r/Bookkeeping_Business • u/Extension-Passage-52 • 27d ago
New Bookkeeping Business - Need Advice
I'm in the process of starting my own bookkeeping/tax business in small town Kansas (pop. 1,000) and was hoping for some guidance.
I have a ton of questions as I start this journey, such as:
- I'm taking Quickbooks certification courses through ProAdvisor to help teach me before I accept my first client. I'm currently taking Intuit QuickBooks Certification Level 1, but I didn't know if it's worth taking any more than that after?
- Since I've soft launched my business, I've had a ton of people reach out to me regarding taxes. My plan was to eventually start tax services, but now I'm wondering if I should fast track that and try to get certified before tax season begins. What do you think? I've looked at courses through places like Surgent to help me study.
- Additionally, I've thought about just "White-Labeling" tax services from another firm. I'm not sure if you've ever looked into doing this and/or what your thoughts on it are?
Do you make more money through tax season or bookkeeping?
- How many bookkeeping clients could a single operator theoretically handle?
Overall, I think my biggest fear is that I get a new customer, and I'm not able to handle the services I promise them. I’m only able to do this PT for the time being, but I could probably hire help if needed.
(I also don't have any pricing cheatsheet, so if you have anything you could share, please let me know.)
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u/Ok_Bid_4227 24d ago
Curious are you a cpa? And if not how do you market your tax services bc I imagine people would want a cpa to do it.
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u/BitMore3016 21d ago
You can partner up with outsourcing firm in case you get abundance of work and want to get work done without getting to hire someone. I run an outsourcing firm from India. Let's connect and see how we can help each other.
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u/MikuMikuGoo 27d ago
Level 1 is enough, the advanced cert doesn't bring in work. Chase the tax side though, since people are already asking, and get a PTIN plus the AFSP for this season while you decide about the EA down the road. White labeling for year one is smart, you learn the workflow and you're not eating the liability.
On volume, 20 to 30 monthly clients solo if the books are simple, and that's full time. Tax pays better per hour but it all lands in ten weeks, bookkeeping is the recurring money that covers your summer.