bookkeeping and would like to advance your career in finance and earn more, it would be worth it to become a Certified Public Accountant. Free and low-cost online bookkeeping courses are an excellent way to learn bookkeeping. These courses focus on bookkeeping fundamentals to enhance knowledge and bookkeeping skills.

National Bookkeepers Association

Now that you have the foundation laid, you can start working towards a thriving bookkeeping business. Software and programs are seldom given away for free, it’s up to you to choose one that will provide you the most bang for your buck. Hey, once your business takes off, you may even need a virtual bookkeeping assistant. This certification consists of a 4-part exam which you have to pass and have the necessary 3,000 hours of work experience in order to become AIPB-certified.

Bookkeeping may also include the creation of financial statements and processing payroll. Bookkeeping is a great place to start if you’re hoping for a way to break into the finance industry. There are many bookkeeping job opportunities and generally fewer education requirements than in other finance and accounting positions. QuickBooks Live Bookkeepers will work directly with customers through Intuit’s virtual bookkeeping tools, including video conferencing, messaging, and a client management portal.

How Do I Become A Virtual Bookkeeper With No Experience?

One option is to concentrate on a certain specialty that you can expand naturally. Among the things to bear in mind, is that with virtual bookkeeping, you are in control over who you deal with – the clients, the jobs, the arrangements with the employer. Even if you’re just testing the waters, you still want to provide high-quality service to clients so they can accomplish their objectives and save time by hiring you to do the job. Make sure to go above and above for your initial customers if you’re serious about developing and having bookkeeping jobs from home. But you most certainly do not need to have NASA scientist levels of arithmetic knowledge to become a virtual bookkeeper. As a virtual bookkeeper, you can provide these solutions remotely and have as many clients as you want or need, from the comfort of your home.

• Freelancers operate from their own point of view when it comes to earning with online bookkeeping when they should be looking from the client’s perspective.
• The key to commanding a higher rate is to provide the value your clients need.
• Provide good customer service by being responsive, reliable, and proactive.
• One of the best features that BIDaWIZ offers is its business development plan.
• To maintain the CB credential, you must fulfill 60 continuing education credits every three years.
• Furthermore, the NBA trains and certifies bookkeeping students and employees in bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, tax, excel, and QuickBooks.

When you do this, be sure to have a list of questions ready that will help you compare the different services. You may want to ask about pricing, availability, and what type of work they can do. The first thing you need to do when becoming a bookkeeper is selecting a degree program to enter. Each program offered to you will have varying course requirements that students must meet to earn their certification. When comparing accountants and bookkeepers, know that an accountant may also be a bookkeeper. Familiarizing yourself with what a bookkeeper does and what accounting clerks do can help you narrow down your financial needs.

Bookkeeping Course Online: How to Become a Bookkeeper

Bookkeepers can also obtain additional certification showing their mastery of Intuit QuickBooks, the most popular accounting software for small businesses. Consider taking the QuickBooks certified user exam or pursuing the Intuit certified bookkeeping professional https://www.bookstime.com/blog/financial-forecasting-for-startups credential. Exams are available at Certiport authorized testing centers across the U.S. Good bookkeepers help business owners manage their finances by documenting transactions, paying and issuing invoices, generating reports, and recording accurate financial data.

• Hey, once your business takes off, you may even need a virtual bookkeeping assistant.
• You can still bookkeep as a side gig, even if you don’t plan to have a career in accounting.
• CPB licensure lasts one year, after which you must demonstrate that you completed all necessary continuing education credits and pay an annual membership fee.
• If you can show your clients that you are aware of this and that you take their privacy seriously, this is an added value that you can give to them.
• If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please talk with your recruiter or send a request to
• If you become a QuickBooks Live bookkeeper, you can work from home based upon an agreed schedule at a set hourly rate based on your location, interview, and experience level.

To become a Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) from the NACPB, you must complete the Accounting Fundamentals course and pass the Uniform Bookkeeping Certification exam. This is a remote position where you will work virtually in a dedicated workspace where you can interact with customers on video without interruption. Ashlee Anderson is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC) specializing in remote work. She’s on a mission to help job seekers ditch their daily commute in favor of telecommuting.

Acquire Relevant Education and Training

Those who earn licensure through NACPB gain the Certified Public Bookkeeper (CPB) title. We make money from affiliate relationships with companies that we personally believe in. This means that, at no additional cost to you, we may get paid when you click on a link. Enroll in this free webinar to get the exact step-by-step process on how to generate more income and live the life you actually want. Obviously, this is why people outsource this work; they simply cannot do it themselves. Employees enjoy flexibility, lots of training and development opportunities, and incentive-based income.

You can also search for companies to reach out to that are in need of online bookkeepers. BIDaWIZ requires that you apply in order to have access to their platform remote bookkeeping as a professional. They require that you have your certification and/or license, have graduated from a U.S. accredited university, and pass a background check.

However, like most things, once you take the time to set it up and have all your systems in place, it becomes rewarding very quickly. Once you’ve equipped yourself with everything you need on starting a virtual bookkeeping business, you need to make it known to everyone that you’re in business and raring to go. As an online bookkeeper, you will likely have multiple clients and tasks to manage simultaneously. Effective time management strategies are crucial to meeting deadlines and providing accurate financial reports. Utilize productivity tools, create schedules, and prioritize tasks to optimize your workflow and maintain high productivity.