Accounting/book keeping advice

[Dawg]

Hi - I studied for AAT level 2&3 just before my daughter was born in 2016 and now I’m going back over stuff via ICB level 2&3

I’m now in my later 40’s - I’m self employed and my present line of work has been trashed by the current crisis. I have no experience of working with accounting which is essential for employment and was initially hoping to set up as a private book keeper and developing from there..

So my query is - what steps should I follow to make this a career? I don’t think I want to take it to Chartered level.. Do I continue and get AAT level 4 and carry on trying to get private work, or am I flogging a dead horse, so to speak? I presume because of my age and lack of experience, regular employment is out of the question?


Thanks in advance

[s2kjock]

If you have no practical real world experience of accounting unless you pick things up really quickly/well then I think you may struggle to set yourself up as an independent book-keeper. The decent ones I encounter I think have all worked as employees with practical experience in the past.

Certainly in my part of the world (central Scotland) there seems to be a shortage of decent book-keeping and accounting staff - how long this will continue is difficult to say though.

[So]

Dawg said:

Hi - I studied for AAT level 2&3 just before my daughter was born in 2016 and now I’m going back over stuff via ICB level 2&3

I’m now in my later 40’s - I’m self employed and my present line of work has been trashed by the current crisis. I have no experience of working with accounting which is essential for employment and was initially hoping to set up as a private book keeper and developing from there..

So my query is - what steps should I follow to make this a career? I don’t think I want to take it to Chartered level.. Do I continue and get AAT level 4 and carry on trying to get private work, or am I flogging a dead horse, so to speak? I presume because of my age and lack of experience, regular employment is out of the question?


Thanks in advance

I'd have thought it possible to earn a decent living being a REALLY GOOD bookkeeper.

You can always partner up with a qualified accountant, for those clients who require accountancy advice.

[Eric Mc]

Try and learn all of teh popular book-keeping/accounting systems that are now available for smaller businesses - Xero. Sage, Quickbooks, etc etc.

Learn about how these systems integrate with the HMRC Making Tax Digital initiatives - especially VAT. This is proving a massively difficult area for smaller businesses. Even HMRC are struggling with it - they have deferred the implementation date twice. It is now two years behind schedule. If you become an "expert" in this area you will become very useful to small businesses.