bookkeeper business

[littlespider]

i am thinking about going out on my own as a bookkeeper, but need some advice and opinions please.
I' ve not long started with a Big 4 accounts firm, but am not enjoying it as its not what i was led to believe or expected - i enjoy and have more experience (a year at college, and 18 months work in a practice) doing small business accounts - the local greengrocer, shoe shop, property agent, farmer, etc, but this work is all investments and share accounts, which is awful. So i want to branch out, and go back to what i enjoy.
For those who know it, i am on intermediate level AAT, which means i have some experience and knowledge, but am not fully qualified as an accounts technician yet. My work has offered to put me through more training at college, but i think the experience i might gain at the same time is not the right experience i want.
I'm an old-fasioned hand-written accounts person, although i'm happy to use excel for putting it together and finishing it off.

Has anyone out there done the same/similar? How much experience do you need, and do you think i'd stand a chance with my current knowledge/experience? I'm quite happy to start out with simple bookkeeping, building to TB as my experience and work grows.

Any advice you can offer is very appreciated.

[moneyman]

rather tricky. i would have thought you would need to know your way around the big three small business packages. sage, quickbooks and MYOB. If you can help people get up and running on a package quickly from a mess and then spend a couple of hours a week and produce a nice set of books with management reports each month. thats what people want. it is difficult to sell the idea of doing it all the old way.

[Amsey]

I'm a qualified bookkeeper and an Affiliate Member of the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers. I have also recently started my own own bookkeeping practise.

Most clients these days require computerised bookkeeping and you will need to be proficient in a variety of different software products. I use Sage, Quickbooks, MYOB and sometimes Excel.

A sound knowledge of double entry bookkeeping is an essential grounding but you will need to be experienced in accounting software as well.

Learndirect do a Sage bookkeeping course which I can recommend. You work online at your own pace so it's easy to fit in around work. The course costs about £120 (I think) and includes a six month licence for Sage Line 50 Financial Controller.

http://catalogue.learndirect.co.uk/courses/100693SM001/?view=Standard

[jess8]

I have been a bookkeeper for a few small fashion companies and although when I first started I had no training but knowledge about finance and business I picked up the accounting software packages easily.

I use MYOB, Sage Line 50 and Quickbooks. Most people like all the extra reports that the computerised packages can give you whereas the manual methods take time to produce these reports.

I suggest you do some small courses in the computerised accounting software and then start working from there. You will get alot of business if you are targeting small businesses.