9 expert tips for starting and running your freelance accounting and bookkeeping business

Launching and running a freelance accounting and bookkeeping business is a step-by-step process that adds up over time. To give you an advantage and help you avoid common missteps, here are nine tips and best practices you can incorporate into your independent accounting operation:

accounting and bookkeeping business

1. Determine the kinds of services you’ll offer

A large part of selling yourself is knowing what kinds of services you’ll offer. Will it be financial reporting, auditing and assurance, taxation, strategy and governance, performance management, or something else?

2. Use your connections to find your first assignments

Landing your first client is often the hardest part of freelance accounting work. Starting is always hard to do. Don’t be afraid to use your connections, especially with the people who know you and your work. If you’ve done part-time work or an accounting internship, perhaps you can ask a former manager to send work your way. Don’t feel shy about asking friends and family for recommendations so that you can land an ideal client.

3. Establish a sales and marketing plan

While it’s good to have personal connections to start a business, you should have a sales and marketing plan for continued and sustainable growth, covering everything from business cards and advertising to even podcasts. This would include the most likely ways you can find new business at a low cost.

As you become established, you might want to turn to professional branding and design to fine-tune your presence. If you can’t afford their costs, some marketing professionals may be open to exchanges of services (your accounting services for their branding ones).

4. Develop an online presence

More and more work is coming through online connections, so make sure you have an effective presence. Have a site outlining your accounting credentials, experience, business focus, and client testimonials.

Develop a social media marketing presence (including using the professional networking capabilities of LinkedIn) and perhaps turn to the services of a search engine optimization (SEO) firm to ensure you climb as high up the organic search engine results page as possible.

5. Embrace technology

Today, accountants rarely work with hard-copy ledgers, wearing visors and using fountain pens. To succeed, you need to be familiar with a variety of software packages, including, of course, accounting and bookkeeping software, such as QuickBooks, video-conferencing platforms (fast becoming as necessary as face-to-face meetings), and other technologies, such as headphones for calls and video sessions.

6. Set your prices wisely

Determining what you should charge for your services can be as much art as science. You need to strike the right balance between being competitive enough to land work but not so low that you feel unfairly compensated.

Part of setting pricing is knowing how much money you need in order to get by personally and for your business, taking into account all your operating expenses.

7. Use personal referrals

Once you have your freelance accounting practice going, it’s a good business practice to tap current clients for testimonials (for any marketing and promotion work you do) and referrals, showing prospective clients how happy you’ve made other business owners or managers. While accounting is a respected profession, it’s also a business, so you shouldn’t be shy about asking for help.

8. Prepare for tax time

You’ll be very good at helping your client base prepare for tax time, but you shouldn’t neglect your own tax returns. It’s a common hazard of the freelance trade, where, for example, a professional web design firm might not update their own site for several years. Prepare to meet the tax deadlines and tackle the paperwork set forth by the government for your business, which will probably include the quarterly tax withholding payments you’ll likely need to make to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

9. Get insurance

If you make a mistake in accounting work for a client—or at least are accused of it—it makes sense to have liability insurance in the event of a lawsuit. Without proper protection, your business could be hamstrung or in jeopardy if there’s legal action against you.