BOOKKEEPING TIPS is a twice monthly e-letter published by The American Institute of Professional Bookkeepers (AIPB), Suite 500, 6001 Montrose Road, Rockville, MD 20852. Tel.: 800-622-0121, Fax: 800-541-0066, email: info@aipb.org.

May 4, 2005

Starting Your Own Bookkeeping Business
Should it be a home office?

How you start your own bookkeeping practice may determine whether you succeed, as we reported to AIPB Members in The General Ledger, the monthly technical newsletter for AIPB members (www.aipb.org/general_ledger.html). But even after you decide to start your own practice, a major question is whether you should work out of a home office or rent space. Here’s how one successful professional started up and another made the difficult decision on the home office.

How Steven R. Hinds started up
After working for 5 years as a controller, I decided I could double my money working for myself. I already had 3 or 4 clients that wanted me as a consultant.

I started by offering only bookkeeping and taxes at $10/hr. It took about 6 months to get 10 clients and become established. Today I charge $25 to $200 an hour, have over 100 clients and net $150,000 a year. Here’s what I did—and you can too:

1. Keep your current full-time job until you are making at least the same from your part-time business.

2. Create a business name for your business, file your DBA, and get a business license.

3. Join the local Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau, etc.

4. Create a tri-fold brochure, business cards and postcards.

5. Send your brochure to all the DBA filings printed in your local paper.

6. Create and publish a Web site.

7. When employers advertise for a part-time bookkeeper, send out a resume with a cover letter.

8. Every day, go door to door to businesses, handing out your brochure and business card. Best: Low cost industrial areas with small spaces.

Today, most of my business comes from referrals and from bookkeeping and tax services with too much work.

Through the years, I have added on other services as demand changed:

- bookkeeping
- loan packaging
- business plans
- payroll
- software training
- articles for professional newsletters
- computer sales and services
- Quickbooks Professional Advisor
- next-day internet or e-mail bookkeeping
- customized company policies/procedures
- internet html coding
- internet site creation
- internet site promotion
- other services

Key to success: Provide topnotch service and always meet promised deadlines.

Source: Steven R. Hinds, Bookkeeping 2000, www.bookkeeping2000.com 1191 Huntington Dr., Suite 9, Duarte, CA 91505. (626) 231-3166. Email address: qbadvisor@bookkeeping2000.com

But when you start your own practice, should you start from home, or rent space?

Pros and cons of a home office for Tiffany J. Morisue
For 3 years, I ran my accounting, tax, computer-services/consulting practice from my home. My household consisted of my husband (he is in the practice), my 13-year-old daughter, my mother, two cats, two dogs, and a full-time employee. My primary advertising was the Yellow Pages. Starting in a home office was convenient and kept my rates low, a competitive advantage.

Getting new clients
I offer a free 30-minute consultation to prospects. In my home office, I got 1 client or strong lead per 5 consultations. In my new office, I got 3 to 4 new clients per 5 consultations. Long-term clients say the office that I rented is much more convenient.

Disadvantages of a home business
· Clients told me they did not like their work done near kids or pets, and prospective clients said they were turned off by the home office.

· Meeting strangers in your home may infringe on your privacy and may even be dangerous.

· I felt like I had to answer the business line after business hours and I got complaints if I didn’t.

· IRS or state tax agents can show up unannounced at inconvenient times.

· Clients showed up at all hours to drop off, pick up, etc.

· If you expand and need employees, applicants may be turned off by working in your home. It is harder to set boundaries between business and personal matters in a home.

· If you are in the suburbs, neighbors may object to your running a business in your home, and zoning restrictions may bar even small signs.

· Clients may perceive that confidentiality is impaired.

· Use a P.O. box in your ads and marketing, and reserve your street address for clients and business associates, as I did.

To cover the moving costs and rent for the new office, I raised rates slightly for current clients, more for new ones and focused on billable work, avoiding no-charge or courtesy work. Clients choose an accountant or bookkeeper who is professional and easy to work with as well as affordable.

Source: Tiffany J. Morisue, CPA, ABC Solutions, 3964 Brown Park Drive, Suite A, Hilliard, Ohio 43026. 614-850-9440 Fax 614-850-8770. tiffany@rrohio.com
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