Bookkeeping Side Hustle: Earn an Extra $5k+ Per Month
Whether you're a stay-at-home parent, a student, or someone looking to supplement your income, bookkeeping can be extremely profitable and can even lead to other professional opportunities.
This article will show you how to get started if you want to use your bookkeeping skills as a side hustle.
Bookkeeping as a Side Hustle
By leveraging your existing skills, determining who your target clients are, researching and determining your rates, marketing yourself effectively, and making sure that your legal bases are covered, you can kick things off for your bookkeeping side hustle.
1. Start With What You Know
When it comes to starting a side hustle with your bookkeeping skills, it's important to stick with what you know.
You don't have to be an expert in every aspect of bookkeeping, but you should be confident in your abilities and understand how to apply them effectively so that you can provide the best services to your clients.
Understanding the full scope of your skills and abilities is also important for determining what services you can offer your clients and ensuring the success of your side hustle venture.
2. Determine Your Target Clients
The great thing about bookkeeping is that there is never a shortage of people who need these services.
There are many businesses of all sizes that need bookkeeping services, and if you know which ones to go after, you can build a strong base for your side business.
Think about the kind of clients that you want to work with, and do your research into the kind of bookkeeping services that they may need.
For instance, an independent contractor may only need to manage a handful of financial transactions each month, while a coffee chain with 12 stores will have much more complex bookkeeping requirements due to a higher volume of transactions and expenses.
This will help you set realistic expectations for the services you provide and how much time you'll need to dedicate to each client.
3. Research and Set Your Rates
Once you've determined who your target clients are and what services you'll be offering, it's time to research industry rates and set your own.
This will help ensure that you're making a fair wage for the work that you're doing.
It's also important to remember that bookkeeping is an hourly rather than a fixed-rate profession, so you can properly account for the amount of work you're doing and justify your rates.
4. Market Yourself Effectively
If you want to be successful with your side hustle, it's important that you learn to market yourself effectively.
These days, promoting yourself as a freelancer or part-time worker is super easy thanks to the popularity of freelancing and the gig economy.
You can showcase your skills and directly connect with potential clients using websites like Fiverr or Upwork.
If that's not your cup of tea, don't worry - social media platforms like LinkedIn can also help you find clients in need of your services.
5. Cover Your Legal Bases
Finally, it's important that you understand the legal implications of starting a bookkeeping side hustle.
Depending on where you live, there may be certain regulations or laws that apply to freelancers and small business owners.
It's important to do your research and make sure that you're compliant with all applicable laws when it comes to taxes, contracts, billing, and other legal matters.
All of this is needed to keep your business from getting fined or sued for not keeping track of its accounts and transactions.
You may also want to consider talking to a lawyer to make sure that you're taking all the necessary steps to protect yourself.
Best Practices for Managing Your Bookkeeping Side Hustle
Keep in mind that a bookkeeping side hustle is vastly different from being employed as a bookkeeper for a company.
You have to approach this with a business mindset, along with the expectations that come with it.
Once you've laid the groundwork for your bookkeeping side hustle, there are some best practices that you should keep in mind to help ensure success:
1. Set Clear Expectations
When you begin working for a client, you must clearly define all of the expectations for both parties.
Make sure that both parties are clear on what services will be provided, how long the project will take, and the payment terms.
All of this should be documented in a contract so that there is a paper trail to refer to if there is any miscommunication about project expectations.
2. Keep Accurate Records
Because you own your own business, you must keep detailed records of all your income and expenses.
This will allow you to track the progress of your side hustle and ensure that you stay within your budget.
When you file your taxes each year, you also need accurate records so that you can report your profits and losses correctly and stay out of trouble with the law if your financial statements are wrong.
3. Schedule Regular Check-Ins
Maintaining a positive relationship is critical when taking on direct clients as a side hustle.
Schedule regular check-ins with your clients to ensure that everyone is on the same page.
This way, you can keep them up to date on the status of their project and address any issues that may arise along the way.
Ask for their opinions on the work you've completed so far, and then use that information to help you improve your services and guarantee future client satisfaction.
4. Don't Overcommit
One of the most important things to remember when starting a bookkeeping side hustle is to avoid overcommitting yourself.
You need to be honest with yourself about how much time you can commit to this without getting burned out or giving poor service.
While it may be tempting to take on as many clients as you can in order to supplement your income, this will only harm your career in the long run.
Take your time selecting projects that you believe you can handle so that you can devote your full attention to each one.
It's okay to take on more than one project at once, but make sure that you're not spread too thin and are able to provide quality customer service for all of your clients.
It also helps to leave some buffer time between projects and account for any additional tasks that may come up along the way.
Wrapping Up: Bookkeeping as a Side Hustle
There is a lot of demand for bookkeeping services, and a professional with skills in this niche can successfully turn this into a side hustle.
Here are some of the main points of starting a bookkeeping side hustle:
Start with what you know: Identify your bookkeeping skills and use that as the foundation for your side hustle venture.
Determine your target clients: Do some research and figure out who your ideal clients are and what you can offer them.
Research and set your rates: Take the time to research what other bookkeepers are charging and set your rates accordingly.
Market yourself effectively: Make use of different online channels to market your skills and services to your target audience.
Cover your legal bases: Make sure that all of your legal requirements are taken care of before you start working with clients and keep track of your transactions for taxes and other legal documentation.
By establishing a solid foundation and implementing a robust management strategy for your side hustle business, you can achieve great success in your bookkeeping endeavors.
