How to Start a Virtual Bookkeeping Business in 5 Simple Steps

Most virtual bookkeeping firms start with the owner as the sole employee. But as your business grows, you’ll need more team members to support your clients. One of the most critical steps to take in your virtual bookkeeping business is to invest in professional liability insurance, also known as errors and omissions (E&O) insurance. This insurance will cover you against claims you made a mistake in preparing a client’s books. When you start a virtual bookkeeping business, you may be the only employee.

Create a business plan.

Someone had to be there to run the report, save it in the right format and send it out. In this age of cloud accounting and virtual bookkeeping services, they should be able to have reports sent to you on a schedule. Virtual bookkeeping, also known as cloud accounting, is when a bookkeeper or accountant works with their client remotely. This is made https://www.bookstime.com/ possible through accounting software that allows you and your bookkeeper to share an account. In this arrangement, the accountant and business must utilize the same accounting software to ensure the proper transfer and communication of files. In-house teams use it to streamline their processes — data entry, bill payment, budget management, and more.

• Describing in detail who your perfect customer is will help you understand how you need to position yourself in terms of scale and services.
• The market is filled with companies and banks that offer outstanding business banking account deals.
• There are so many online banks out there, it can be hard to find the one that’s right for you and your online business.
• If you mix funds or transactions between different LLCs, it might undermine the limited liability protection that LLCs offer.
• So it’s important you make timeliness and accuracy a critical part of your business.
• There are few boundaries to who can become a great virtual bookkeeper.

Step #13: Promote Your Business

You must communicate effectively with your team and clients as a virtual bookkeeping business. Consider using video conferencing software, instant messaging apps, and project management tools to facilitate communication and collaboration. Create a clear communication protocol that outlines how you will communicate with your clients and team members. In more traditional bookkeeping services, it was more of a process to get reports out.

Step 5: Stress-free Tax Season

Let our trusted, talented, and expertly trained staff reduce your costs and increase your profitability across the globe. Many online business owners and accountants in particular will pick a stack that looks something like QBO or Zero, Bill.com, Synder. Bookkeepers can quickly create and send invoices, track payment (or nonpayment), and send payment reminders. If a business uses estimates, bookkeepers can generate those estimates and convert them to invoices when the time comes. However, going with a traditional bank and building a relationship with a local banker have advantages. Having a financial expert by your side is helpful in many ways if you’re starting a new business.

Freelancer networks like Upwork can match you with businesses or individuals looking for your services. Most platforms don’t charge a fee for setting up your profile, but they may take a commission once you get paid. Additionally, as a virtual bookkeeper, you can work from home, a cafe, or beautiful travel destinations.

Tell your friends and family about your business and gather contacts of business owners who could be potential clients. You can also market your services using social media, blogging, guest start virtual bookkeeping posting, paid ads, and more. When starting a virtual bookkeeping business, building a web presence is essential. It’s the first point of contact between you and prospective clients.

In fact, just start with your name, and you can always change it later. Having a client portal and CRM can help your employees track projects and clients efficiently. Good CRM technology will help your team stay on top of critical deliverables. A great client portal keeps your employees from having to do as much footwork to collect forms and information for your customers.

Bookkeeping and accounting software

• At my company, one of the specific things we teach accountants and bookkeepers who want to run a virtual bookkeeping service is that they should specialize in a few industries.
• But as your business grows, you may need to expand your team to handle the increased workload and offer diverse services.
• Having the right tools and support in place makes a big difference, and your clients will love you for it.
• Many companies use online accounting and other finance software to manage their financial data.
• There is also no reward for working efficiently since fewer hours means less billing.
• The communication and effort shown by our client success managers, and our VA Fel has been exceptional and has allowed for continued growth and development.

Some of the apps might be different, but if your prospective virtual bookkeeping service can cover these five bases, then there is a good chance you’re covered. Bookkeepers often need to store documents such as client contracts, past tax returns, bank statements, spreadsheets, and more. Virtual bookkeeping adds digital, cloud-based tools like BILL to the bookkeeping process, making it easy for a bookkeeper to keep financial records up to date day by day. The market is filled with companies and banks that offer outstanding business banking account deals.

You can attend small business forums, join local business associations, and volunteer for charitable causes. You can also participate in virtual networking opportunities like webinars, forums, and social media groups. L.A.P. Company, Inc. provides business management and complete bookkeeping services.

Categorised in: Bookkeeping

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