Are you fanatical about making sure your family saves money and doesn’t over spend?
Do you get goosebumps every time you manage to stretch that last pound and still get the little treats for the family without overspending? A career in finance may be the perfect career change for you!
Accounting jobs like bookeeping are known for their flexibility, and bookeeping is a fantastic way to start building a freelance career that can eventually become a fully fledged home business.
What do bookeepers do?
Bookeepers are also known as accounts clerks/ assistants and finance clerks/assistants), and they keep financial records and help to prepare accounts in all types of business. Their typically include:
– balancing accounts (often known as ‘double entry bookeeping’)
– processing sales invoices, receipts and payments (if you are a stickler for filing utility bills and payment receipts, then this should be a doddle!)
– preparing statements showing the company or department’s income and outgoings
– completing VAT returns
– checking that accounts are accurate (those money stretching skills you use will come in handy)
– preparing wages and processing expenses claims (if they deal with payroll)
– helping to prepare final accounts, such as boa ace sheets and profit and loss accounts
– using computerised accounting systems (e.g. Sage)
– giving admin support to accountants.
In larger companies, bookeeprs may work as part of a finance team or accounts department, specialising in one area of expertise like sales or purchase ledger, payroll or credit control. If you work as a freelance or run your own bookeeping business, you might do all of these tasks yourself, and also handle cash.
What qualifications do you need to work as a bookeeper?
if you have worked in an office environment before and enjoyed it, you will fit in perfectly as a bookeeper, in the early days when you are gathering experience so you can branch out on your own.
These days everything is being driven by It, so you will need to be competent with using a computer, and knoweldeg of Microsoft packages like Excel and Access will be a bonus, too.
If you are really interested in working as a bookeeper, why not take a basic accounts or bookeeping qualification before you look for work, such as:
– Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) Level 2 Award in Bookeeping
– International Association of Bookeepers (IAB) Certificates in Bookeeping or Computerised Bookeeping at levels 1 and 2
– Institute of Certified Bookeepers (ICB) Level 1 Certificate in Basic Bookeeping or Level 2 in Manual or Computerised Bookeeping
– OCR Level 1 Certificate in Bookeeping and Levels 2 and 3 Certificates in Accounting
– City & Guilds (8991) Levels 1 and 2 Certificates in Bookeeping and Accounts.
You can study for most of these qualifications full- or part-time in local colleges or training centres, and even by distance learning these days.
More advanced bookeeping courses
As your experience grows, you could work towards more advanced bookeeping qualifications, such as:
– AAT Accounting Qualification (at Level 2 Certificate, Level 3 Diploma and Level 4 Diploma levels)
– IAB Level 3 Diplomas in Accounting and Advanced Bookeeping or Computerised Accounting
– ICB Level 3 Diploma in Bookeeping (Manual or Computerised).
When you have completed the AAT Accounting Qualification to level 4, you will be a qualified accounting technician who is able to produce financial reports and assist accountants with audits. You may choose to continue studying to become a fully fledged accountant, or start a bookeeping business in your own right.
